Why in the World Are We Teaching Chinese?

This is a question I have heard asked time and again both on the street and in private discussions and as we grow as a school, learning new information about how foreign language impacts our youth, it seems it is a question that need be addressed. This article is meant to better explain and perhaps educate those who don't realize how foreign languages strongly impact our students as they grow older and move out into the real world.

Foreign languages usually consist of Spanish and in a few schools, perhaps French or German are offered. Few schools offer Chinese although as the years pass and studies have shown that Chinese is a beneficial language for our children to learn in more than one way, more schools have added it to their curriculum. Sadly enough, in tight economies and even tighter budgets, oftentimes foreign languages are some of the first to be eliminated or cut down to a point where they barely skim the surface in terms of the advantages a foreign language can offer. This does not benefit the school district except in fiscal matters, but instead hurts our children when it comes to growth in important parts of their minds and lives.

According to DUKE GIFTED LETTER: Volume 8, Issue 1, Fall 2007, "Many studies have demonstrated the benefits of second language learning not only on student's linguistic abilities but on their cognitive and creative abilities as well." Simply said, learning a foreign language does not stop when the bell rings in terms of educational value, it carries over into other subjects as well, causing the student to grown academically in ways only learning a language can.

Martha G. Abbott, Director of Education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) states, "It is critical that foreign language instruction be available to all students throughout their PK-12 academic experience. Knowing other languages and understanding other cultures is a 21st Century skill set for American students as they prepare to live and work in a global society. No matter what career students enter, they will be interacting with others around the world on a routine basis and doing business locally with those whose native language is not English." This down to earth explanation only underscores the importance of adding foreign languages in order to compliment the social studies, sciences and world history classes taught in our schools. When it comes to everyday life, even the simple act of reading a newspaper or magazine can be a part of learning benefits language offers, giving the student a different view of the world than they might have had otherwise.

Abbott goes on to strongly emphasize, "It is critical that foreign language instruction be available to all students throughout their PK-12 academic experience. Knowing other languages and understanding other cultures is a 21st Century skill set for American students as they prepare to live and work in a global society. No matter what career students enter, they will be interacting with others around the world on a routine basis and doing business locally with those whose native language is not English."

This makes sense in a way that anyone of any educational background can easily grasp, for as one young student at Wellman Elementary told me recently, "If I learn Chinese, I'll learn more not just about the language but the people too and that helps us to get closer to understanding each other better." And isn't that the purpose of learning on a whole, and language in particular? Sure, there is the fluency and ease of being able to converse with a person in their native language but the added benefit of knowing more about that culture through the language is a bonus that is priceless and one that will only benefit both parties involved.

Presently many schools around the country, offer Chinese and Spanish on a limited basis. Elementary students are taught Chinese by Jean Linn Hussey and Yehmin Yu at Mid-Prairie schools in Kalona, IA., and they are not alone. More and more schools are adding Chinese to their curriculum. But sadly enough, this education usually stops when students enter middle school as there is not a program in place to continue on where these two educators left off. Many parents ask, and rightly so, "What is the benefit of teaching Chinese in elementary school and not carrying it on into middle school and high school?" And that is a good question. Studies have shown that students who have the opportunity to have even a smattering of review in Chinese in later years are far ahead of their peers when they go to college in a number of ways, not all of them language related. Many have suggested and even requested that Chinese be offered at the middle school and high school basis but at the writing of this article, the idea is just that, an idea and quite frankly, the funding is not available, no matter how beneficial the continuation of this language might be.

According to Jean Linn Hussey, Chinese teacher at Mid-Prairie schools, about the benefits of learning Chinese, she stated, "First of all when you look at the future, you see a lot of Chinese being spoken not only in business but in everyday life. More and more Chinese are coming to the U.S. and we are having more contact with Chinese and learning it helps open wide opportunities within the world when it comes to economics." Explaining that teaching Chinese is perfect for young minds as they grasp and remember the concepts of the way the language is formed better than their older counterparts, Hussey went on to say, "When these students go on to visit China they will be able to do business with the Chinese with much more ease and comfort, after working in the schools with the language. The younger the age the child begins to learn Chinese the easier it is for them. It is a natural thing for younger students to pick up the language and build on their knowledge."

And it is a natural thing for students to pick up languages according to many experts. Their brains are at a development point in their early years of education where they have more flexibility when it comes to grasping and remembering new concepts, languages included. Elementary age students have within them the capacity to produce near native-like pronunciation and intonation in any new language presented to them. In addition to this learning ability, students in younger grade levels have a natural curiosity about new things (languages included) which presents itself in a vibrant, new, accepting way when they are exposed to learning a new language in the classroom at a young age. In addition to this acceptance of the language taught, they also have an open acceptance of other cultures while learning these languages, something educators do not see in those students who are not active in foreign language courses.

Therese Sullivan Caccavale, president of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) underscores the additional benefits of foreign language learning by stating, "Foreign language learning is much more a cognitive problem solving activity than a linguistic activity, overall. Studies have shown repeatedly that foreign language learning increases critical thinking skills, creativity, and flexibility of mind in young children. Students who are learning a foreign language out-score their non-foreign language learning peers in the verbal and, surprisingly to some, the math sections of standardized tests. This relationship between foreign language study and increased mathematical skill development, particularly in the area of problem solving, points once again to the fact that second language learning is more of a cognitive than linguistic activity."

And if this is not enough information to convince that foreign language has far more benefits than mere speaking another language consider this. Harwich, Massachusetts performed a study in 2007, where it was demonstrated without a doubt, that students who studied a foreign language in a sequence consisting of sections united year by year, outperformed their non-foreign language learning peers on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test after two-three years and outperformed them at an astounding rate after seven-eight years on all MCAS subtests. The evidence is out there concerning the importance of foreign language in the development of student performance, but for one reason or another, it is being ignored.

Chinese for example in most schools around the country, is only offered K-5. That is well and good but as several parents have commented, "what about grades 6-12? What good is elementary Chinese if they can't go on with the language?" "Will they eventually lose what they have learned in those 6 years?" As has been previously mentioned, it is of utmost importance the language be taught " in a sequence consisting of sections united year by year." This allows for more growth not just of the language but of the benefits the language has in other aspects of a child's education. And when children are exposed to a language at an early age and grow a respect and appreciation for said language, they can only excel in that language as they move through the school system.

Chinese is not the only language that is suffering due to what I suspect are budget problems, Spanish also is effected when it comes to being a consistent in our educational system. Throughout elementary school, Spanish is a constant part of the curriculum but when middle school comes around, the opportunities to take Spanish drop considerably, leaving students to possibly forget or even stall the growth they worked so hard to maintain in elementary school. Their exposure to Spanish is dim when compared to that of daily Social Studies or even Reading, both which would benefit from students having more of a background in Spanish. When faced once again with Spanish in High School, a lot of "catch up" occurs, something that could be avoided should Spanish be added on a more consistent basis in the middle school setting.

And for those who worry that additional languages classes will cut into overall academic performance consider this study mentioned in Duke's newsletter mentioned above, "Furthermore, there is research (Webb bibliography) that shows that children who study a foreign language, even when this second language study takes time away from the study of mathematics, outperform (on standardized tests of mathematics) students who do not study a foreign language and have more mathematical instruction during the school day. Again, this research upholds the notion that learning a second language is an exercise in cognitive problem solving and that the effects of second language instruction are directly transferable to the area of mathematical skill development."

Simply said, language is not just the learning of a different way to communicate. It does not just expand a student's communication skills. It also aids in ways that benefit problem solving, and math skills as well. Strange as it may sound, language affects the educational growth far past "ni hao" or "hola"; it reaches into other parts of our students educational growth as well.

In short, it is the opinion of many authorities such as those quoted above and others as well that our children obtain and use more foreign language in their lives, as early as possible. With the world speeding towards higher educational growth, it only makes sense that we use every means possible to help them reach their potential. The place to start is in our schools by taking a closer look at how and when we teach these languages and how we can find more time for them in our busy days.

Caccavale sums it up quite nicely in saying, "...children who start learning a second language before puberty seem to outperform, over the long run, older children and adults who begin the study of a second language after puberty and continue to study that language for the same number of years. Similarly, children who start learning a language at young ages have better opportunities to develop native pronunciation and intonation. But motivation is key as research shows that that motivation can help students to overcome some age-related factors in second language learning."

If motivation is the key to learning, then more and more schools are ahead of the game. Now all that is needed, according to those involved in the foreign language programs, is to find a way to bridge the current gaps and offer even more foreign language to our students so that when faced with the real world and the future, they can meet it head on, with confidence and knowledge gleaned from our schools.