Do they really learn Chinese?

Do students really acquire Chinese at proficiency level at the end of their several years' commitment?

Chinese is not an easy language to learn for English speakers. Unlike French or Spanish, there are no words in Chinese and English that share similar meaning, spelling or pronunciation.

The US State Department's Foreign Services Institute, which trains American diplomats, classifies Chinese as a Category III language which requires a native English speaker on average 88 weeks of full-time effort to achieve general proficiency, while French and Spanish only require 24 weeks.

Bethanie Weitz, Chinese immersion program coordinator at College Garden Elementary School in Maryland, and Potomac Elementary School's Zhang both said students' listening ability can often achieve native-like levels while their speaking and writing skills usually lag a bit behind. Due to their daily practicing the language in academic content instead of a real life setting, their social vocabulary in Chinese is not as rich as some would hope. And this often is the nature of an immersion program for any language.

But even with this limit, the language ability that students gain in an immersion program is much better than if they have just a one-hour daily Chinese language lesson.

"Children are more successful than anybody ever would believe what's possible," said Met, who now works as consultant for various academic entities and immersion programs. "They really acquire the language and are able to communicate it. We are still working on some of the best ways to teach and some of the best materials we can use. We just want to be even more successful than we are now."

Parents are often a very important part of that success. Choosing a Chinese immersion program often means extra work at home to keep children on track.

"I know going to an immersion program is a sacrifice for us. We, however, feel very strongly about school and our involvement. So, taking on that responsibility is something we already know we are going to do," said Miranda, mother of Aniya.

"It does require a lot of involvement from the parents. It was a big part of my kids growing up," said Kit, mother of Eli. She said when Eli was little, she would only hire baby-sitters who spoke Chinese or Spanish. She played Chinese TV at home and put on Chinese-language audios or videos when driving the children in the car.

Kit also has sent Eli and his brothers to a Chinese immersion camp run by Concordia Language Village in Minnesota almost every summer. Eli also went to Middlebury College, a renowned language-teaching school in Vermont, for its program for high school children. She also hired private tutors to help Eli.

"If you want your kids to really speak the language well, you really need to do something outside of the program," she said.

Eli still learns Chinese at his high school with a one-hour Chinese lesson every day. He said the majority of students who started with him in kindergarten are still actively learning Chinese. Many of them went to China in 5th grade on a trip organized by the school.

Although Eli hasn't decided what he wants to do in the future, he said that he envisions a career in which Chinese will be a very active part of his job. "I will be very disappointed if I do not do that," he said. "I really enjoy using it and I really enjoy going to China."

What Miranda says she enjoys the most is when she and her two daughters participate in Chinese cultural events, using what they have learned.

"The kids were really involved. They looked for ways to get out there to showcase that there is this school and they are growing and learning and doing well. All the parents were amazed when seeing them. It is a beautiful thing," said Miranda.

Major events

With continuing cultural exchanges among the US and China and a large Chinese-American population in the greater Washington area, the school has had many opportunities to be part of some major events, including welcoming Chinese president Hu Jintao's state visit to the US in 2011.

"Learning about another culture helps them to appreciate not just other culture, but their own. They are more aware that people are different and can embrace a variety of cultures and religions, it really broadens their minds," Miranda said.

Nepay, the BIA founder, said this kind of extracurricular event really motivate her students and is a very important part of what makes the Chinese immersion program at her school special. "Now other programs were motivated to reach out and do the same," she said.

Miranda is already thinking about how to keep up Aniya's learning Chinese after graduating from BIA. She said the program has opened up so many possibilities for her daughters.

"You do not have to be doctors or veterinarians. You can be an ambassador, a mediator, an interpreter. This just opens up a whole world that is not available for me when I grew up," she said. "I look back and think about being so nervous sending her (to the school), and I looked at them growing and blossoming, I am so glad that we took the chance."

Contact the writer at charlenecai@chinadailyusa.com