Focus on Friends Winter 2011

Focus onFriends February 2011 Special Issue: New Chinese Language Program at Friends A newsletter for families and friends of

Wilmington Friends School

101 School Rd. Wilmington DE 19803

February 2011 Special Issue

In November 2010, Head of School Bryan Garman announced that Wilmington Friends would add Mandarin to its language curriculum, with courses for grades 6-12 to be phased in starting in 2011-2012.

“This important decision strengthens and expands our commitment to offering an outstanding program in international education,” Bryan said. “Twenty percent of the world’s population speaks Mandarin, and we believe that knowledge of Chinese language and culture will prepare our students to engage in conversations crucial to the political, economic, and environmental sustainability of the planet.”

The school’s Board of Trustees finalized the decision to add Mandarin at its fall retreat in September 2010. Board Chair David Singleton said, “We had been talking about and researching this possibility since the development of our 2008 Strategic Plan. There was a strong sense of agreeement that we need to teach a nonWestern language as part of a global education program. And of course, there is a strong sense of agreement far beyond our campus on the growing importance of learning about Chinese language and culture ~ it’s not an educational fashion; it’s a 21st century skill.”(See page 2.)

Friends launched an online pilot program in Mandarin in the fall of 2010, with five seniors and one junior participating. That experience helped to secure support for offering a full Mandarin curriculum. The Language Department, chaired by Bradey Bulk, has worked on implementation plans throughout the year. (See page 4.)

The interdivisional Mandarin program, supported by cultural and history study, joins the International Baccalaureate (IB) and School Year Abroad (SYA) as signature global learning programs at Friends.

友朋 Friends

学校 School Thanks to Renee Dong, Instructor of Chinese at the University of Delaware, for our translations and for her time and valued counsel. All photos are from the Friends Lower School Chinese New Year celebration, wonderfully organized by Spanish teacher Jennifer Cheung.

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Focus onFriends Why Chinese? (Part 1 - World Events/Expert Opinion) Excerpts reprinted with permission from http://asiasociety.org; the Asia Society was founded by John D. Rockefeller III in 1956, and is a global organization working “to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of the United States and Asia.”

The rise of China has presented new economic, political and social realities that demand greater U.S. engagement at every level. As a result, there is an urgent need in schools to create programs that will raise the number of Americans who can demonstrate a functional proficiency in Chinese language....

China’s increasing political importance in the Asia-Pacific region is now broadly acknowledged and, particularly in the post-9/11 era, its help has become sought by countries such as the United States on resolving difficult foreign policy issues such as North Korea and continuing the fight against international terrorism.

Collaboration with China is becoming increasingly essential for solving a vast range of global issues; from nuclear proliferation and green initiatives to currency exchange problems and outlining modern trade laws, there are fewer world projects that can be solved without China’s involvement every day.

China’s tremendous economic growth has created new opportunities and challenges for U.S. businesses....[And] as a world civilization that has endured a 5,000 year and mostly exclusive history, modern China is poised to become a major international cultural presence.

Why Chinese? (Part 2 - Direct Research/Experience) The Board of Trustees finalized the decision to add Chinese after three years of research and program experience, culminating in an online pilot program this year.

The school administration and Language Department conducted site visits and consultations with regional schools with both established and newly implemented Chinese language programs. Administrators also consulted with University of Delaware faculty, including Irene Vogel, Friends parent and Professor of Linguistics and Cognitive Sciences, and Renee Dong, Instructor of Chinese, and with Tommy Lu at the Chinese American Community Center in Hockessin. In addition, Head of School Bryan Garman and Head of Upper School Rebecca Zug had their own experience from supervising the Chinese program at Sidwell Friends.

Other experiences with the language came through travel. In the summer of 2008, John Taggart ’10, Blaine Kebede ’11, and teachers Karen Horikawa and Stephanie Knudsen participated in a People-to-People “Gateways to China” trip. Blaine then decided to spend her junior year in China through School Year Abroad. In the summer of 2010, teachers Julie Rodowsky and Christopher Verry received Reilly Family travel grants to participate in a China trip with Renee Dong and her husband, renowned University of Delaware violinist Xiang Gao. Finally, members of the Board had personal and professional experience to draw upon. Scott Gates ~ a Friends alumnus, parent, and trustee ~ has worked extensively with business and government leaders in China. He said, “My own experience has been very profound in learning how deeply the Chinese language is interwoven with the culture and a way of looking at the world. Having a basic understanding of the language is, in itself, an incredible education ~ not just about China but how perspectives, including our own, are shaped and communicated.

Because the differences are so apparent, you pay attention to what you have in common and learn a lot about yourself in the process.”

• “If you want one year of prosperity, then grow grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, then grow trees. But if you want 100 years of prosperity, then you grow people.”

- President Barack Obama, quoting a Chinese proverb, in a toast welcoming Chinese President Hu Jintao, at the state dinner on January 19, 2011.

• Chinese, spoken by 1/5 of the world’s population, is listed as a “critical language” under the National Security Language Initiative.

• In 2007, the United States exported $65.2 billion in goods to China, a 1,692% increase since 1985.

• In 2007, the United States imported $321.5 billion in goods from China, an increase of 8,323% since 1985.

• China’s economy, as measured by gross domestic product, grew at an annual rate of 9.8% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

• The Wall Street Journal (January 18, 2011) reported on a study by the University of Phoenix Research Institute, surveying employers about skills that will be in demand 10 years from now: “42% of employers expect business proficiency in Chinese to be in moderate or high demand in a decade.”

• Enrollment in college Chinese courses increased 18% from the fall of 2006 to the fall of 2009.

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Focus onFriends Which Students Should Take Chinese?

There is no one “type” of student who should (or should not) take Chinese. An interest in the language and culture and a sense of determination are the only prerequisites.

It does take English speakers longer to learn Chinese than to learn Spanish or French ~ about three or four times as long ~ thus the need for determination. But students will not be expected to learn four times as much content in a year if they are taking Mandarin; beginner courses will be for beginners.

Although the language is difficult in many ways, it may be easier in other ways for some students; Mandarin does not have gender, tense, or conjugation. And, although the characters can seem intimidating at first, students do not need any special artistic talent to write them.

Language Department Chair Bradey Bulk said, “The visual aspect of Mandarin can appeal to visual learners; the tonality can appeal to auditory learners. As with any language, students, with help from teachers, will need to find the study approach that works best for them.”

Chinese New Year in Lower School Spanish, thanks to teacher Jennifer Cheung: Fifth graders had a “lion dance parade” (page 1), and all classes were encouraged to wear good-luck red for their feast ~ long noodles for long life, oranges for happiness/prosperity, and Swedish fish candy representing the whole fish traditionally served and the hope for sweet things through the year.

Bradey emphasized the value of studying the Chinese language for students interested in learning about Chinese culture. “Mandarin is a window into seeing things the ‘Chinese Way,’” Bradey said.

“For example, where an American will very directly say ‘no,’ Chinese speakers will be less direct but get the same meaning across. Similarly, they may avoid a direct request, more implying wants than stating them.”

“Offering three modern languages certainly strengthens our identity as a global school,” Bradey said, adding, “I’m excited for our students.”

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Focus onFriends Mandarin at Friends Fifth Grade & Lower School Fifth graders will continue to study in the lower school Spanish program. The fifth grade faculty and Language Department are working together on the best way to incorporate an introduction to the Chinese and French languages, as well as some history and cultural study. The goal is to continue to build the global studies program, while providing experiences to help students and families make an informed decision about middle school language choice.

Sixth Grade & Middle School Sixth graders will be able to take Chinese, French, or Spanish, and will stay with that choice through middle school. Students in seventh and eighth grade in 2011-12 will continue with their current language, and will have the option of starting Chinese study in ninth grade. The seventh grade social studies and English programs incorporate topics in Chinese history and culture.

Ninth Grade, Upper School & IB Ninth graders and other upper school students who have completed their language requirement may take Mandarin in 2011-12. The plan is, as scheduling permits, to continue to allow interested juniors and seniors to enroll in the first-year Mandarin course either as a second foreign language and/or once they complete their language requirement in French or Spanish.

Ultimately, Mandarin will be a “Language B” option for International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and Certificate candidates. It will likely take four years to get there, with one level of study being added each year until there is a full sequence of Mandarin courses in grades 6-12. The Language Department will evaluate the point at which courses can be aligned with IB requirements and exam preparation.

Characters and “Pinyin” The Mandarin program at Friends will use the “Simplified” Chinese character system that is used in mainland China. The Chinese government began simplifying characters in the 1950s, as a way of promoting literacy and standardizing the language from region to region. The characters are built from eight base strokes. “Once students learn the base strokes,” Language Department Chair Bradey Bulk said, “combining them to construct the characters becomes more of a logical process.”

The program will also use the “Hanyu Pinyin,” usually known just as Pinyin, system of Romanization ~ the process of transcribing a language into the Latin alphabet. Because there was no native phonetic transcription until relatively recently, Romanization became common for teaching spoken Chinese, even in China. The Pinyin system also includes accent marks to indicate tonality, which, Bradey noted, is critical. “For example,” she said, “tonality can be the difference between ‘mother’ and ‘horse,’ both of which are Romanized to ‘ma.’” Pinyin is almost universally used for teaching spoken Chinese in schools and universities across the U.S., Europe, and Australia.

Spanish teacher Jennifer Cheung used Pinyin to teach Friends lower school students how to say Happy New Year in Mandarin: “Xin Nian Kuai Le.”

谢谢 Thank you.