Knowledge of Mandarin language will grow in importance

What a pleasant surprise to read the article, “Teacher speaks, students learn,” (AC-T, Oct. 23), describing a high school in Swain County which is presently the only school in the state of North Carolina to have a native teacher of Chinese brought to the school from China under the State Department's Teachers of Critical Languages Programs.

Knowledge of Mandarin language will grow in importance

And all it took to initiate the program which supports its globalization thrust was an application submission by an energetic mathematics teacher who understood the need for the language. (Math, I suppose, can be considered a universal foreign language like Esperanto). “The tip of my hat to her”, as Ken Richards, former president of the Asheville Sister Cities program, would likely have said, too.


That undertaking, though not related to her students' progress in algebra or calculus, will, I hope, weigh heavily in her performance evaluation. And how satisfying it was to learn that the average English language class size in Harbin (once called “East Moscow” because of the large number of Russian immigrants before Oct. 1, 1949) is about six times greater than our average class size.


Of course, because of last year's Beijing Olympics and next year's World's Fair in Shanghai, knowledge of English, unlike Chinese in the U.S., is in great demand. But it is and will be important for our younger generation to study Chinese Mandarin because the language is the vehicle for learning about the culture and for understanding people's views of the world, particularly for a country which will soon rank number two in total Gross Domestic Product and whose language is spoken and read by the largest number of people in the world.


The article indicated that plans were afoot to expand K-12 Mandarin teaching in WNC through cooperation with WCU. I hope, however, that Buncombe County's local colleges and universities will also have courses available which will further strengthen high school graduates' Mandarin learning, in addition to related courses in the humanities, the arts and the social sciences. No doubt the funding is available and all it requires, as we have seen, is some industrious faculty or staff member to complete and submit an application for financial support.


And any connection need not necessarily be confined to Mainland China. Since 1949 the U.S. has had a long relationship with Taiwan, which is also Mandarin speaking. In fact, UNCA has already established a connection with a Taiwan university through a Reuter Center exchange, and the university three years ago approved a student bilateral exchange agreement with City University of Hong Kong. Hong Kong since 1997 is a special region of China.




Indeed, it seems reasonable as a start for two public universities so close to one another, UNCA and WCU, to share visiting Mandarin language teachers.


Bertrand Horwitz is a resident of Asheville and professor emeritus, State University of New York at Binghamton. He has lectured in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan since 1981.
In your voice|Read reactions to this story Newest first Oldest first

Add your comment (max 1000 characters)
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register




1000characters left


{staffMark}{authorIcon}{authorHandle} wrote:
{commentBody}
{commentTimestamp} {commentBody} {authorNameHandle} {recommendLink} {newpostLink} {replylink} {reportAbuseLink}
Report item as: (required) X Obscenity/vulgarity Hate speech Personal attack Advertising/Spam Copyright/Plagiarism Other Comment: (optional)
Missing input fields.You must fill out the comment body in order to submit a comment.
Comment too long.The comment you have entered is too long. Please limit your post to {maxchars} characters or less. Related Topics

■Places - Asheville, NC, China, Swain County, NC, World News
■Science/Technology - Mathematics, Science
■Life - Travel, China Travel
Contextual linking provided by Topix




More Opinion headlines
InstaLetters for November 12 (5)
Shuler betrayed his supporters with health care reform “nay” (34)
Rail service to WNC should be more than a dream (1)
Politics is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're gonna get (2)
Ads by Pulse 360 Get Listed HereHartford Refinance at 4.25% FIXED!
No hidden fees! (4.4% APR) Get 4 FREE Quotes! No SSN reqd.
www.LendGo.com
Obama’s School Stimulus Money $$$
Get Financial Assistance and Go to School Online. Start Today!
ClassesAndCareers.com/Stimulus
Online Six Sigma Training
Earn Six Sigma Master Certificate From Villanova U
www.VillanovaU.com


Resource :
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091112/OPINION03/91111050/1006