Wednesday, June 13, 2007
San Fran kindergartners immersed in Chinese

Angelica Chang teaches Mandarin Chinese to kindergartners at the Starr King Elementary School.
Every kid knows that feeling of the last day of school. It feels so liberating to know there won't be any classes on Monday. But for the kids I met at Starr King Elementary School in San Francisco, it was mostly sadness.

The children I met, all kindergartners, had just finished an entire year learning Mandarin Chinese, and they were sad it was over. The class was a year-long immersion course. The teacher spoke only Chinese to her students. That's it. All of the kids' normal subjects, like math and science, were taught in Chinese. Imagine how difficult that would be since none of the 26 children had ever before spoken Mandarin, considered one of the more difficult languages to learn. (For one hour a day, they worked on their English skills with a different teacher.)

Immersion courses operate on the premise of osmosis: eventually the child will get it. And the children I saw seemed to get it. (Watch these American kids speak Mandarin Chinese)

It was astounding to walk into a classroom full of American five-year-olds communicating in Chinese. They seemed to have little problem understanding their teacher. They also spoke in Chinese to each other. And during their free time, they even read children's books written exclusively in Chinese.

Parents we spoke to said they enrolled their kids in the program to give them a "leg up" for the future. Some of the children are of Chinese descent, but come from English-speaking families. The district said it offered the immersion program course because of China's growing status in the world.

As the children said goodbye to each other and their teacher, there were a lot of tears. Even though they're only kindergartners, these kids and their teacher seemed to forge a special bond over the course of the year. However, this is only the beginning of their Mandarin education. Next year, as first-graders, they'll be back for another year of classes taught in Chinese.


-- By Dan Simon, CNN Correspondent
Posted By CNN: 4:37 PM ET
  11 Comments

Well, all I can say is I'd have a hard time learning Chinese now, let alone at age 5. Good luck to them. I'm kind of glad all I had to do in kindergarten was play games, have milk and cookies, sing alongs and a nap...I can't speak Chinese, but I know every verse of Mary had a little lamb and how to dunk my cookies in milk...What a skill! I wish the San Fran kids the best. Take Care

Posted By Lorie Ann, Buellton, Calif. : 6:19 PM ET
Until about age 7, kids will absorb whatever they hear. They can even acquire several languages at a time and, oddly, not mix them up too much. The concentration (what there is of it) in the U.S. has been on Spanish. That takes care of today.

The San Francisco school is wise to be looking forward and offering immersion in Mandarin, the most used Chinese dialect. The sleeping giant has woken up, and the Americans who know their language will be at an advantage either in business matters or because China is on the threshold of becoming the world's next superpower.

Posted By gypsy, an American in Mexico : 6:39 PM ET
Hey Dan,
It's the best time to learn another language at a young age,they learn faster.
My son will finish his 6th grade next friday. All year,he was in english immersion. They did the academic part in 5 months instead of 10,and since mid-january,they were only learning english(our first language is french). Now,they are bilingual and they left this morning for three days to a summer camp where they will do everything in english. It is a great experience. We had to talk mostly english in the house and CNN was our learning tool.It was a lot of hard work,but my son finished with honors and will be placed in advanced classes.Yeah,sorry,I'm a proud mom right now.:-)
As for the class you are talking about, the degree of difficulty is higher because they do the other subjects in CHinese also. But what a great experience for the kids.

Joanne R.
Laval Quebec

Posted By Joanne R.Laval Quebec : 6:48 PM ET
What a wonderful idea and one I hope catches on throughout the United States.

There is nothing wrong with the intelligence of U.S. children. The problem lies with the U.S. education system which varies greatly throughout the United States, and is usually quality based according to the economic level of the community in which the school district is located.

Posted By Joseph Kowalski, North Huntingdon, PA : 7:00 PM ET
American politicians have furnised China with materials and how to use them, military secrets stolen from under thier nose for 25 years, and financing of China's goals by letting the trade deficit go unbalanced. (Americans taught Japan how to whip on us commercially).
Will Buddism be opptional? India is yet another story. Must we learn Chinese, Mexican, and East Indian?
The politicians have put our country in a very vulnerable situation.

Posted By Tom Partain Midland Texas : 7:03 PM ET
Great, San Fransicko is already capitulating to China. Maybe if America just surrenders California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Alaska to China they won't attack us in 20 years once they have put GM, Ford and Chrysler out of business.

I understand wanting to expose children to other cultures, but near total immersion in another language, in a PUBLIC school. In San Fran, there would be HUGE outcry if the language was Hebrew. Imagine immersion in German back in the 30's in a public school. But maybe if we UNDERSTAND our enemies, they won't attack us economically and eventually militarily.

What's scary is America is the last good hope in the world, because Europe has all but capitulated to China and Muslim extremism. Hopefully Americans can pull our collective heads out of the sand before it is too late to save this country.

Posted By Nestor, Austin, TX : 7:06 PM ET
As a former English teacher in Korea, I noticed that the younger the student, the faster the progression of learning a second language. It seems it is never to early to start, and whether it is Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic or any other language, the United States needs to integrate more of these programs into our education system.

Posted By Trevin Portland OR : 7:40 PM ET
Certainly, this is one strategy to prepare for the growth of China.

From a different perspective:
I hope this is a wake up call for those who have argued that 鈥減eople who cannot understand and speak English should not even be in the United States, let alone become citizens.鈥?I absolutely disagree, for one鈥檚 language does not define one鈥檚 character and ability. Language is a form of communication, also an art.

In addition, there are individuals whose primary language is English and cannot even understand and speak it properly, let alone excel in a second language. I applaud these five-year-olds.

Posted By Jacqueline Hsieh of Elmhurst, New York : 7:57 PM ET
Dear friends,

I support bilingual education in the United States. I think more students should learn Chinese. This is going to be very important in the future. The only serious concern I have is if these students are using educational materials from mainland China. China is not a free country. The Chinese Communist Party uses education as a strong form of social control. I think many US parents would disapprove of the content promoted by mainland China. I also urge caution with entering into relationships with mainland Chinese schools and universities. Equal opportunity does not exist in China. Many American students would be either persecuted or denied access to education in China if they belonged to certain ethnic or spiritual groups. It is also a question of what you want to support with your money and your child鈥檚 participation. Would you buy your Korean language materials from North Korea or South Korea? Which country or organization would you feel comfortable buying Arabic language materials from? I know trade is popular with China right now, but it is important to think about these things carefully. It might help to spend some extra time to make sure you are getting Chinese language materials developed by Americans or developed in Taiwan.

Posted By Lee. Middletown, NY : 8:00 PM ET
Hi Dan,
I feel that this is a really beautiful program. I believe that we should all be taught a second language. It helps our brain to think and expand but the most important thing another language teaches us is how to communicate with others. The more communication we have with others the closer we can all come together in peace!
Bravo for these students, teachers, and parents wanting to teach and learn another language.
Myself? I plan on learning a second language just as soon as I master ENGLISH!!!!
Aprender otro idiom lleva a la paz en el mundo. Dios Bendice!

Posted By Betty Ann, Nacogdoches,TX : 8:23 PM ET
"I speak English, so I don't have to learn a foreign language...."

Everyone speaks English, right? Well, certainly not everyone speaks English. According to the CIA World Fact Book, only 5.6 % of the world's total population speaks English as a primary language. That number doubles when people who speak English as a second or third language are counted. By conservative estimates, that means that well over four-fifths of the world's population does not speak English.

It's true that English has become a global lingua franca over the past several decades; this fact, however, really should have little effect on your decision to learn a foreign language. The attitude that English alone is enough, in fact, creates self-imposed limitations. To remain monolingual is to stunt your educational development, to restrict your communication and thinking abilities, and to deny yourself the ability to fully appreciate and understand the world in which you live. Learning another language opens up new opportunities and gives you perspectives that you might never have encountered otherwise. Personal, professional, social, and economic considerations all point to the advantages of learning foreign languages.
Info from www.vistawide.com/language
I think these kids are of to a great start, kudos to their parents.

Posted By Valerie, Hesston KS : 9:27 PM ET
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Tonight I have a good topic to discuss with Brad, who is my English teacher .
Thank you!

His opinion is good or bad，half and half……

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