Just one more reason to start learning Chinese in 2010...for more info on private tutoring, adult lessons or our Corporate program, please email us at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
NY Times: For American Workers in China, a Culture Clash
For American Workers in China, a Culture Clash
By HANNAH SELIGSON
December 23, 2009
As more Americans go to mainland China to take jobs, more Chinese and Americans are working side by side. These cross-cultural partnerships, while beneficial in many ways, are also highlighting tensions that expose differences in work experience, pay levels and communication.
In the last few years, a growing number of Americans in their 20s and 30s have been heading to China for employment, lured by its faster-growing economy and lower jobless rate. Their Chinese co-workers are often around the same age.
“The tight collaboration of the two countries in business and science makes the Chinese-American pairing one of the most common in the workplace in China,” said Vas Taras, a management professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a specialist in cross-cultural work group management.
But the two groups were raised differently.
The Americans have had more exposure to free-market principles. “Young Americans were brought up in a commercial environment,” said Neng Zhao, 28, a senior associate at Blue Oak Capital, a private equity firm based in Beijing. “We weren’t. So the workplace is a unique learning process for my generation.”
People in Ms. Zhao’s generation were born around or shortly after Deng Xiaoping opened up China to the West, so China has evolved from a government-regulated economy to a more free-market system in their lifetime. Therefore, they can face a steeper learning curve.
Sean Leow, 28, founder of Neocha, a social networking site based in Shanghai, says young Chinese employees often enter jobs with less hands-on preparation. They may also have less understanding of client services, he said.
In addition, he said, “I know a lot of my Chinese colleagues did not do internships in college,” in contrast to United States students.
Managers hiring workers in China appear to be paying a premium for Western experience. Foreigners tend to earn 10 to 15 percent more than their Chinese counterparts in similar positions, said Michael Norman, senior vice president at Sibson Consulting, an American firm.
That imbalance does not go unnoticed by Chinese workers. “There is definitely the perception that Americans get paid more for the same work,” said Ting Wang, 25, an associate at WildChina, a travel company based in Beijing.
The difference is a function of supply and demand, Mr. Norman said. “If you need the foreigner for their specialized knowledge of the West, companies are willing to pay a little more.”
On the other hand, Chinese workers have a deeper understanding of the influences, like Confucianism and Communism, that play a part in their country’s culture and economy.
It is imperative for Americans working in China to adjust, said Mr. Norman, who works on management and work force issues for multinational companies operating in Asia.
“In the West, there is such a premium on getting things done quickly, but when you come to work in China, you need to work on listening and being more patient and understanding of local ways of doing business,” he said.
Ming Alterman, 25, a senior account executive at Razorfish, a Shanghai-based digital media firm, is the only American among 40 employees. He says Americans need to understand the importance of building so-called guanxi (pronounced GWAN-she). The word means relationships, but has implications beyond the obligatory happy hour, occasional lunches with the boss or networking.
“In China, it’s really expected that you become friends with your boss and you go out and socialize in a way that doesn’t happen in the U.S.,” Mr. Alterman said.
The Chinese now rising in the work force were raised and educated in a system that tended to prize obedience and rote learning. Their American counterparts may have had more leeway to question authority and speak their minds. This can affect workplace communication.
When Corinne Dillon, 25, was working at a multinational company in Beijing, she noticed that her Chinese colleagues were sometimes hesitant about expressing their opinions, which she thought was rooted in views about hierarchy.
“Because foreigners are often in higher positions in companies, or even when they are not, there is sometimes an implicit respect given to them that makes Chinese people not want to directly disagree with them for fear of being perceived as impolite,” said Ms. Dillon, who is now director of sales and marketing at That’s Mandarin, a language school based in Beijing.
The difference cuts both ways. Ms. Zhao, of Blue Oak Capital, recalled her first experience working for an American at an American-run agency in Beijing. What her American boss perceived as directness left her feeling humiliated, she said. “I remember I was so embarrassed when my American boss told me he didn’t like something I was doing, right in front of me,” she said. “The Chinese way would have been much more indirect.”
Communication styles, Professor Taras said, can create workplace challenges. “Americans often perceive the Chinese as indecisive, less confident and not tough enough, whereas the Chinese may see Americans as rude or inconsiderate.”
This, he said, “can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings, but also affect promotion and task assignment choice, and ultimately performance.”
What is similar, though, is that both the Americans and the Chinese perceive a glass ceiling. “Most expats don’t speak good enough Chinese, so their promotion prospects are limited, and on a social and cultural level, young Chinese feel there are barriers that are hard to get past,” said Ziyu Wen, 28, who works with Americans in her job as a communications manager in Beijing.
Despite the tension, the Chinese-American pairing holds many economic and political benefits for both countries.
“China needs workers who understand China and the West, so they can develop a business presence and influence in overseas markets,” Mr. Norman said.
“Likewise, America needs people who truly understand the Chinese, in order to compete and cooperate.” Having Americans working alongside the Chinese in China, he said, “is one of the best ways to cultivate and internalize this understanding for the future.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/business/global/24chinawork.html?_r=2
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
CLSC Alumni Student Wins Intel Scholarship
CLSC graduate, current Boston University student and Stamford, CT native, Wes Uy was the winner of the third season of WGBH's Design Squad on PBS and the $10,000 scholarship provided by the Intel Foundation.
The finale episode is currently available in full on
http://pbskids.org/designsquad/season3/index.html
Wes's cast page is http://pbskids.org/designsquad/season3/cast/03-wes.html.
The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series Design Squad is high-energy, high-drama reality TV that lets kids show off their smarts as they design and build working
solutions for real-world clients-people who are hungry for clever ideas from a new
generation of innovators. From creating remote-controlled flying football targets
for Hasbro to dry land dog sleds for the Jamaica Dog Sled Team, the action
culminates in the final episode when the top two scorers battle for the Grand Prize:
a $10,000 college scholarship from the Intel Foundation.
Way to go, Wes!!
The finale episode is currently available in full on
http://pbskids.org/designsquad/season3/index.html
Wes's cast page is http://pbskids.org/designsquad/season3/cast/03-wes.html.
The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series Design Squad is high-energy, high-drama reality TV that lets kids show off their smarts as they design and build working
solutions for real-world clients-people who are hungry for clever ideas from a new
generation of innovators. From creating remote-controlled flying football targets
for Hasbro to dry land dog sleds for the Jamaica Dog Sled Team, the action
culminates in the final episode when the top two scorers battle for the Grand Prize:
a $10,000 college scholarship from the Intel Foundation.
Way to go, Wes!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Banking and Finance in China in the 1970s and 80s
JP Morgan Chase Chairman (China) Peter Rupert Lighte has published a book, with proceeds going to benefit children in orphanages in China via Half the Sky Foundation.
Buy the book here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/pieces-of-china/6068378
From: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/12/07/memoirs-of-a-banker/
December 7, 2009, 7:41 AM ET
Memoirs of a Banker
For years, longtime China banker Peter Rupert Lighte has been diligently taking notes in the endless meetings that bankers have to sit through. Little did his colleagues realize that he wasn’t tallying profits and losses but jotting down ideas for his sideline profession of memoir writer.
Now the chairman of JP Morgan Chase Bank (China) Co. has published them in a book aimed at helping Chinese orphans. “Pieces of China” evokes an era of late 1970s, early 1980s Taiwan and China, when Lighte–a trained scholar of classical Chinese–was getting started in banking and both regions were in the midst of huge economic changes.
The book is available free online but Lighte hopes readers will buy the book for $18 with profits going to Half the Sky Foundation , one of the few foreign-run charities that has been licensed by the Chinese government.
Now 60 years old, Lighte has kept diaries for years but says the stories are drawn entirely from memory. Most striking is that they are replete with telling details, such as the time he was at a dinner table for U.S. Thanksgiving with President Ronald Reagan and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang. Zhao wondered why the holiday was celebrated with mere poultry and kept quizzing the president on the price of turkey in the U.S., while the president kept trying to talk about the pilgrims.
“In a funny way, only details are worth remembering,” Lighte said in an interview. “The beauty is in the detail of recollection–it’s the only thing that brings you into the present of the memory.”
Most evocative are the stories about the strange world of banking and business in the early 1980s. Lighte was living, like many foreign businessmen, in the Jianguo Hotel–they were not allowed to rent apartments. He write about his relations with Chinese people, including a funny story on how his assistant tried to get hair to grow on his bald head.
Beside helping orphans, Lighte hopes the stories will mean something to his two adopted Chinese daughters. A student of the “Book of Changes” (the “Yi Jing”), Lighte wants them to see that while the pace of change in China is rapid, it’s connected to a past that they shouldn’t forget. “In a funny way when you live in China it’s a unique period of time but it’s all a piece of the cloth.”
– Ian Johnson
Buy the book here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/pieces-of-china/6068378
From: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/12/07/memoirs-of-a-banker/
December 7, 2009, 7:41 AM ET
Memoirs of a Banker
For years, longtime China banker Peter Rupert Lighte has been diligently taking notes in the endless meetings that bankers have to sit through. Little did his colleagues realize that he wasn’t tallying profits and losses but jotting down ideas for his sideline profession of memoir writer.
Now the chairman of JP Morgan Chase Bank (China) Co. has published them in a book aimed at helping Chinese orphans. “Pieces of China” evokes an era of late 1970s, early 1980s Taiwan and China, when Lighte–a trained scholar of classical Chinese–was getting started in banking and both regions were in the midst of huge economic changes.
The book is available free online but Lighte hopes readers will buy the book for $18 with profits going to Half the Sky Foundation , one of the few foreign-run charities that has been licensed by the Chinese government.
Now 60 years old, Lighte has kept diaries for years but says the stories are drawn entirely from memory. Most striking is that they are replete with telling details, such as the time he was at a dinner table for U.S. Thanksgiving with President Ronald Reagan and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang. Zhao wondered why the holiday was celebrated with mere poultry and kept quizzing the president on the price of turkey in the U.S., while the president kept trying to talk about the pilgrims.
“In a funny way, only details are worth remembering,” Lighte said in an interview. “The beauty is in the detail of recollection–it’s the only thing that brings you into the present of the memory.”
Most evocative are the stories about the strange world of banking and business in the early 1980s. Lighte was living, like many foreign businessmen, in the Jianguo Hotel–they were not allowed to rent apartments. He write about his relations with Chinese people, including a funny story on how his assistant tried to get hair to grow on his bald head.
Beside helping orphans, Lighte hopes the stories will mean something to his two adopted Chinese daughters. A student of the “Book of Changes” (the “Yi Jing”), Lighte wants them to see that while the pace of change in China is rapid, it’s connected to a past that they shouldn’t forget. “In a funny way when you live in China it’s a unique period of time but it’s all a piece of the cloth.”
– Ian Johnson
Friday, December 11, 2009
CLSC Instructor Initiates Chinese at Bridgeport's Harding High School
CLSC instructor Lei (Gordon) Cheng has faciliated a new Chinese program at Bridgeport's Warren Harding High School.
http://www.newstimes.com/schools/article/Harding-offers-a-new-accent-in-learning-Chinese-278120.php
"Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. In Connecticut, according to the latest available statistics, just 593 public high school students in the state were studying Chinese. That is double the number taking it in 2005, but compares to 70,791 who took Spanish in 2007"
Harding offers a new accent in learning: Chinese
By Linda Conner Lambeck, STAFF WRITER
Published: 04:15 p.m., Sunday, December 6, 2009
BRIDGEPORT -- Griselle Lopez and Alberto Santiago converse briefly in Spanish, their native tongue, before pulling their chairs together to rehearse a brief monologue in Mandarin Chinese.
"OK, guys," announces Lei "Gordon" Cheng, their instructor, when time is up.
Seven weeks into a course held twice a week after school at Warren Harding High School, Lopez and Santiago, both 17, manage to plow through the transliterated dialogue about how many people are in their family and what they do.
When one stumbled, the other offered a little coaching by mouthing the words or using hand gestures in encouragement. They are followed by five other pairs of Harding students who had varying levels of success with Chinese tone and pronunciation.
Cheng is the first to admit, Chinese is not an easy language to learn. Some say it takes twice as long to learn as other languages. Yet, Cheng said his Harding students seem to have what it takes to learn the language. "They are enthusiastic, self-motivated and smart. I am learning from them. I teach them Chinese. They teach me English, and a little bit of Spanish," said Cheng, who is a University of Bridgeport graduate student.
The program brings together 20 students, most from Harding's World Language Academy, and the resources of UB's School of Education for a year-long class. The class meets from 2:45 to 4:15 twice weekly through the end of the year.
William Jassey, director of the international degree program at UB, said the idea came from Harding Principal Carol Birks, who used to run Gear Up, a college preparatory program, at UB.
"It's just a great opportunity to expose them to another language," said Birks. "We offer French and Spanish. We don't offer Chinese, which is one of the languages students today should know."
Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. In Connecticut, according to the latest available statistics, just 593 public high school students in the state were studying Chinese. That is double the number taking it in 2005, but compares to 70,791 who took Spanish in 2007.
Birks said she used $5,000 from a federal Small Learning Communities grant to hire the teacher and provide transportation to cultural activities at UB. The class has already made the trip once to campus to meet with UB's large Chinese student population. There is also a before-school Chinese art class.
Leticia Castro, 16, a Harding senior, took the class because she is interested in Chinese culture and wants to become an engineer and may study abroad. "I think it would be interesting to work in China and talk their language. I don't want to be seen as a foreigner," she said.
Getting used to Chinese pronunciation has been a challenge, Castro added, but she feels she is finally getting the hang of it.
"Sometimes I walk home saying things out loud to myself," she said.
Ricardo Perez, a teacher in Harding's World Language Academy, tells the class the best way to learn a language is to try and internalize it. If they have to think about it, it inhibits fluency.
There are handouts and repetition exercises in Cheng's class, but no one seems bored. There is a buzz and frequent laughter as Cheng reviews body parts in Chinese and watches as students reach for toes and noses. He explains that in Chinese, there are different words for family members -- grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, depending on which side of the family they are and who was born first.
"So many words in Chinese you need to know," he said. So many characters, too. Chinese has thousands of them.
Everyone in the class has a Chinese name, just as Cheng adopted "Gordon" as his English identity.
Lopez entered Harding four years ago not knowing how to speak English. She said Chinese is easier than English. "The letter combinations sound the same as Spanish," she insisted.
"The hardest part is speaking it," Aryzandy Tepale, a 14-year-old freshman, said of Chinese.
Marco Aguilar, 16, a sophomore, said his goal is to place an order in Chinese at a Chinese restaurant.
Though some students in the class are still on their way to mastering English, Perez, said learning two languages at once is a good thing. "They can compare grammar and structure and ways of thinking," he said.
Birks has already talked to district officials about the possibility of adding Chinese as a credit course in the curriculum next year.
http://www.newstimes.com/schools/article/Harding-offers-a-new-accent-in-learning-Chinese-278120.php
"Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. In Connecticut, according to the latest available statistics, just 593 public high school students in the state were studying Chinese. That is double the number taking it in 2005, but compares to 70,791 who took Spanish in 2007"
Harding offers a new accent in learning: Chinese
By Linda Conner Lambeck, STAFF WRITER
Published: 04:15 p.m., Sunday, December 6, 2009
BRIDGEPORT -- Griselle Lopez and Alberto Santiago converse briefly in Spanish, their native tongue, before pulling their chairs together to rehearse a brief monologue in Mandarin Chinese.
"OK, guys," announces Lei "Gordon" Cheng, their instructor, when time is up.
Seven weeks into a course held twice a week after school at Warren Harding High School, Lopez and Santiago, both 17, manage to plow through the transliterated dialogue about how many people are in their family and what they do.
When one stumbled, the other offered a little coaching by mouthing the words or using hand gestures in encouragement. They are followed by five other pairs of Harding students who had varying levels of success with Chinese tone and pronunciation.
Cheng is the first to admit, Chinese is not an easy language to learn. Some say it takes twice as long to learn as other languages. Yet, Cheng said his Harding students seem to have what it takes to learn the language. "They are enthusiastic, self-motivated and smart. I am learning from them. I teach them Chinese. They teach me English, and a little bit of Spanish," said Cheng, who is a University of Bridgeport graduate student.
The program brings together 20 students, most from Harding's World Language Academy, and the resources of UB's School of Education for a year-long class. The class meets from 2:45 to 4:15 twice weekly through the end of the year.
William Jassey, director of the international degree program at UB, said the idea came from Harding Principal Carol Birks, who used to run Gear Up, a college preparatory program, at UB.
"It's just a great opportunity to expose them to another language," said Birks. "We offer French and Spanish. We don't offer Chinese, which is one of the languages students today should know."
Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. In Connecticut, according to the latest available statistics, just 593 public high school students in the state were studying Chinese. That is double the number taking it in 2005, but compares to 70,791 who took Spanish in 2007.
Birks said she used $5,000 from a federal Small Learning Communities grant to hire the teacher and provide transportation to cultural activities at UB. The class has already made the trip once to campus to meet with UB's large Chinese student population. There is also a before-school Chinese art class.
Leticia Castro, 16, a Harding senior, took the class because she is interested in Chinese culture and wants to become an engineer and may study abroad. "I think it would be interesting to work in China and talk their language. I don't want to be seen as a foreigner," she said.
Getting used to Chinese pronunciation has been a challenge, Castro added, but she feels she is finally getting the hang of it.
"Sometimes I walk home saying things out loud to myself," she said.
Ricardo Perez, a teacher in Harding's World Language Academy, tells the class the best way to learn a language is to try and internalize it. If they have to think about it, it inhibits fluency.
There are handouts and repetition exercises in Cheng's class, but no one seems bored. There is a buzz and frequent laughter as Cheng reviews body parts in Chinese and watches as students reach for toes and noses. He explains that in Chinese, there are different words for family members -- grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, depending on which side of the family they are and who was born first.
"So many words in Chinese you need to know," he said. So many characters, too. Chinese has thousands of them.
Everyone in the class has a Chinese name, just as Cheng adopted "Gordon" as his English identity.
Lopez entered Harding four years ago not knowing how to speak English. She said Chinese is easier than English. "The letter combinations sound the same as Spanish," she insisted.
"The hardest part is speaking it," Aryzandy Tepale, a 14-year-old freshman, said of Chinese.
Marco Aguilar, 16, a sophomore, said his goal is to place an order in Chinese at a Chinese restaurant.
Though some students in the class are still on their way to mastering English, Perez, said learning two languages at once is a good thing. "They can compare grammar and structure and ways of thinking," he said.
Birks has already talked to district officials about the possibility of adding Chinese as a credit course in the curriculum next year.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Chinese New Year Festival!
The Chinese Language School of Connecticut will be holding its 8th Annual Chinese New Year Festival on Sunday, February 7, 2010, 12-4pm, at the Stamford Plaza Hotel and Conference Center.
Please join us and help us ring in the Year of the Tiger!
For more info please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Click and Help CLSC Win a Chase Manhattan Grant to Promote Chinese
We are eligible to win $25K from a Chase grant, to local charities (where Chase has offices) throughout the U.S. Please click on the link below and type in our name to vote for Chinese Language School of Connecticut.
Donations, grants and fundraising (which are down considerably these last 2 years) are our primary way of keeping tuition as low as we can, while providing interactive activities and the finest educational materials and faculty training of any U.S. supplementary Chinese language program.
More and more companies are using social networking tools to target clients and promote giving (such as Chase).
Even if you don't have a Facebook account, it's worth it to take 3 minutes, log into to www.facebook.com, and just set yourself up.
Then, click on the following:
To vote: click on the following link:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/
Then you can vote. Total time: 5 minutes. They won't email you, you won't get spam from anyone; it's secure.
Please help us continue promoting Chinese language and culture and vote now!
Thank you!
Donations, grants and fundraising (which are down considerably these last 2 years) are our primary way of keeping tuition as low as we can, while providing interactive activities and the finest educational materials and faculty training of any U.S. supplementary Chinese language program.
More and more companies are using social networking tools to target clients and promote giving (such as Chase).
Even if you don't have a Facebook account, it's worth it to take 3 minutes, log into to www.facebook.com, and just set yourself up.
Then, click on the following:
To vote: click on the following link:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/
Then you can vote. Total time: 5 minutes. They won't email you, you won't get spam from anyone; it's secure.
Please help us continue promoting Chinese language and culture and vote now!
Thank you!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
From Barrons: What if the World is Easternized, not Westernized?
From Barrons, November 23, 2009, also available at: http://online.barrons.com/article/SB125875982246358189.html
IT COULD BE MONTHS OR YEARS UNTIL we understand the impression that President Barack Obama made on the Chinese leadership last week. It took about two months to discover that Nikita Khrushchev had nothing but contempt for President John F. Kennedy after their 1961 meeting in Vienna. The almost immediate result of the Soviet leader's exercise in character assessment was the erection of the Berlin Wall. The Cuban missile crisis followed the next year.
Khrushchev concluded -- we know now from memoirs and archives -- that Kennedy was "too intelligent and too weak." When Khrushchev instructed his East German puppets to start building the wall, Kennedy made only token protest. Intelligently, he told associates that "a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war." But the next year he faced a bigger challenge -- Soviet ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, based in Cuba -- and he met that threat without weakness, by facing down the threat of war.
In the end, it was Khrushchev, not Kennedy, who was too weak. In Cuba, if not in Berlin, his reach exceeded his military grasp. Khrushchev based his policy too much on his assessment of his adversary's character.
Fortunately, after they looked over the brink of nuclear war in 1962, both sides were more determined to be sure that the Cold War stayed cold. There would be wars on the periphery, of which the biggest was in Vietnam, but no direct confrontations. Both sides were patient, waiting for the other to crumple from within.
Economic Engagement
China, thank the world's lucky stars, is not the Soviet Union. Its leaders, from Mao Zedong to Hu Jintao, seem to understand American weaknesses and strengths, both physical and moral, better than the Soviets did, and they are much more patient.
China has chosen economic engagement with the U.S., creating a symbiotic relationship that is several steps short of a partnership. In 2006, scholars Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick called it "Chimerica." They thought that the relationship, merging Chinese production and saving with American consumption and debt, accounted for as much as half of the world's economic growth in the 21st century. Between 2000 and 2008, China quintupled exports and quadrupled gross domestic product while the U.S. ran deficits of every kind. More recently, the Chimerican symbiosis has looked less inviting.
The financial crisis has pushed American politicians, economists and consumers into two camps. There are those who believe that America must not prosper too much in the next few years, choosing instead to save, invest and reinvigorate its productive economy. On the other side, which is currently in charge of most centers of power, are those who believe that America must borrow more, spend more and inflate its currency to rejustify its prices and devalue its debts.
There may be two camps on the Chinese side also, but it's hard to tell. Are there any Chinese who do not believe the U.S. intends to be the dominant partner in the Chimerican relationship? Are there any Chinese who do not laugh, at least inwardly, when they hear a U.S. official speak of America's "strong-dollar" policy? Are there any Chinese leaders who think that America and the dollar are their only options for financial partnership during the next two or three decades?
Did President Obama change any of those perceptions? Probably not.
New Investment Order
Generating a couple of trillion dollars a year in capital, China is seeking sounder investments than U.S. Treasuries -- investments that are more likely to contribute to its growth and security. China is shoveling billions of dollars into natural-resource extraction in Africa and Latin America, untroubled by scruples about the venal governments it deals with. It is negotiating regional free-trade treaties with other countries in Asia, even with Taiwan, which China considers a rebellious province that just happens to supply technology and capital for Chinese development.
The Chinese also mutter, more and more clearly, about their need -- and what they see as the world's need -- to be less dependent on the dollar. Although they continue to peg their currency to the dollar, in effect borrowing the advantages of the dollar's weakness to sell goods to the world, they also talk about new currencies and baskets of currencies to price the things they most want to buy, such as oil.
Apocalypse Soon
In a new book, columnist Martin Jacques of the British newspaper the Guardian blends all these trends and his close observation of Chinese culture. His title is his conclusion: When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order (Penguin Press).
Although we don't enjoy his obvious satisfaction with the idea that the end is at hand for the American and British Industrial Revolutions and all their consequences, Americans should take his vision seriously.
China has 25% of the world's labor force, at least half of which remain in poor rural areas. Its growth rate since 1978 has been 9.4%, compared with the 3.9% U.S. growth rate during its economic takeoff period from 1870 to 1913. China's GDP is likely to surpass the U.S. in the mid-2020s, if current trends continue.
Jacques tells us that the West, and America, may cease to be the center of the world's affairs, and that will have interesting consequences: "The dominant Western view is that globalization is a process by which the rest of the world becomes -- and should become -- increasingly Westernized, with the adoption of free markets, the import of Western capital, privatization, the rule of law, human-rights regimes and democratic norms."
Jacques constantly asks what our part of the world will be like if China does not Westernize before it becomes the most important nation in the world.
The West, he says, "will be required to think of itself in relative rather than absolute terms, obliged to learn about, and to learn from, the rest of the world without the presumption of underlying superiority, the belief that ultimately it knows best and is the fount of civilizational wisdom."
China drinks from its own fount of superiority and civilizational wisdom. How is President Obama meeting its challenge?
IT COULD BE MONTHS OR YEARS UNTIL we understand the impression that President Barack Obama made on the Chinese leadership last week. It took about two months to discover that Nikita Khrushchev had nothing but contempt for President John F. Kennedy after their 1961 meeting in Vienna. The almost immediate result of the Soviet leader's exercise in character assessment was the erection of the Berlin Wall. The Cuban missile crisis followed the next year.
Khrushchev concluded -- we know now from memoirs and archives -- that Kennedy was "too intelligent and too weak." When Khrushchev instructed his East German puppets to start building the wall, Kennedy made only token protest. Intelligently, he told associates that "a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war." But the next year he faced a bigger challenge -- Soviet ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, based in Cuba -- and he met that threat without weakness, by facing down the threat of war.
In the end, it was Khrushchev, not Kennedy, who was too weak. In Cuba, if not in Berlin, his reach exceeded his military grasp. Khrushchev based his policy too much on his assessment of his adversary's character.
Fortunately, after they looked over the brink of nuclear war in 1962, both sides were more determined to be sure that the Cold War stayed cold. There would be wars on the periphery, of which the biggest was in Vietnam, but no direct confrontations. Both sides were patient, waiting for the other to crumple from within.
Economic Engagement
China, thank the world's lucky stars, is not the Soviet Union. Its leaders, from Mao Zedong to Hu Jintao, seem to understand American weaknesses and strengths, both physical and moral, better than the Soviets did, and they are much more patient.
China has chosen economic engagement with the U.S., creating a symbiotic relationship that is several steps short of a partnership. In 2006, scholars Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick called it "Chimerica." They thought that the relationship, merging Chinese production and saving with American consumption and debt, accounted for as much as half of the world's economic growth in the 21st century. Between 2000 and 2008, China quintupled exports and quadrupled gross domestic product while the U.S. ran deficits of every kind. More recently, the Chimerican symbiosis has looked less inviting.
The financial crisis has pushed American politicians, economists and consumers into two camps. There are those who believe that America must not prosper too much in the next few years, choosing instead to save, invest and reinvigorate its productive economy. On the other side, which is currently in charge of most centers of power, are those who believe that America must borrow more, spend more and inflate its currency to rejustify its prices and devalue its debts.
There may be two camps on the Chinese side also, but it's hard to tell. Are there any Chinese who do not believe the U.S. intends to be the dominant partner in the Chimerican relationship? Are there any Chinese who do not laugh, at least inwardly, when they hear a U.S. official speak of America's "strong-dollar" policy? Are there any Chinese leaders who think that America and the dollar are their only options for financial partnership during the next two or three decades?
Did President Obama change any of those perceptions? Probably not.
New Investment Order
Generating a couple of trillion dollars a year in capital, China is seeking sounder investments than U.S. Treasuries -- investments that are more likely to contribute to its growth and security. China is shoveling billions of dollars into natural-resource extraction in Africa and Latin America, untroubled by scruples about the venal governments it deals with. It is negotiating regional free-trade treaties with other countries in Asia, even with Taiwan, which China considers a rebellious province that just happens to supply technology and capital for Chinese development.
The Chinese also mutter, more and more clearly, about their need -- and what they see as the world's need -- to be less dependent on the dollar. Although they continue to peg their currency to the dollar, in effect borrowing the advantages of the dollar's weakness to sell goods to the world, they also talk about new currencies and baskets of currencies to price the things they most want to buy, such as oil.
Apocalypse Soon
In a new book, columnist Martin Jacques of the British newspaper the Guardian blends all these trends and his close observation of Chinese culture. His title is his conclusion: When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order (Penguin Press).
Although we don't enjoy his obvious satisfaction with the idea that the end is at hand for the American and British Industrial Revolutions and all their consequences, Americans should take his vision seriously.
China has 25% of the world's labor force, at least half of which remain in poor rural areas. Its growth rate since 1978 has been 9.4%, compared with the 3.9% U.S. growth rate during its economic takeoff period from 1870 to 1913. China's GDP is likely to surpass the U.S. in the mid-2020s, if current trends continue.
Jacques tells us that the West, and America, may cease to be the center of the world's affairs, and that will have interesting consequences: "The dominant Western view is that globalization is a process by which the rest of the world becomes -- and should become -- increasingly Westernized, with the adoption of free markets, the import of Western capital, privatization, the rule of law, human-rights regimes and democratic norms."
Jacques constantly asks what our part of the world will be like if China does not Westernize before it becomes the most important nation in the world.
The West, he says, "will be required to think of itself in relative rather than absolute terms, obliged to learn about, and to learn from, the rest of the world without the presumption of underlying superiority, the belief that ultimately it knows best and is the fount of civilizational wisdom."
China drinks from its own fount of superiority and civilizational wisdom. How is President Obama meeting its challenge?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Five Things the U.S. Can Learn From China
From the November 23, 2009 issue of Time Magazine and Time.com.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1938671,00.html
"One day this summer, Sean Maloney, an executive vice president at Intel, was bouncing from one appointment to another in northeastern China, speeding along in a van traversing newly built highways.
He gazed out at one of the world's biggest construction projects: a network of high-speed train lines — covering 10,000 miles (16,000 km) nationwide — that China is building. As far as the eye could see, there sat vast concrete support struts, one after another, exactly 246 ft. (75 m) apart. Each was full of steel cables and weighed about 800 tons.
"We used to build stuff too," Maloney mused, unprompted. "But now it's NIMBY [not in my backyard] every time you try to do something. Here,'' he joked, "it's more like IMBY. There's stuff happening here, everywhere and always."
For full text and photos: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1938671,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1938671,00.html
"One day this summer, Sean Maloney, an executive vice president at Intel, was bouncing from one appointment to another in northeastern China, speeding along in a van traversing newly built highways.
He gazed out at one of the world's biggest construction projects: a network of high-speed train lines — covering 10,000 miles (16,000 km) nationwide — that China is building. As far as the eye could see, there sat vast concrete support struts, one after another, exactly 246 ft. (75 m) apart. Each was full of steel cables and weighed about 800 tons.
"We used to build stuff too," Maloney mused, unprompted. "But now it's NIMBY [not in my backyard] every time you try to do something. Here,'' he joked, "it's more like IMBY. There's stuff happening here, everywhere and always."
For full text and photos: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1938671,00.html
Time Magazine: Immersion Mandarin
From November 23, 2009 issue of Time; Yinghua Academy creates immersion experience.
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1938815,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1938815,00.html
Friday, November 13, 2009
Why Baby Language DVDs and CDs Don't Work
The new highly-acclaimed book by NY Times best-selling author Po Bronson (with Ashely Merryman) expands on earlier language theories.
From "NurtureShock":
"...Kuhl (Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington) went on to discover that babies' brains do not learn to recognize foreign-language phonemes off a videotape or audiotape -- at all.
They absolutely do learn from a live, human teacher.
In fact, babies' brains are so sensitive to live human speech that Kuhl was able to train American babies to recognize Mandarin phonemes (which they'd never heaerd before) from twelve sessions with her Chinese graduate students, who sat in front of the kids for twenty minutes each session, playing with them while speaking in Mandarin.
By thge end of the month, three sessions per week, those babies' brains were virtually as good at recognizing Mandarin phonemes ar the brains of native born Chinese infants who'd been hearing Mandarin their entire young lives.
But, when Kuhl put Americna infants in front of a videotape or audito recording of Mandarin speech, the infants brains absorbed none of it. They might as well have heard meaningles noise. This was true DESPITE seeming to be quite engaged by the videos.
Kuhl concluded: 'The more complex aspects of language, such as phonetics, and grammar, are not acquired from TV exposure."
From "NurtureShock":
"...Kuhl (Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington) went on to discover that babies' brains do not learn to recognize foreign-language phonemes off a videotape or audiotape -- at all.
They absolutely do learn from a live, human teacher.
In fact, babies' brains are so sensitive to live human speech that Kuhl was able to train American babies to recognize Mandarin phonemes (which they'd never heaerd before) from twelve sessions with her Chinese graduate students, who sat in front of the kids for twenty minutes each session, playing with them while speaking in Mandarin.
By thge end of the month, three sessions per week, those babies' brains were virtually as good at recognizing Mandarin phonemes ar the brains of native born Chinese infants who'd been hearing Mandarin their entire young lives.
But, when Kuhl put Americna infants in front of a videotape or audito recording of Mandarin speech, the infants brains absorbed none of it. They might as well have heard meaningles noise. This was true DESPITE seeming to be quite engaged by the videos.
Kuhl concluded: 'The more complex aspects of language, such as phonetics, and grammar, are not acquired from TV exposure."
Expanded Advisory Committee
The Chinese Language School of Connecticut Expands Advisory Committee
-- Professionals will work with local business leaders to expand CLSC’s programs and services --
“We’re very fortunate and extremely pleased to have such dynamic professionals working with us to expand our Chinese language learning and program services,” said New Canaan resident, CLSC president and board member, Susan Serven.
Riverside, CT, November 15, 2009 – The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org), the non-profit Riverside, CT-based provider of Chinese language programs and services to students, schools and corporations, has announced the expansion of their Advisory Committee.
Former Greenwich First Selectman Jim Lash explained, "The dramatic growth of the Chinese Language School of Connecticut comes as no surprise given the high quality of their programs and the rise of the global economy. Every child will be better prepared for the new world of work by being exposed to the Chinese language and culture."
Former CLSC Board Chair, Greenwich resident Raymond E. Dunn, said, “We are very excited to gain the benefit of experience and guidance that these leaders and professionals will bring to our school. After seven years of operation we now service about 1,000 students through programs via our regular classes, tutoring, before and after school programs, workshops, special classes and summer camp. CLSC faculty or faculty alumni are now teaching at a number of private and public schools in Fairfield and Westchester counties. The interest we have found in our community for a continued strengthening and broadening of our programs is both exciting and challenging. We believe that CLSC will benefit significantly from the commitment the new Advisory Board has made to help us move our programs forward to better serve existing and future students and parents.
“We’re very fortunate and extremely pleased to have such dynamic professionals working with us to expand our Chinese language learning and program services,” said New Canaan resident, CLSC president and board member, Susan Serven. “Our expanded Advisory Committee will be instrumental in helping us expand our reach in order to allow more children to learn Chinese, and will work with us and local business leaders to broaden our services to the community,” she continued.
Advisory Committee members include:
Jeffay F. Chang, of Pelham, NY, serves as the East Coast Trust Strategist for the Goldman Sachs Trust Companies. He was named Executive Vice President with responsibility over national marketing and sales in 2008. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs in May 2004, Jeffay was a Corporate Vice President in the Private Wealth Services Group of UBS Financial Services where he provided counseling and planning services for ultra high net worth clients in such areas as wealth transfer and philanthropic planning, stock option exercise planning, and hedging and monetizing concentrated equity positions. Prior to UBS Financial Services, Jeffay was a Financial Planner in the Financial Planning Group of US Trust and before that was a Trust Officer in the Trust Settlement Department of US Trust. Jeffay obtained his B.A. from Brandeis University and J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, New York State Bar Association, New York Bankers Association, Estate Planning Council of New York City and the Westchester Estate Planning Council.
Da Chen, of Highland Park, NY, the, NY Times bestselling author of “Colors of the Mountain”, “China’s Son”, “Sounds of the River”, “Wandering Warrior” and “Brothers” arrived in America at the age of 23 with $30 in his pocket, a bamboo flute, and a heart filled with hope. He attended Columbia University School of Law on a full scholarship, and upon graduating, worked for the Wall Street investment banking firm of Rothschilds, Inc.
His most recent book, “Brothers” was nominated for a 2007 Quill award. Please visit www.DaChen.org
Samantha Wu Connell, of Stamford, is currently CLSC Chinese New Year Chair. She was born in Taipei, Taiwan and emigrated to the US as a young child. Sam graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995 with a BA in English and Psychology. After four years in marketing, she enrolled in culinary school and graduated with honors from New York City's Institute of Culinary Education Pastry Arts Program. Sam was an Associate Food Editor at Martha Stewart Living Magazine and has worked as a Food Stylist and Cake Designer. She currently lives in Stamford with her husband, Dan, and their children Quincy and Tobin.
Raymond Dunn, of Greenwich, is a co-founding partner of New York based maritime investment banking and brokerage firm Shipping & Finance LLC. Prior to that, he was an investment banker with UBS Securities for 14 years. He was Vice President of the Asian Business Society while an MBA student at Columbia and following graduation and prior to joining UBS, he was a research consultant at the OECD as a member of the China research team. Subsequently at UBS for several years, Mr. Dunn was head of international equity capital markets in New York with responsibility for both Europe and Asia. He also spent time seconded to UBS' Hong Kong office and worked extensively with Taiwanese companies. Mr. Dunn’s four children have attended CLSC and he is a member of the China Institute.
Laurie Heiss, of Greenwich, brings a successful professional background in the private sector and a deep personal commitment to educational initiatives to CLSC. Her career included high-level sales and marketing positions at GE for over a decade, Gateway Computer and IBM.
Most recently she has served two years as the Co-President of the PTA at Greenwich High School representing those 1400 member families and leading the 300 volunteers who support the operations of this large school. As a middle school parent she helped lead the parent-student effort to offer Mandarin at the high school. Previously, she chaired the Arts-in-Education efforts in the Town of Greenwich, a joint body of public and private school representatives organized as a sub-committee of PTA Council; she also chaired the Fairfield County Performing Arts & Enrichment Council.
She is a founding member of the Redding Preservation Society, a trustee of the Land Trust in Redding, where she owns a farm, and she serves on the board of The Merritt Parkway Conservancy.
She is a graduate of Connecticut College, where she received the Fielding Award base on contributions to class, college and community. She majored in Field Biology and Anthropology.
Susan S. Huang, of Greenwich, is an independent consultant in the asset management business, and is a Trustee on the boards of HSBC Global Investor Funds, United Church of Christ Foundation and Huntington’s Disease Society. She also contributes her financial and fund-raising expertise for other charitable, educational and cultural organizations, and is currently a Director of the Music and Endowment Committees, and a member of the Second Congregational Church Council in Greenwich.
Susie spent much of her career in money management and in developing the investment business in the U.S., Middle East and Asia. Her latest assignment was with Schroder Investment Management, and her other selected clients have included The Beacon Group, Ashmore, Chase VISTA Board, Lend Lease, and State of Alaska Pension Fund. Prior to her retirement from Chase Asset Management where she was Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income, she held senior investment positions at Hyperion Capital, CS First Boston, and The Equitable where she began her career in 1978.
Susie was a concert pianist in Asia and was featured as a soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic before coming to the U.S. in 1972. She holds a piano degree with honors from the Juilliard School of Music, a BA cum laude from Princeton University and an MBA from Columbia University. She is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Shanghainese, and lives in Greenwich with her husband, Tony Kane and daughter, Shelley. She also sings in the choir at the Second Congregational Church.
Jim Lash, of Greenwich, is currently Chairman of the private equity firm Manchester Principal LLC. He grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, graduated from MIT in 1966 with a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and earned his MBA from Tulane University in 1969. Jim has served as First Selectman of Greenwich, CT from 2003-2007.
Jim’s work has involved holding principal and senior operating positions in primarily the manufacturing sector including serving as Chairman and CEO of Reading Tube Corporation from 1982 to 1996. From 1970 to 1976 Jim was a consultant with Touche Ross & Co. where his clients included the government agencies such as the city of Boston, and the country of New Zealand.
Prior to his work in management consulting, Jim’s career included serving as Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Business Administration at Tulane University where he also taught graduate level courses in information technology.
While a student at MIT, Jim joined the Apollo Space Program team working at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory and Lincoln Laboratory between 1962 and 1966. After graduating from MIT, Jim accepted an offer from the Boeing Company in New Orleans to continue his work on the Apollo Program and worked on this mission as an Astronautical Engineer until 1969.
Jim Lash has served the interests of literacy, higher education, performing arts, medical research and international commerce with current and recent Board memberships including the City Center in New York (Chair Finance Committee); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Member of the Corporation/Trustee, President of the Alumni/ae Association, Campaign Steering Committee); Baker Hughes, Inc. (Board member of Audit and Finance Committees), The East West Institute (Finance Committee); The American Cancer Society (Chairman of the Wayne County Detroit Unit) and the Greenwich Library Board (President).
Jim and his wife Debby Jones Lash moved to Greenwich in 1983. Debby has served the Greenwich community in numerous ways including being Chairman of the United Way Board of Greenwich and former President of the Greenwich Junior League. Jim and Debby are active in sailing and tennis and are members of several clubs including the Belle Haven Club, the New York Yacht Club and the Northeast Harbor Fleet (Commodore) here and in Maine where they have enjoyed many summer seasons.
Deborah Hsu Serianni, of Old Greenwich, is currently CLSC Parent Committee Chair, and was Vice President Global Marketing Personal Care & Wellness of Avon Products Inc., a leading beauty company and the world largest direct selling company. In this position, she was responsible for establishing global goals and strategies, new product development, advertising and print material for all regions around the world. Prior moving to the New York global headquarters, Mrs. Serianni was Regional Vice President Marketing of Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong.
Previously, Mrs. Serianni worked for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Product Group where she most recently served as Vice President Skin Care, Asia Pacific-China. In that role, she established the successful skin care business with a multiple brand portfolio covering Japan, Korea, China, to Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and India.
Earlier in her career, Mrs. Serianni worked at Procter & Gamble Europe where she held increasingly responsible positions in marketing, covering a vast territory including Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Middle East and Central America.
Mrs. Serianni graduated from Oberlin College, majoring in Chemistry and Economics. She holds a Master sof Management degree from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She currently serves on the President ‘s Advisory Board of Oberlin College.
Robyn Wasserman, of Old Greenwich, worked in New York for ten years in real estate investment banking and in real estate finance at JPMorgan, Sonnenblick-Goldman and Prime Capital Management. She is a graduate of The London School of Economics where she earned her B.S. in Economics specializing in Accounting and Finance in 1996. She currently lives in Old Greenwich with her husband, Tom Wasserman, who is a Managing Director at Highbridge Capital Management, and her two daughters, Emilie and Sophia. Emilie and Sophia are learning to speak Mandarin.
For information on the Chinese Language School of Connecticut’s language and cultural programs for children and adults, their Before– and After- School programs, special workshops, private tutoring or corporate language programs, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
* * *
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
New York Times Article on Growing Importance of Mandarin
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/nyregion/22chinese.html?scp=1&sq=rise%20of%20mandarin%20changes%20the%20sound%20of%20chinatown&st=cse
October 22, 2009
Rise of Mandarin Changes the Sound of Chinatown
By KIRK SEMPLE
He grew up playing in the narrow, crowded streets of Manhattan’s Chinatown. He has lived and worked there for all his 61 years. But as Wee Wong walks the neighborhood these days, he cannot understand half the Chinese conversations he hears.
Cantonese, a dialect from southern China that has dominated the Chinatowns of North America for decades, is being rapidly swept aside by Mandarin, the national language of China and the lingua franca of most of the latest Chinese immigrants.
The change can be heard in the neighborhood’s lively restaurants and solemn church services, in parks, street markets and language schools. It has been accelerated by Chinese-American parents, including many who speak Cantonese at home, as they press their children to learn Mandarin for the advantages it may bring as China’s influence grows in the world.
But the eclipse of Cantonese — in New York, China and around the world — has become a challenge for older people who speak only that dialect and face increasing isolation unless they learn Mandarin or English. Though Cantonese and Mandarin share nearly all the same written characters, the pronunciations are vastly different; when spoken, Mandarin may be incomprehensible to a Cantonese speaker, and vice versa.
Mr. Wong, a retired sign maker who speaks English, can still get by with his Cantonese, which remains the preferred language in his circle of friends and in Chinatown’s historic core. A bit defiantly, he said that if he enters a shop and finds the staff does not speak his dialect, “I go to another store.”
Like many others, however, he is resigned to the likelihood that Cantonese — and the people who speak it — will soon become just another facet of a polyglot neighborhood. “In 10 years,” he said, “it will be totally different.”
With Mandarin’s ascent has come a realignment of power in Chinese-American communities, where the recent immigrants are gaining economic and political clout, said Peter Kwong, a professor of Asian-American studies at Hunter College.
“The fact of the matter is that you have a whole generation switch, with very few people speaking only Cantonese,” he said. The Cantonese-speaking populace, he added, “is not the player anymore.”
The switch mirrors a sea change under way in China, where Mandarin, as the official language, is becoming the default tongue everywhere.
In North America, its rise also reflects a major shift in immigration. For much of the last century, most Chinese living in the United States and Canada traced their ancestry to a region in the Pearl River Delta that included the district of Taishan. They spoke the Taishanese dialect, which is derived from and somewhat similar to Cantonese.
Immigration reform in 1965 opened the door to a huge influx of Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong, and Cantonese became the dominant tongue. But since the 1990s, the vast majority of new Chinese immigrants have come from mainland China, especially Fujian Province, and tend to speak Mandarin along with their regional dialects.
In New York, many Mandarin speakers have flocked to Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Flushing, Queens, which now rivals Chinatown as a center of Chinese-American business and political might, as well as culture and cuisine. In Chinatown, most of the newer immigrants have settled outside the historic core west of the Bowery, clustering instead around East Broadway.
“I can’t even order food on East Broadway,” said Jan Lee, 44, a furniture designer who has lived all his life in Chinatown and speaks Cantonese. “They don’t speak English; I don’t speak Mandarin. I’m just as lost as everyone else.”
Now Mandarin is pushing into Chinatown’s heart.
For most of the 100 years that the New York Chinese School, on Mott Street, has offered language classes, nearly all have taught Cantonese. Last year, the numbers of Cantonese and Mandarin classes were roughly equal. And this year, Mandarin classes outnumber Cantonese 3 to 1, even though most students are from homes where Cantonese is spoken, said the principal, Kin S. Wong.
Some Cantonese-speaking parents are deciding it is more important to point their children toward the future than the past — their family’s native dialect — even if that leaves them unable to communicate well with relatives in China.
“I figure if they have to acquire a language, I wanted them to have Mandarin because it makes it easier when they go into the workplace,” said Jennifer Ng, whose 5-year-old daughter studies Mandarin at the language school of the Church of the Transfiguration, a Roman Catholic parish on Mott Street where nearly half the classes are devoted to Mandarin. Her 8-year-old son takes Cantonese, but only because there is no English-speaking Mandarin teacher for his age group.
“Can I tell you the truth?” she said. “They hate it! But it’s important for the future.” Until recently, Sunday Masses at Transfiguration were said in Cantonese. The church now offers two in Mandarin and only one in Cantonese. And as the recent arrivals from mainland China become old-timers, “we are beginning to have Mandarin funerals,” said the Rev. Raymond Nobiletti, the Cantonese-speaking pastor.
At the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, which has been the unofficial government of Chinatown for generations and conducts its business in Cantonese, the president, Justin Yu, said he is the first whose mother tongue is Mandarin to lead the 126-year-old organization. Though he has been taking Cantonese lessons in order to keep up at association meetings, his pronunciation is sometimes a source of hilarity for his colleagues, he said.
“No matter what,” he added, laughing, “you have to admire my courage.”
But even his association is being surpassed in influence by Fujianese organizations, said Professor Kwong of Hunter College.
Longtime residents seem less threatened than wistful. Though he is known around Chinatown for what he calls his “legendarily bad” Cantonese, Paul Lee, 59, said it pained him that the dialect was disappearing from the place where his family has lived for more than a century.
“It may be a dying language,” he acknowledged. “I just hate to say that.”
But he pointed out that the changes were a natural part of an evolving immigrant neighborhood: Just as Cantonese sidelined Taishanese, so, too, is Mandarin replacing Cantonese.
Mr. Wong, the principal of the New York Chinese School, said he had tried to adjust to the subtle shifts during his 40 years in Chinatown. When he arrived in 1969, he walked into a coffee shop and placed his order in Cantonese. Other patrons looked at him oddly.
“They said, ‘Where you from?’ ” he recalled. “ ‘Why you speak Cantonese?’ ” They were from Taishan, he said, so he switched to Taishanese and everyone was happy.
“And now I speak Mandarin better than Cantonese,” he added with a chuckle. “So, Chinatown — it’s always changing.”
October 22, 2009
Rise of Mandarin Changes the Sound of Chinatown
By KIRK SEMPLE
He grew up playing in the narrow, crowded streets of Manhattan’s Chinatown. He has lived and worked there for all his 61 years. But as Wee Wong walks the neighborhood these days, he cannot understand half the Chinese conversations he hears.
Cantonese, a dialect from southern China that has dominated the Chinatowns of North America for decades, is being rapidly swept aside by Mandarin, the national language of China and the lingua franca of most of the latest Chinese immigrants.
The change can be heard in the neighborhood’s lively restaurants and solemn church services, in parks, street markets and language schools. It has been accelerated by Chinese-American parents, including many who speak Cantonese at home, as they press their children to learn Mandarin for the advantages it may bring as China’s influence grows in the world.
But the eclipse of Cantonese — in New York, China and around the world — has become a challenge for older people who speak only that dialect and face increasing isolation unless they learn Mandarin or English. Though Cantonese and Mandarin share nearly all the same written characters, the pronunciations are vastly different; when spoken, Mandarin may be incomprehensible to a Cantonese speaker, and vice versa.
Mr. Wong, a retired sign maker who speaks English, can still get by with his Cantonese, which remains the preferred language in his circle of friends and in Chinatown’s historic core. A bit defiantly, he said that if he enters a shop and finds the staff does not speak his dialect, “I go to another store.”
Like many others, however, he is resigned to the likelihood that Cantonese — and the people who speak it — will soon become just another facet of a polyglot neighborhood. “In 10 years,” he said, “it will be totally different.”
With Mandarin’s ascent has come a realignment of power in Chinese-American communities, where the recent immigrants are gaining economic and political clout, said Peter Kwong, a professor of Asian-American studies at Hunter College.
“The fact of the matter is that you have a whole generation switch, with very few people speaking only Cantonese,” he said. The Cantonese-speaking populace, he added, “is not the player anymore.”
The switch mirrors a sea change under way in China, where Mandarin, as the official language, is becoming the default tongue everywhere.
In North America, its rise also reflects a major shift in immigration. For much of the last century, most Chinese living in the United States and Canada traced their ancestry to a region in the Pearl River Delta that included the district of Taishan. They spoke the Taishanese dialect, which is derived from and somewhat similar to Cantonese.
Immigration reform in 1965 opened the door to a huge influx of Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong, and Cantonese became the dominant tongue. But since the 1990s, the vast majority of new Chinese immigrants have come from mainland China, especially Fujian Province, and tend to speak Mandarin along with their regional dialects.
In New York, many Mandarin speakers have flocked to Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Flushing, Queens, which now rivals Chinatown as a center of Chinese-American business and political might, as well as culture and cuisine. In Chinatown, most of the newer immigrants have settled outside the historic core west of the Bowery, clustering instead around East Broadway.
“I can’t even order food on East Broadway,” said Jan Lee, 44, a furniture designer who has lived all his life in Chinatown and speaks Cantonese. “They don’t speak English; I don’t speak Mandarin. I’m just as lost as everyone else.”
Now Mandarin is pushing into Chinatown’s heart.
For most of the 100 years that the New York Chinese School, on Mott Street, has offered language classes, nearly all have taught Cantonese. Last year, the numbers of Cantonese and Mandarin classes were roughly equal. And this year, Mandarin classes outnumber Cantonese 3 to 1, even though most students are from homes where Cantonese is spoken, said the principal, Kin S. Wong.
Some Cantonese-speaking parents are deciding it is more important to point their children toward the future than the past — their family’s native dialect — even if that leaves them unable to communicate well with relatives in China.
“I figure if they have to acquire a language, I wanted them to have Mandarin because it makes it easier when they go into the workplace,” said Jennifer Ng, whose 5-year-old daughter studies Mandarin at the language school of the Church of the Transfiguration, a Roman Catholic parish on Mott Street where nearly half the classes are devoted to Mandarin. Her 8-year-old son takes Cantonese, but only because there is no English-speaking Mandarin teacher for his age group.
“Can I tell you the truth?” she said. “They hate it! But it’s important for the future.” Until recently, Sunday Masses at Transfiguration were said in Cantonese. The church now offers two in Mandarin and only one in Cantonese. And as the recent arrivals from mainland China become old-timers, “we are beginning to have Mandarin funerals,” said the Rev. Raymond Nobiletti, the Cantonese-speaking pastor.
At the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, which has been the unofficial government of Chinatown for generations and conducts its business in Cantonese, the president, Justin Yu, said he is the first whose mother tongue is Mandarin to lead the 126-year-old organization. Though he has been taking Cantonese lessons in order to keep up at association meetings, his pronunciation is sometimes a source of hilarity for his colleagues, he said.
“No matter what,” he added, laughing, “you have to admire my courage.”
But even his association is being surpassed in influence by Fujianese organizations, said Professor Kwong of Hunter College.
Longtime residents seem less threatened than wistful. Though he is known around Chinatown for what he calls his “legendarily bad” Cantonese, Paul Lee, 59, said it pained him that the dialect was disappearing from the place where his family has lived for more than a century.
“It may be a dying language,” he acknowledged. “I just hate to say that.”
But he pointed out that the changes were a natural part of an evolving immigrant neighborhood: Just as Cantonese sidelined Taishanese, so, too, is Mandarin replacing Cantonese.
Mr. Wong, the principal of the New York Chinese School, said he had tried to adjust to the subtle shifts during his 40 years in Chinatown. When he arrived in 1969, he walked into a coffee shop and placed his order in Cantonese. Other patrons looked at him oddly.
“They said, ‘Where you from?’ ” he recalled. “ ‘Why you speak Cantonese?’ ” They were from Taishan, he said, so he switched to Taishanese and everyone was happy.
“And now I speak Mandarin better than Cantonese,” he added with a chuckle. “So, Chinatown — it’s always changing.”
Sunday, October 18, 2009
CLSC Teacher Claire Huang Featured
CLSC Teacher Claire Huang was recently featured in a Families with Children from China magazine article on girls adopted from China, learning Chinese.
If you'd like to form a private tutoring group in your area, please contact the Chinese Language School of Connecticut at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org or visit them at www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
"Lucky Girl" Reading at Greenwich Library, November 8
From Mary O'Neill at ONeill@centerchem.com
"Lucky Girl" reading by author Mei Ling Hopgood at Greenwich Library November 8.
Sunday, November 8th at the Greenwich Library in Greenwich, CT ; FCC
Southern CT and FCC Westchester regions are cosponsoring a reading in
Greenwich, CT. $5 per person, preregistration required. Register
online at www.fccny.org
or to volunteer to help with this event, Mary O'Neill at
oneill@centerchem.com
"Lucky Girl" reading by author Mei Ling Hopgood at Greenwich Library November 8.
Sunday, November 8th at the Greenwich Library in Greenwich, CT ; FCC
Southern CT and FCC Westchester regions are cosponsoring a reading in
Greenwich, CT. $5 per person, preregistration required. Register
online at www.fccny.org
or to volunteer to help with this event, Mary O'Neill at
oneill@centerchem.com
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
CLSC Staff Invited to Harvard Chinese AP Workshop
CLSC Staff members recently returned from an October workshop on Chinese AP training, sponsored by the ACTFL and Harvard University.
This workshop was by invitation, and a grant covered the fees. For info on the program, what was covered, or how to advance your child's studies in Chinese via classes or private tutoring, please contact the Chinese Language School of Connecticut at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
Pictured are CLSC Principal Daisy Chen Laone, Program Director Jopi Shen, Vice Principal Xian Xian Feng, teachers I-Hui Li, Wendy Zhou Witkowsky, and member Xian Wu, outside Harvard's Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and the famous Jan Ying library.
Photo includes Mr. Bai, Committee Chair of the workshop.
Friday, October 9, 2009
From: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/look-east-why-chinese-lessons-are-booming-1799026.html
There is also an interesting blog and comments section beneath this article, on the web site link. Seems many believe the UK is suffering from many of the same issues the U.S. is: lack of understanding why Chinese is important, lack of certified teachers.
Look East: Why Chinese lessons are booming
Where Chinese was once an exotic subject to study, today it has taken off in many schools. Hilary Wilce finds it has won the ultimate accolade – its own GCSE textbook
Thursday, 8 October 2009
The Independent, London
Two East London schoolgirls are chattering animatedly about their families, but not in English, or in their home languages of Urdu or Bengali. Instead Shajedah Kayum and Johura Hasna are gassing confidently in Mandarin Chinese.
At Kingsford Community School, in Beckton, east London, every pupil studies Mandarin when they start at age 11, and growing numbers are now choosing it at GCSE. Last year, 15 students took the subject and 66 per cent of them achieved A or A* grades. In Year Nine, about 50 students have already embarked – one year early – on Mandarin GCSE.
Kingsford is not alone. Mandarin is fast going mainstream with about 500 schools – no one knows the precise figure – offering it as part of the curriculum, and many more in after-school clubs. The first GCSE Chinese textbook has just been published by Pearson Education, in conjunction with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, tailored to a new EdExcel exam.
The language that used to be seen as an exotic novelty is taking its place as a normal GCSE languages option.
Sceptics say that this is all just a gimmick and that classroom time could be better used to help pupils become competent in a more accessible language such as French or Spanish.
But according to school heads who offer Mandarin courses, which include language and culture, the subject opens pupils' eyes to the biggest country in the world, hones general language skills, engages boys – who relate to the visual and spatial aspects of the language – enhances students' resumes, and can be a subject in which pupils who struggle with other languages do well.
Twelve schools in Britain have now become Confucius Classrooms, receiving support from the Office of Chinese Language Council, known as Hanban, along with help from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, itself a Confucius Institute since 2006.
This allows them to grow as specialist hubs, helping other schools to bring in Chinese studies.
Kingsford, a language college for 11- to 16-year-olds, is a Confucius Classroom and believes Mandarin has brought many benefits to its pupils. The school is a new one and only moved into its current building in 2002. The original head asked colleagues to suggest innovative cross-curricular programmes and the current head, Joan Deslandes, who was then in charge of humanities, languages and technology, suggested doing something on China.
"China had just joined the World Trade Association, I was interested in Confucius and I thought it was a language which none of our children spoke, so this would be a level playing field," she says. In a school where the pupils speak 55 languages between them, finding such a language was no easy task. Even so, some governors were initially resistant.
But Mandarin triumphed and since then the school has won a national Mandarin-speaking competition, sent students regularly to visit China, and built a close link with Brighton College, an independent school in Sussex, where Mandarin is compulsory.
Three Kingsford students a year go on scholarships to Brighton College to do their A levels. Other pupils have this year moved to other independent schools, including Cheltenham Ladies College, with their applications bolstered by their Mandarin skills.
The Mandarin programme brings many national and international visitors to the school, where they listen to pupils talk and watch them perform a tai chi-based fan dance.
The whole programme has clearly given many pupils a feeling of confidence and achievement. "I really like it and I'm glad I chose it," says Johura Hasna, who is just embarking on her GCSE and says she might want to work as a lawyer using her Chinese.
She was one student who won a trip to China "where, when you started talking people were, like, 'Wow'".
Osman Abdul-Moomin, another Year Nine pupil and who won the trip, says he was struck, in China, by how well everything was organised and how hard people worked. He is delighted he is doing the subject. "Speaking Mandarin – it's a trump card!"
The school has two permanent Mandarin teachers and is looking for a third. It also gets support from Hanban teachers who come on placement from China. Linying Liu is the school's Confucius classroom manager, who is helping to write the new Chinese textbooks. She says that she could easily find a job in an independent school, but is happy in the tougher conditions that Kingsford offers.
For the head teacher Joan Deslandes, the programme is just one aspect of an education of high expectations. Mandarin is in the top three languages that employers say they want, she says.
"But any school that wants to do it will have to have the full backing of the school leadership, and will need to make an investment in curriculum time. And it will have to recognise there are no quick wins here. It will not necessarily make your exam results look good." Even so, Kingsford students, despite coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, far exceed the national GCSE average.
Mandarin has now reached take-off point in British schools with the publication of the new textbook, according to Katharine Carruthers, the director for the SSAT Confucius Institute. "For the first time it is going to look like any other GCSE," she says. "Before it could be seen as something exotic and heads could get away with a bit of teaching after school, but now it's going viral and heads are starting to think, 'I'd better take a look at this because it's obviously changed.'" Textbooks for Key Stages 3 and 2 are also in the pipeline.
According to Andrew Hall, the head of Calday Grange Grammar School, in West Kirby, the home of another Confucius Classroom, the language "has gone from novelty to mainstream" in 10 years. His school works with five other secondary schools as well as with primaries and nurseries. "The students enjoy it and parents are very supportive," he says. "There's a great and growing awareness of China."
But just how proficient are students who have gained GCSE Chinese? In speaking and listening they are not far off the level they would be in, say, French, says Katherine Carruthers. Their reading and writing, however, takes longer, which means the passages that are set for them are shorter and easier. "But there is every sign that the subject is engaging children," she says. "They love learning about the culture and it is very motivating."
There is also an interesting blog and comments section beneath this article, on the web site link. Seems many believe the UK is suffering from many of the same issues the U.S. is: lack of understanding why Chinese is important, lack of certified teachers.
Look East: Why Chinese lessons are booming
Where Chinese was once an exotic subject to study, today it has taken off in many schools. Hilary Wilce finds it has won the ultimate accolade – its own GCSE textbook
Thursday, 8 October 2009
The Independent, London
Two East London schoolgirls are chattering animatedly about their families, but not in English, or in their home languages of Urdu or Bengali. Instead Shajedah Kayum and Johura Hasna are gassing confidently in Mandarin Chinese.
At Kingsford Community School, in Beckton, east London, every pupil studies Mandarin when they start at age 11, and growing numbers are now choosing it at GCSE. Last year, 15 students took the subject and 66 per cent of them achieved A or A* grades. In Year Nine, about 50 students have already embarked – one year early – on Mandarin GCSE.
Kingsford is not alone. Mandarin is fast going mainstream with about 500 schools – no one knows the precise figure – offering it as part of the curriculum, and many more in after-school clubs. The first GCSE Chinese textbook has just been published by Pearson Education, in conjunction with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, tailored to a new EdExcel exam.
The language that used to be seen as an exotic novelty is taking its place as a normal GCSE languages option.
Sceptics say that this is all just a gimmick and that classroom time could be better used to help pupils become competent in a more accessible language such as French or Spanish.
But according to school heads who offer Mandarin courses, which include language and culture, the subject opens pupils' eyes to the biggest country in the world, hones general language skills, engages boys – who relate to the visual and spatial aspects of the language – enhances students' resumes, and can be a subject in which pupils who struggle with other languages do well.
Twelve schools in Britain have now become Confucius Classrooms, receiving support from the Office of Chinese Language Council, known as Hanban, along with help from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, itself a Confucius Institute since 2006.
This allows them to grow as specialist hubs, helping other schools to bring in Chinese studies.
Kingsford, a language college for 11- to 16-year-olds, is a Confucius Classroom and believes Mandarin has brought many benefits to its pupils. The school is a new one and only moved into its current building in 2002. The original head asked colleagues to suggest innovative cross-curricular programmes and the current head, Joan Deslandes, who was then in charge of humanities, languages and technology, suggested doing something on China.
"China had just joined the World Trade Association, I was interested in Confucius and I thought it was a language which none of our children spoke, so this would be a level playing field," she says. In a school where the pupils speak 55 languages between them, finding such a language was no easy task. Even so, some governors were initially resistant.
But Mandarin triumphed and since then the school has won a national Mandarin-speaking competition, sent students regularly to visit China, and built a close link with Brighton College, an independent school in Sussex, where Mandarin is compulsory.
Three Kingsford students a year go on scholarships to Brighton College to do their A levels. Other pupils have this year moved to other independent schools, including Cheltenham Ladies College, with their applications bolstered by their Mandarin skills.
The Mandarin programme brings many national and international visitors to the school, where they listen to pupils talk and watch them perform a tai chi-based fan dance.
The whole programme has clearly given many pupils a feeling of confidence and achievement. "I really like it and I'm glad I chose it," says Johura Hasna, who is just embarking on her GCSE and says she might want to work as a lawyer using her Chinese.
She was one student who won a trip to China "where, when you started talking people were, like, 'Wow'".
Osman Abdul-Moomin, another Year Nine pupil and who won the trip, says he was struck, in China, by how well everything was organised and how hard people worked. He is delighted he is doing the subject. "Speaking Mandarin – it's a trump card!"
The school has two permanent Mandarin teachers and is looking for a third. It also gets support from Hanban teachers who come on placement from China. Linying Liu is the school's Confucius classroom manager, who is helping to write the new Chinese textbooks. She says that she could easily find a job in an independent school, but is happy in the tougher conditions that Kingsford offers.
For the head teacher Joan Deslandes, the programme is just one aspect of an education of high expectations. Mandarin is in the top three languages that employers say they want, she says.
"But any school that wants to do it will have to have the full backing of the school leadership, and will need to make an investment in curriculum time. And it will have to recognise there are no quick wins here. It will not necessarily make your exam results look good." Even so, Kingsford students, despite coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, far exceed the national GCSE average.
Mandarin has now reached take-off point in British schools with the publication of the new textbook, according to Katharine Carruthers, the director for the SSAT Confucius Institute. "For the first time it is going to look like any other GCSE," she says. "Before it could be seen as something exotic and heads could get away with a bit of teaching after school, but now it's going viral and heads are starting to think, 'I'd better take a look at this because it's obviously changed.'" Textbooks for Key Stages 3 and 2 are also in the pipeline.
According to Andrew Hall, the head of Calday Grange Grammar School, in West Kirby, the home of another Confucius Classroom, the language "has gone from novelty to mainstream" in 10 years. His school works with five other secondary schools as well as with primaries and nurseries. "The students enjoy it and parents are very supportive," he says. "There's a great and growing awareness of China."
But just how proficient are students who have gained GCSE Chinese? In speaking and listening they are not far off the level they would be in, say, French, says Katherine Carruthers. Their reading and writing, however, takes longer, which means the passages that are set for them are shorter and easier. "But there is every sign that the subject is engaging children," she says. "They love learning about the culture and it is very motivating."
Friday, October 2, 2009
Chinese Winter Workshops!
Why not explore Chinese culture during winter recess at a class run by the Chinese Language School of Connecticut?
YMCA Winter Break WorkshopsDates: February 16, 17, & 18 (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)
Time: 10:30-12:30 for K-2
1:30-3:30 for G3-6
Location: Greenwich Family YMCA
Fee: $50 per class. Supplies and Material included.
Please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org and click on How to Register on the left hand nav bar for registration form, thank you!
February 16: Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting
Introduction of Chinese four treasures, teach basic Calligraphy techniques and make ink painting about bamboo and flowers.
Deadline to Registration must be postmarked by February 10 in order to register.
February 17: Paper Folding & Origami projects for kids
Origami is a fascinating and creative craft for kids. All children enjoy creating various objects out of paper. Not only will children get a real sense of satisfaction out of making these fun origami models, but they will be getting practice at following instructions, increasing their manual dexterity, and producing a fun and decorative end-product.
Deadline to Registration must be postmarked by February 10 in order to register.
February 18: Children and Pet puppets
Decorate oversized puppet characters from Chinese Miao fairytale: “The peacock’s Tail”
Deadline to Registration must be postmarked by February 10 in order to register.
YMCA Winter Break WorkshopsDates: February 16, 17, & 18 (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)
Time: 10:30-12:30 for K-2
1:30-3:30 for G3-6
Location: Greenwich Family YMCA
Fee: $50 per class. Supplies and Material included.
Please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org and click on How to Register on the left hand nav bar for registration form, thank you!
February 16: Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting
Introduction of Chinese four treasures, teach basic Calligraphy techniques and make ink painting about bamboo and flowers.
Deadline to Registration must be postmarked by February 10 in order to register.
February 17: Paper Folding & Origami projects for kids
Origami is a fascinating and creative craft for kids. All children enjoy creating various objects out of paper. Not only will children get a real sense of satisfaction out of making these fun origami models, but they will be getting practice at following instructions, increasing their manual dexterity, and producing a fun and decorative end-product.
Deadline to Registration must be postmarked by February 10 in order to register.
February 18: Children and Pet puppets
Decorate oversized puppet characters from Chinese Miao fairytale: “The peacock’s Tail”
Deadline to Registration must be postmarked by February 10 in order to register.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Did the Chinese Discover the Americas?
from www.clta.org
Is there evidence that ancient America was discovered and colonized long before Christopher Columbus?
In 1972 the late Dr. Hendon M. Harris, Jr. made a startling discovery. While searching for Chinese collectibles he came across an ancient Asian map book containing a world map showing a land mass labeled "Fu Sang" to the east of China, land that we today call America. After years of research and his discovery of the existence of twenty-nine other supporting maps, Dr. Harris published a 796 page book titled The Asiatic Fathers of America. In that book, Dr. Harris contended that by 2200 B.C. Chinese had reached the Americas.
In 2003, with the sudden world-wide interest in this topic, the family took the maps to the Library of Congress. For three years the maps were there while being studied. On May 16, 2005 Dr. Harris' daughter, Charlotte Harris Rees, gave a speech at the Library of Congress about the early arrival of Chinese to America. In 2006, Mrs. Rees published a condensed, easy reading version of Dr. Harris' original text. This abridged version of Dr. Harris' book contains several never before released pictures of the Harris map collection. The book also contains a brief biography about Dr. Harris' unusual life. In 2008 Mrs. Rees published a book based upon her own research entitled Secret Maps of the Ancient World.
At the invitation of the Renwen Society of China Institute, Mrs. Rees will give a lecture on Saturday, September 26, 2:00-3:30 pm, on both her and her father's books. Her talk will bring together many academic studies and medical research revealing evidences of very early arrival of Chinese to America.
Dr. Harris, a third generation missionary, was born in Kaifeng, China to American parents. He learned both Chinese and English at a very early age. He was familiar with the Chinese.
Mrs. Charlotte Harris Rees is an independent researcher and a graduate of Columbia International University. As a child Mrs. Rees lived for four years in Taiwan then later for a year in Hong Kong where her parents were missionaries. In recent years she has made several trips to China. She has appeared in the United States on television, National Public Radio, in numerous news articles and has given speeches - including at the Library of Congress, the University of Maryland, the University of London, and in Beijing - about her family's map collection and the early arrival of Chinese to America.
Secret Maps of the Ancient World is Mrs. Rees's third book. It is endorsed by Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee, retired Chief of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress, and by New York Times best selling author, Gavin Menzies (1421: The Year China Discovered the World). Secret Maps of the Ancient World was listed in fall 2008 as a new publication by WCILCOS (The World Confederation of Institutes and Libraries for Chinese Overseas Studies.) The book also appeared in March 2009 at the National Library Show for American College and Research Libraries in Seattle (USA) and at the London (England) Book Fair in April 2009. Her web site is www.HarrisMaps.com
Free admissions, but advance registration is requested. To register online, please visit http://chineselectures.org/upcoming.html. To register by phone, please call (646) 912-8861. For inquiries, please email renwen@chinainstitute.org .
Location: China Institute, 125 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065
Date and time: Saturday, Sept. 26, 2:00-3:30 pm
Is there evidence that ancient America was discovered and colonized long before Christopher Columbus?
In 1972 the late Dr. Hendon M. Harris, Jr. made a startling discovery. While searching for Chinese collectibles he came across an ancient Asian map book containing a world map showing a land mass labeled "Fu Sang" to the east of China, land that we today call America. After years of research and his discovery of the existence of twenty-nine other supporting maps, Dr. Harris published a 796 page book titled The Asiatic Fathers of America. In that book, Dr. Harris contended that by 2200 B.C. Chinese had reached the Americas.
In 2003, with the sudden world-wide interest in this topic, the family took the maps to the Library of Congress. For three years the maps were there while being studied. On May 16, 2005 Dr. Harris' daughter, Charlotte Harris Rees, gave a speech at the Library of Congress about the early arrival of Chinese to America. In 2006, Mrs. Rees published a condensed, easy reading version of Dr. Harris' original text. This abridged version of Dr. Harris' book contains several never before released pictures of the Harris map collection. The book also contains a brief biography about Dr. Harris' unusual life. In 2008 Mrs. Rees published a book based upon her own research entitled Secret Maps of the Ancient World.
At the invitation of the Renwen Society of China Institute, Mrs. Rees will give a lecture on Saturday, September 26, 2:00-3:30 pm, on both her and her father's books. Her talk will bring together many academic studies and medical research revealing evidences of very early arrival of Chinese to America.
Dr. Harris, a third generation missionary, was born in Kaifeng, China to American parents. He learned both Chinese and English at a very early age. He was familiar with the Chinese.
Mrs. Charlotte Harris Rees is an independent researcher and a graduate of Columbia International University. As a child Mrs. Rees lived for four years in Taiwan then later for a year in Hong Kong where her parents were missionaries. In recent years she has made several trips to China. She has appeared in the United States on television, National Public Radio, in numerous news articles and has given speeches - including at the Library of Congress, the University of Maryland, the University of London, and in Beijing - about her family's map collection and the early arrival of Chinese to America.
Secret Maps of the Ancient World is Mrs. Rees's third book. It is endorsed by Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee, retired Chief of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress, and by New York Times best selling author, Gavin Menzies (1421: The Year China Discovered the World). Secret Maps of the Ancient World was listed in fall 2008 as a new publication by WCILCOS (The World Confederation of Institutes and Libraries for Chinese Overseas Studies.) The book also appeared in March 2009 at the National Library Show for American College and Research Libraries in Seattle (USA) and at the London (England) Book Fair in April 2009. Her web site is www.HarrisMaps.com
Free admissions, but advance registration is requested. To register online, please visit http://chineselectures.org/upcoming.html. To register by phone, please call (646) 912-8861. For inquiries, please email renwen@chinainstitute.org
Location: China Institute, 125 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065
Date and time: Saturday, Sept. 26, 2:00-3:30 pm
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Schools Cut Foreign Language Programs
How can we expect our children to compete globally without a knowledge of other languages and cultures?
Great quote from ACTFL Director, Mary Abbot: “In many cultures, a lot of business does not get done around the business table, it gets done in side conversations and social situations,” said Marty Abbott, director of education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and a former high school Spanish and Latin teacher. “If you can’t participate in those discussions, you get left out.”
Foreign Languages Fall as Schools Look for Cuts
Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times
By WINNIE HU
Published: September 11, 2009
IN Edgemont, a high-performing Westchester school district, children as young as 7 could recite colors and days of the week in Spanish, but few if any learned to really converse, read or write. So this fall, the district canceled the Spanish lessons offered twice weekly at its two elementary schools since 2003, deciding the time and resources — an estimated $175,000 a year — could be better spent on other subjects.
Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times
The software replaced three teachers.
Class consolidation in Yonkers resulted in the loss of four foreign-language teaching positions, and budget cuts have cost Arlington, N.Y., its seventh-grade German program, and Danbury, Conn., several sections of middle school French and Spanish.
And in New Jersey, the Ridgewood district is replacing its three elementary school Spanish teachers with Rosetta Stone, an interactive computer program that cost $70,000, less than half their combined salaries.
“There’s never a replacement for a teacher in the classroom,” said Debra Anderson, a Ridgewood spokeswoman. “But this was a good solution in view of the financial constraints.”
After years of expanding language offerings, suburban districts across the New York region are now cutting back on staff and instructional time, phasing out less popular languages, and rethinking whether they can really afford to introduce foreign tongues to their youngest students while under constant pressure to downsize budgets and raise achievement in English and other core subjects.
But such cuts have dismayed and frustrated some educators and parents, who say that children need more, not fewer, foreign language skills to compete in a global marketplace.
“In many cultures, a lot of business does not get done around the business table, it gets done in side conversations and social situations,” said Marty Abbott, director of education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and a former high school Spanish and Latin teacher. “If you can’t participate in those discussions, you get left out.”
Foreign languages play an increasingly prominent role in urban schools that serve diverse ethnic communities. For instance, the New York City schools offered courses in Haitian-Creole, Vietnamese, and Portuguese last year, and opened the first public school dedicated to Arabic language and culture in Brooklyn in 2007. Last week, the city’s first Hebrew-language charter school opened, also in Brooklyn.
Advocates for foreign-language instruction would like to see the lessons integrated into the core curriculum rather than treated as electives easy to ax at budget time. They also say that instruction should begin as early as possible — ideally in preschool — because academic research shows that younger children are more accepting of other cultures and better able to master the pronunciation and intonation of foreign words. Some even contend that learning a foreign language can foster cognitive skills that lead to higher standardized test scores in other subjects.
On Long Island, more than 200 residents of Long Beach signed petitions over the summer opposing the district’s decision to phase out a dual-language English-Spanish program at Lido Elementary School that had served as a model for other districts.
“I think it’s a terrible shame,” said Sebastian Arengo, a software engineer, whose 6-year-old twin daughters are in the program. “It’s at the right age for kids to speak both languages, and it’s also a great way to bring the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities together here in Long Beach.”
Robert Greenberg, superintendent of the 4,000-student Long Beach district, said that the program had been created mainly to help Spanish-speaking students learn English through bilingual classes, but that it has evolved into an immersion program for those who want to learn Spanish. “I have Latino families wanting me to teach their children Spanish, but that’s not the intent of the program,” he said.
Separate from the dual-language program, the district has provided 90 minutes a week of Spanish instruction to all kindergarten and first-grade students since 2007, and plans to expand that program by one grade every year. “We made an instructional decision that we’re teaching all children Spanish rather than a few,” he said.
Many superintendents say they remain committed to teaching languages, but simply cannot afford to do more at this time. In Rockland County, the 9,400-student Clarkstown district spent about $60,000 last year to hire a full-time Spanish teacher for one of its 10 elementary schools but postponed plans to do the same at the other schools this fall “until we determine the economy is getting better,” said Meg Keller-Cogan, the superintendent.
In Connecticut, the New Hartford district cut its one foreign language teacher at Ann Antolini Elementary School from full time to three days a week to save $35,000. Fewer hours mean that Spanish will no longer be taught to third and fourth graders. “It was just for budget reasons and it was a very painful decision,” said Philip O’Reilly, the superintendent, adding that other staff members had hours reduced — and two were laid off — to cut costs.
Some educators said they were re-evaluating foreign-language programs not just because of finances but to update them and incorporate new technology. The Ridgewood district, which started twice-weekly Spanish lessons at its elementary schools in 2005, said its interactive software, made by Rosetta Stone, allows students to learn at their own pace.
The 10,400-student Arlington district decided to phase out German — leaving Spanish, French and Italian — because it was the least popular choice among students; last year, 44 seventh graders enrolled in introductory German compared to more than 300 in Spanish. The district also phased out Russian more than a decade ago.
“It was a low-fill, high-cost area of instruction, and if that wasn’t taken, something else would have been,” said Frank V. Pepe Jr., the superintendent.
The district will continue to require every student to study a foreign language in seventh and eighth grade; nearly a quarter of all students study a language through their junior or senior year, according to district officials.
“I’m not pleased we eliminated German,” Mr. Pepe said. “I’m not pleased at all.”
Great quote from ACTFL Director, Mary Abbot: “In many cultures, a lot of business does not get done around the business table, it gets done in side conversations and social situations,” said Marty Abbott, director of education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and a former high school Spanish and Latin teacher. “If you can’t participate in those discussions, you get left out.”
Foreign Languages Fall as Schools Look for Cuts
Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times
By WINNIE HU
Published: September 11, 2009
IN Edgemont, a high-performing Westchester school district, children as young as 7 could recite colors and days of the week in Spanish, but few if any learned to really converse, read or write. So this fall, the district canceled the Spanish lessons offered twice weekly at its two elementary schools since 2003, deciding the time and resources — an estimated $175,000 a year — could be better spent on other subjects.
Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times
The software replaced three teachers.
Class consolidation in Yonkers resulted in the loss of four foreign-language teaching positions, and budget cuts have cost Arlington, N.Y., its seventh-grade German program, and Danbury, Conn., several sections of middle school French and Spanish.
And in New Jersey, the Ridgewood district is replacing its three elementary school Spanish teachers with Rosetta Stone, an interactive computer program that cost $70,000, less than half their combined salaries.
“There’s never a replacement for a teacher in the classroom,” said Debra Anderson, a Ridgewood spokeswoman. “But this was a good solution in view of the financial constraints.”
After years of expanding language offerings, suburban districts across the New York region are now cutting back on staff and instructional time, phasing out less popular languages, and rethinking whether they can really afford to introduce foreign tongues to their youngest students while under constant pressure to downsize budgets and raise achievement in English and other core subjects.
But such cuts have dismayed and frustrated some educators and parents, who say that children need more, not fewer, foreign language skills to compete in a global marketplace.
“In many cultures, a lot of business does not get done around the business table, it gets done in side conversations and social situations,” said Marty Abbott, director of education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and a former high school Spanish and Latin teacher. “If you can’t participate in those discussions, you get left out.”
Foreign languages play an increasingly prominent role in urban schools that serve diverse ethnic communities. For instance, the New York City schools offered courses in Haitian-Creole, Vietnamese, and Portuguese last year, and opened the first public school dedicated to Arabic language and culture in Brooklyn in 2007. Last week, the city’s first Hebrew-language charter school opened, also in Brooklyn.
Advocates for foreign-language instruction would like to see the lessons integrated into the core curriculum rather than treated as electives easy to ax at budget time. They also say that instruction should begin as early as possible — ideally in preschool — because academic research shows that younger children are more accepting of other cultures and better able to master the pronunciation and intonation of foreign words. Some even contend that learning a foreign language can foster cognitive skills that lead to higher standardized test scores in other subjects.
On Long Island, more than 200 residents of Long Beach signed petitions over the summer opposing the district’s decision to phase out a dual-language English-Spanish program at Lido Elementary School that had served as a model for other districts.
“I think it’s a terrible shame,” said Sebastian Arengo, a software engineer, whose 6-year-old twin daughters are in the program. “It’s at the right age for kids to speak both languages, and it’s also a great way to bring the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities together here in Long Beach.”
Robert Greenberg, superintendent of the 4,000-student Long Beach district, said that the program had been created mainly to help Spanish-speaking students learn English through bilingual classes, but that it has evolved into an immersion program for those who want to learn Spanish. “I have Latino families wanting me to teach their children Spanish, but that’s not the intent of the program,” he said.
Separate from the dual-language program, the district has provided 90 minutes a week of Spanish instruction to all kindergarten and first-grade students since 2007, and plans to expand that program by one grade every year. “We made an instructional decision that we’re teaching all children Spanish rather than a few,” he said.
Many superintendents say they remain committed to teaching languages, but simply cannot afford to do more at this time. In Rockland County, the 9,400-student Clarkstown district spent about $60,000 last year to hire a full-time Spanish teacher for one of its 10 elementary schools but postponed plans to do the same at the other schools this fall “until we determine the economy is getting better,” said Meg Keller-Cogan, the superintendent.
In Connecticut, the New Hartford district cut its one foreign language teacher at Ann Antolini Elementary School from full time to three days a week to save $35,000. Fewer hours mean that Spanish will no longer be taught to third and fourth graders. “It was just for budget reasons and it was a very painful decision,” said Philip O’Reilly, the superintendent, adding that other staff members had hours reduced — and two were laid off — to cut costs.
Some educators said they were re-evaluating foreign-language programs not just because of finances but to update them and incorporate new technology. The Ridgewood district, which started twice-weekly Spanish lessons at its elementary schools in 2005, said its interactive software, made by Rosetta Stone, allows students to learn at their own pace.
The 10,400-student Arlington district decided to phase out German — leaving Spanish, French and Italian — because it was the least popular choice among students; last year, 44 seventh graders enrolled in introductory German compared to more than 300 in Spanish. The district also phased out Russian more than a decade ago.
“It was a low-fill, high-cost area of instruction, and if that wasn’t taken, something else would have been,” said Frank V. Pepe Jr., the superintendent.
The district will continue to require every student to study a foreign language in seventh and eighth grade; nearly a quarter of all students study a language through their junior or senior year, according to district officials.
“I’m not pleased we eliminated German,” Mr. Pepe said. “I’m not pleased at all.”
Chinese Workshops Available for Schools
Many schools, teen centers, and community centers are organizing After School Chinese programs for their students and members.
Interactive, age appropriate Chinese programs can help inspire learning and transition middle school students to high school Chinese classes.
For more information on CLSC private tutoring, corporate program, Elementary and Middle School workshops, or other programs please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or contact them at info@chineselanguageschool.org.
The Chinese Language School of Connecticut Presents Chopstix Chinese Story Time at Old Greenwich’s Perrot Library
-- School presents activities and stories for three to five year olds --
“I am so pleased that the Perrot Library and the Chinese Language School of Connecticut are able to bring such a culturally enriching program to our community. Our children truly benefit when two wonderful institutions collaborate,” said CLSC Advisory Committee member, Robyn Wasserman.
Riverside, CT, September 19, 2009 – The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org), the fully-accredited, non-profit Riverside, CT-based provider of Chinese language programs, is pleased to present Chopstix Chinese Story Time at Old Greenwich’s Perrot Library (www.perrotlibrary.org).
This program is for children ages 3-5 (and their siblings); a parent or caregiver must be present.
“Perrot is thrilled to partner with the Chinese Language School of Connecticut in adding Story Time in Mandarin Chinese to our preschool program offerings. Learning a second language not only has a positive effect on a child’s mental development, but also opens the door to other cultures!” said Perrot Library Technical Assistant Vicky Livoti.
Story times are Fridays, 1pm on 9/18, 10/2, 10/16, 10/30, 11/13. For more info www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org, or visit http://greenteapop.blogspot.com.
* * *
-- School presents activities and stories for three to five year olds --
“I am so pleased that the Perrot Library and the Chinese Language School of Connecticut are able to bring such a culturally enriching program to our community. Our children truly benefit when two wonderful institutions collaborate,” said CLSC Advisory Committee member, Robyn Wasserman.
Riverside, CT, September 19, 2009 – The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org), the fully-accredited, non-profit Riverside, CT-based provider of Chinese language programs, is pleased to present Chopstix Chinese Story Time at Old Greenwich’s Perrot Library (www.perrotlibrary.org).
This program is for children ages 3-5 (and their siblings); a parent or caregiver must be present.
“Perrot is thrilled to partner with the Chinese Language School of Connecticut in adding Story Time in Mandarin Chinese to our preschool program offerings. Learning a second language not only has a positive effect on a child’s mental development, but also opens the door to other cultures!” said Perrot Library Technical Assistant Vicky Livoti.
Story times are Fridays, 1pm on 9/18, 10/2, 10/16, 10/30, 11/13. For more info www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org, or visit http://greenteapop.blogspot.com.
* * *
Chinese Language School of Connecticut Chopstix Preschool Chinese Classes at the Greenwich Library
--School to introduce youngest children to Chinese language and culture.--
Photo Caption: Children learn Chinese in a recent CLSC Chopstix class.
RIVERSIDE, September 1, 2009– The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org) will be offering a Chopstix preschool Chinese demo class at the Greenwich Library, on Friday, September 18, at 10:30 to 11:15am in the Children’s Constellation room of the library.
Greenwich Library's Children's Librarian Alice Sherwood said, “We're very pleased to offer these engaging programs for young children at the library, as a service to the Greenwich community."
CLSC Principal Daisy Chen Laone, explained, “We’d like to offer complementary Chopstix classes to the community, to introduce more children to learning Mandarin Chinese.”
“It’s such an ancient, rich language, and the children enjoy the stories, songs, and puppets we use in our preschool classes, in order to make Chinese come alive for them!”
Regular CLSC classes are held Sundays in Riverside, and weekdays at the Greenwich Family Y on East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich.
To attend the free class, please come by the library 10 minutes before class is scheduled to start, as class size is limited.
For information on the Chinese Language School of Connecticut’s language programs for children or adults, their Before– and After- School programs, special workshops, private tutoring or corporate language programs, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
* * *
--School to introduce youngest children to Chinese language and culture.--
Photo Caption: Children learn Chinese in a recent CLSC Chopstix class.
RIVERSIDE, September 1, 2009– The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org) will be offering a Chopstix preschool Chinese demo class at the Greenwich Library, on Friday, September 18, at 10:30 to 11:15am in the Children’s Constellation room of the library.
Greenwich Library's Children's Librarian Alice Sherwood said, “We're very pleased to offer these engaging programs for young children at the library, as a service to the Greenwich community."
CLSC Principal Daisy Chen Laone, explained, “We’d like to offer complementary Chopstix classes to the community, to introduce more children to learning Mandarin Chinese.”
“It’s such an ancient, rich language, and the children enjoy the stories, songs, and puppets we use in our preschool classes, in order to make Chinese come alive for them!”
Regular CLSC classes are held Sundays in Riverside, and weekdays at the Greenwich Family Y on East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich.
To attend the free class, please come by the library 10 minutes before class is scheduled to start, as class size is limited.
For information on the Chinese Language School of Connecticut’s language programs for children or adults, their Before– and After- School programs, special workshops, private tutoring or corporate language programs, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
* * *
Chinese at Greenwich YMCA After School Programs
The Chinese Language School of Connecticut and the Greenwich Family Y Present Chinese After-School Programs
-- Greenwich Family Y to offer Mandarin as part of their ongoing After School programs --
“The Greenwich Family Y is pleased to help meet the community’s growing interest in learning Chinese. We want this to be one of many valuable resources the Y is able to offer the Greenwich community,” said Greenwich Family Y President and CEO, Rebecca Fretty.
Riverside, CT, September 18, 2009 – The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org), the fully-accredited, non-profit provider of Chinese language programs, is pleased to partner with the Greenwich Family YMCA to offer Mandarin Chinese as part of the Y’s After School programs at St. Roch’s, New Lebanon, Hamilton Avenue and North Mianus schools.
Chinese After School Y programs will begin the week of September 21 and are for children who are registered for the Greenwich Family Y’s After School programs. For more information, please visit http://gwymca.org/programs.php or call them at 203-869-1630.
CLSC Principal, Daisy Chen Laone, said, “Students at the Greenwich Family Y After School program will be introduced to Chinese by interacting in age-appropriate activities, singing songs and participating in craft projects. We’re happy to be able to engage even more children in learning Chinese!”
For more info on CLSC’s program, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org, email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org, or visit http://greenteapop.blogspot.com.
* * *
-- Greenwich Family Y to offer Mandarin as part of their ongoing After School programs --
“The Greenwich Family Y is pleased to help meet the community’s growing interest in learning Chinese. We want this to be one of many valuable resources the Y is able to offer the Greenwich community,” said Greenwich Family Y President and CEO, Rebecca Fretty.
Riverside, CT, September 18, 2009 – The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org), the fully-accredited, non-profit provider of Chinese language programs, is pleased to partner with the Greenwich Family YMCA to offer Mandarin Chinese as part of the Y’s After School programs at St. Roch’s, New Lebanon, Hamilton Avenue and North Mianus schools.
Chinese After School Y programs will begin the week of September 21 and are for children who are registered for the Greenwich Family Y’s After School programs. For more information, please visit http://gwymca.org/programs.php or call them at 203-869-1630.
CLSC Principal, Daisy Chen Laone, said, “Students at the Greenwich Family Y After School program will be introduced to Chinese by interacting in age-appropriate activities, singing songs and participating in craft projects. We’re happy to be able to engage even more children in learning Chinese!”
For more info on CLSC’s program, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org, email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org, or visit http://greenteapop.blogspot.com.
* * *
Monday, September 14, 2009
CLSC Chinese Art and Culture
Thanks to CLSC VP Art & Culture Katy Chen Myers for planning a full slate of special projects for our students this year.
Art & Culture Levels 1 & 2
· Animal PuppetsDecorate Oversized Puppet Characters from
Chinese/Miao fairytale: “The Peacock’s Tail
· Book Illustration
For a Story written by Students based on
Shopping for objects from ancient China.
· Patterns & Designs
Basic designs, patterns and symbols of the
Ming & Qing periods
· Bowls and Chopsticks
Food and chopstick 3D display of what we
Eat at home with our families
· Two Thousand Ships
Collage of the Ming Ships that sailed around
the world in the 1600s which carried over
twenty eight thousand men.
CLSC Art & Culture: Levels 3 & 4
· Children & Pet Puppets
Decorate “Self Portrait” or “Pet” puppets to
Dance to Chinese music.
· Family Cookbook
Students create illustrations for the first
CLSC cookbook
· Heroes of the Ming
Students help paint two murals of famous
Heroes from the Ming dynasty
· Two Thousand Ships
Illustrations of the goods traded with the
merchants of Europe during the world
voyage: Chinese innovations
· Active Qigong The Crane, the bear and the basic rock;
Qigong as performance art
CLSC Art & Culture: Levels 5& 6
· The Victors:
Portraits of the Qing & the eight banners; Nurhaci & his decedents: The Manchu
Costumes for men & women
· Temples of worship
Two backdrops depicting the interior of a
Small temple from the 1400s
· Jade & Earth
Recreate ornamental objects and vessels in
miniature for a household
· Shadow Puppets The Man & the Rabbit; a Szechuan folktale
Students create shadow box & puppets
· Qigong: Eight Brocades
Eight exercise movements, performance to
music; Daoist teachings to relax the mind
CLSC Art & Culture: Levels 7-9
· The Dancing Immortals
Puppet portrait: Bamboo & paper
Part of the “Peacock’s Tail” and Magic Flute
Story using masks & puppets
· The Manchu
Portraits depicting the most famous leaders of the Qing
· The Journey Map for the teen & tween using books:
“Monkey” & “American Born Chinese”
· The Book of Inventions 2500 years science & innovations based on
works of Joseph Needham: illustrations &
collage on canvas
· The CLSC photo bookStudents take photos of Asian influences
they see in everyday life to incorporate in to
large mix-media installation
Upcoming CLSC Events
October: Parent Forum: Dr. Jessica Offir
“Parenting: Setting Boundaries for your child”
November: The 2nd Annual CLSC Baking contest
This years’ theme: Decorative arts of China
December: Parent Forum: Patricia Lord
“Self Image for Girls: What moms need to
To Know”
January: Lantern Painting and Art Show
February: Cooking Demo; Steamed buns
CLSC
Wheat & Rice Cooking Workshops
Steam buns with assorted fillings
Fried rice, home style
Glutinous rice with chicken & wine
Dumplings with veggies, shrimp or chicken
Join us to learn how to cook simple and nutritious
home style comfort foods which are easy to
prepare. Class will be held at a private home in
Greenwich. B.Y.O.R.P*
* Bring your own rolling pins
Art & Culture Levels 1 & 2
· Animal PuppetsDecorate Oversized Puppet Characters from
Chinese/Miao fairytale: “The Peacock’s Tail
· Book Illustration
For a Story written by Students based on
Shopping for objects from ancient China.
· Patterns & Designs
Basic designs, patterns and symbols of the
Ming & Qing periods
· Bowls and Chopsticks
Food and chopstick 3D display of what we
Eat at home with our families
· Two Thousand Ships
Collage of the Ming Ships that sailed around
the world in the 1600s which carried over
twenty eight thousand men.
CLSC Art & Culture: Levels 3 & 4
· Children & Pet Puppets
Decorate “Self Portrait” or “Pet” puppets to
Dance to Chinese music.
· Family Cookbook
Students create illustrations for the first
CLSC cookbook
· Heroes of the Ming
Students help paint two murals of famous
Heroes from the Ming dynasty
· Two Thousand Ships
Illustrations of the goods traded with the
merchants of Europe during the world
voyage: Chinese innovations
· Active Qigong The Crane, the bear and the basic rock;
Qigong as performance art
CLSC Art & Culture: Levels 5& 6
· The Victors:
Portraits of the Qing & the eight banners; Nurhaci & his decedents: The Manchu
Costumes for men & women
· Temples of worship
Two backdrops depicting the interior of a
Small temple from the 1400s
· Jade & Earth
Recreate ornamental objects and vessels in
miniature for a household
· Shadow Puppets The Man & the Rabbit; a Szechuan folktale
Students create shadow box & puppets
· Qigong: Eight Brocades
Eight exercise movements, performance to
music; Daoist teachings to relax the mind
CLSC Art & Culture: Levels 7-9
· The Dancing Immortals
Puppet portrait: Bamboo & paper
Part of the “Peacock’s Tail” and Magic Flute
Story using masks & puppets
· The Manchu
Portraits depicting the most famous leaders of the Qing
· The Journey Map for the teen & tween using books:
“Monkey” & “American Born Chinese”
· The Book of Inventions 2500 years science & innovations based on
works of Joseph Needham: illustrations &
collage on canvas
· The CLSC photo bookStudents take photos of Asian influences
they see in everyday life to incorporate in to
large mix-media installation
Upcoming CLSC Events
October: Parent Forum: Dr. Jessica Offir
“Parenting: Setting Boundaries for your child”
November: The 2nd Annual CLSC Baking contest
This years’ theme: Decorative arts of China
December: Parent Forum: Patricia Lord
“Self Image for Girls: What moms need to
To Know”
January: Lantern Painting and Art Show
February: Cooking Demo; Steamed buns
CLSC
Wheat & Rice Cooking Workshops
Steam buns with assorted fillings
Fried rice, home style
Glutinous rice with chicken & wine
Dumplings with veggies, shrimp or chicken
Join us to learn how to cook simple and nutritious
home style comfort foods which are easy to
prepare. Class will be held at a private home in
Greenwich. B.Y.O.R.P*
* Bring your own rolling pins
Monday, September 7, 2009
American Grads Finding Jobs in China
Thanks to Alumni Parent and Advisory Committee member Laurie Greiss for the following:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/business/economy/11expats.html?_r=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/business/economy/11expats.html?_r=1
CLSC Students Skip Levels of High School Chinese
Students who study Chinese (either through CLSC or private tutoring) may be able to skip one or more levels of their high school's Chinese program.
The normal procedure is for parents to check with their school's Chinese instructor the winter or spring before the student is to enter high school so the student may be able to take the high school's Chinese 1 exam to determine placement. For questions as to how your middle school student may be able to advance in Chinese, or on how your high school student may be able to earn college credit in Chinese (while in high school) please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
Thanks to CLSC Alumni Parent, Betty Liu, Southport for the following: "Thank you for offering such excellent programs at CLSC. Our high school, Faifield Ludlowe High School, offers Mandarin during the school day. Now that my daughter Ivy is a freshman there, she will be able to take Intermediate Mandarin (She was able to get waived from Beginner Chinese due to her previous Chinese learning). My older daughter Amber also did this last year.
Because Mandarin is so different from English, it seems to tweak the brain in such a way that it enhances learning other subjects as well, the way learning chess and music do. As a result, I believe my kids have done better in school because of studying Chinese. Best of luck on continuing the mission of CLSC."
The normal procedure is for parents to check with their school's Chinese instructor the winter or spring before the student is to enter high school so the student may be able to take the high school's Chinese 1 exam to determine placement. For questions as to how your middle school student may be able to advance in Chinese, or on how your high school student may be able to earn college credit in Chinese (while in high school) please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org.
Thanks to CLSC Alumni Parent, Betty Liu, Southport for the following: "Thank you for offering such excellent programs at CLSC. Our high school, Faifield Ludlowe High School, offers Mandarin during the school day. Now that my daughter Ivy is a freshman there, she will be able to take Intermediate Mandarin (She was able to get waived from Beginner Chinese due to her previous Chinese learning). My older daughter Amber also did this last year.
Because Mandarin is so different from English, it seems to tweak the brain in such a way that it enhances learning other subjects as well, the way learning chess and music do. As a result, I believe my kids have done better in school because of studying Chinese. Best of luck on continuing the mission of CLSC."
Asian MBA Leadership Conference September 10-12
Asian MBA Leadership Conference & Career Expo
For more info: http://www.wnyc.org/events/138140
Description: WNYC is a media sponsor of the Asian MBA (AMBA) Leadership Conference & Career Expo. The program will address critical issues surrounding Asian leadership worldwide. Through workshops and seminars by acclaimed industry experts and a Career Expo, the event will connect the nation’s best Asian American talent.
Date: Thursday, September 10-Saturday, September 12
Location: Jacob Javits Convention Center
655 West 34th Street
Asian MBA Leadership Conference
Time: Times vary (Thursday evening through Saturday evening)
Ticket price: Prices vary
Ticket information: (212) 465-8391 or Asian MBA Leadership Conference
For more info: http://www.wnyc.org/events/138140
Description: WNYC is a media sponsor of the Asian MBA (AMBA) Leadership Conference & Career Expo. The program will address critical issues surrounding Asian leadership worldwide. Through workshops and seminars by acclaimed industry experts and a Career Expo, the event will connect the nation’s best Asian American talent.
Date: Thursday, September 10-Saturday, September 12
Location: Jacob Javits Convention Center
655 West 34th Street
Asian MBA Leadership Conference
Time: Times vary (Thursday evening through Saturday evening)
Ticket price: Prices vary
Ticket information: (212) 465-8391 or Asian MBA Leadership Conference
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Taiwan disaster relief
(This bulletin has been sent to CLSC; CLSC cannot verify the validity of or give details on any of the following; we invite you to please contact these organizations or individuals yourselves, thank you.)
Dear Friends:
As news of the disastrous typhoon and mudslides occur in Taiwan, our
hearts go out to the victims. See *
http://oldlady.idv.tw/old/2009/20090808/index.html* Whole villages have
been wiped out. Help is urgently needed now and into the near future for
the victims and their families .
Because time is of the essence, rather than acting as an intermediary, to
collect donations then, to disburse to the agencies, the OCAFC unanimously recommended that we pass along information on the following organizations through whom you can make donations directly if you are so inclined.
Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association (DDMBA) www.dharmadrum.org/* ;*
www.DDMBA.org
They have on the ground volunteers in Taiwan, and 100% of donations go to
relief effort, with no overhead costs. Donations should be made out to
DDMBA (for Taiwan Disaster Relief)
90-56 Corona Ave
Elmhurst, NY 11373
If you donate to this organization, our board member Alice Chen and her
family will match donations up to $2,000. Please send an email to Aliceat
contekalice@aol.com* *, indicating the $ amount donated and the check
number for the matching donation. DDMBA will mail a receipt upon receive the
donation check. It is 100% tax deductible.
Comment: donors can remain anonymous.
East Villagers
*www.eastvillagers.org/articles.php?tag=chao%20foundation*
All donations will be matched by Ping and Amy Chao Family Foundation (Ping
Chao is a classmate of Jy-Hong Su, our former President)
http://www.eastvillagers.org
All donations will be applied to joint relief effort with Taiwan Root
Medical Peace Corps;
Comment: Donors’ name will be listed online.
Tzu Chi Foundation
http://www.us.tzuchi.org/usa/home.nsf/home/index
TAIWAN BUDDHIST TZU CHI
FOUNDATION,
U.S.A. NATIONAL
EADQUARTERS
1100 S. Valley Center Ave., San Dimas, CA 91773
Tel: 909-447-7799 / Fax: 909-447-7948
*Web: *http://www.us.tzuchi.org
World Journal
www.worldjournal.com
Comment: World Journal is one of the most widely read Daily News in
Chinese Language for Chinese Language Communities.
In addition, there are many other Organizations and Channels suitable for
donating to TTDRD. We strongly recommend you as a concerned and caring individualor family to evaluate them independently and to support this extremely urgent disaster Relief Campaign. The victims in Taiwan do need your
immediate action and donation now! Time is of the Essence. We want your
donation dollars go to the end victims as directly, as soon, and as much as
possible.
Thanks!
Jason Liu
President
OCAFC
------------------------------
Dear Friends:
As news of the disastrous typhoon and mudslides occur in Taiwan, our
hearts go out to the victims. See *
http://oldlady.idv.tw/old/2009/20090808/index.html* Whole villages have
been wiped out. Help is urgently needed now and into the near future for
the victims and their families .
Because time is of the essence, rather than acting as an intermediary, to
collect donations then, to disburse to the agencies, the OCAFC unanimously recommended that we pass along information on the following organizations through whom you can make donations directly if you are so inclined.
Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association (DDMBA) www.dharmadrum.org/* ;*
www.DDMBA.org
They have on the ground volunteers in Taiwan, and 100% of donations go to
relief effort, with no overhead costs. Donations should be made out to
DDMBA (for Taiwan Disaster Relief)
90-56 Corona Ave
Elmhurst, NY 11373
If you donate to this organization, our board member Alice Chen and her
family will match donations up to $2,000. Please send an email to Aliceat
contekalice@aol.com* *, indicating the $ amount donated and the check
number for the matching donation. DDMBA will mail a receipt upon receive the
donation check. It is 100% tax deductible.
Comment: donors can remain anonymous.
East Villagers
*www.eastvillagers.org/articles.php?tag=chao%20foundation*
All donations will be matched by Ping and Amy Chao Family Foundation (Ping
Chao is a classmate of Jy-Hong Su, our former President)
http://www.eastvillagers.org
All donations will be applied to joint relief effort with Taiwan Root
Medical Peace Corps;
Comment: Donors’ name will be listed online.
Tzu Chi Foundation
http://www.us.tzuchi.org/usa/home.nsf/home/index
TAIWAN BUDDHIST TZU CHI
FOUNDATION,
U.S.A. NATIONAL
EADQUARTERS
1100 S. Valley Center Ave., San Dimas, CA 91773
Tel: 909-447-7799 / Fax: 909-447-7948
*Web: *http://www.us.tzuchi.org
World Journal
www.worldjournal.com
Comment: World Journal is one of the most widely read Daily News in
Chinese Language for Chinese Language Communities.
In addition, there are many other Organizations and Channels suitable for
donating to TTDRD. We strongly recommend you as a concerned and caring individualor family to evaluate them independently and to support this extremely urgent disaster Relief Campaign. The victims in Taiwan do need your
immediate action and donation now! Time is of the Essence. We want your
donation dollars go to the end victims as directly, as soon, and as much as
possible.
Thanks!
Jason Liu
President
OCAFC
------------------------------
Congress Targets Chinese Education
CLSC was profiled on the CBS Evening News a few years ago, as one of the pioneers in U.S. Chinese education (thanks to parent and Chinese New Year Chair Sam Connell for this link):
http://www.examiner.com/x-15615-Asia-Headlines-Examiner%7Ey2009m7d15-Congress-targets-Chinese-language-education
Congress targets Chinese language education
WASHINGTON - A bill pending in Congress would dramatically expand
Mandarin Chinese language classes for American students. The
measure, the U.S.-China Language Engagement Act, would award
competitive grants to schools to “establish, expand or improve”
Chinese language and cultural classes. It also expands technology op
tions to help American schools establish “virtual connections”
with schools in China.
U.S. Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., who authored the legislation, said
the measure can increase the competitiveness of American workers.
“While an estimated 200 million Chinese school children are studying
our language and culture, less than 50,000 American elementary and
secondary students are studying Chinese,” Davis said. “This bill
is part of a broader legislative package seeking to improve our comp
etitive edge and relationship with China.”
School districts around the country are increasingly adding Mandarin
language courses to their curriculum, but a lack of funding and
qualified teachers often makes program implementation difficult.
Linguists are divided as to whether studying foreign languages at an
earlier age is essential for fluency in the target language. The so-
called “critical learning period” has been challenged by more
provocative research which demonstrates the “plasticity” of the
human brain in people of all ages and backgrounds.
Mandarin Chinese, called “Putonghua,” is widely considered one of
the most difficult languages for native English speakers to master.
It is classified by the Defense Language Institute as a “category fo
ur” (out of four) language in regards to difficulty of mastery by na
tive English speakers. On the Foreign Service Institute language dif
ficulty scale, Mandarin is rated as a “category three” language
(out of three), due to the exceptional difficulty it poses for Engli
sh speakers to learn.
National security experts have said that the U.S. has a shortage of
qualified “critical language” speakers – specifically Mandarin
and Arabic. Both the CIA and FBI regularly advertise positions with
their agencies for Americans who possess some Chinese ability. In Ma
y, CIA Director Leon Panetta announced that he was boosting the agen
cy’s foreign language training programs. The 9/11 Commission Report
criticized the weak foreign language capabilities of the government’
s national security agencies.
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Barack Obama stressed that
foreign language instruction should be expanded in American schools.
“I don’t speak a foreign language. It’s embarrassing,” he
said. “It’s embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all
speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go
over to Europe and all we can say is merci beaucoup, right?”
A number of current Washington officials studied Mandarin as college
students. Democratic New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand studied the
language for six months in Mainland China and Taiwan. Treasury
Secretary Tim Geithner spent two summers learning the language at
Beijing’s Peking University, called “BeiDa” in Chinese.
The bipartisan bill, H.R. 2313, is cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Charles
Boustany, R-La.; Gerry Connolly, D-Va.; Mike Honda, D-Calif.; Steve
Israel, D-N.Y.; Mark Kirk, R-Ill.; Rick Larsen, D-Wa.; and Erik
Paulsen, R-Minn.
The legislation is currently awaiting further action in the House
Committee on Education and Labor.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Chinese discovered tea nearly 5,000 years ago...
The Chinese discovered the healing properties of tea nearly 5,000 years ago.
From Wikipedia: The history of tea in China is long and complex. The Chinese have enjoyed tea for millennia. Scholars hailed the brew as a cure for a variety of ailments; the nobility considered the consumption of good tea as a mark of their status, and the common people simply enjoyed its flavor.
Tea was first discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. It is said that the emperor liked his drinking water boiled before he drank it so it would be clean, so that is what his servants did. One day, on a trip to a distant region, he and his army stopped to rest. A servant began boiling water for him to drink, and a dead leaf from the wild tea bush fell into the water. It turned a brownish color, but it was unnoticed and presented to the emperor anyway. The emperor drank it and found it very refreshing, and cha (tea) was born.[citation needed]
While historically the origin of tea as a medicinal herb useful for staying awake is unclear, China is considered to have the earliest records of tea drinking, with recorded tea use in its history dating back to the first millennium BC. The Han Dynasty used tea as medicine. The use of tea as a beverage drunk for pleasure on social occasions dates from the Tang Dynasty or earlier.
Marco Polo discussed Chinese teas in his journals; two Russian explores brought tea to Russia in 1579.
For more on tea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea_in_China
To purchase wonderful tea in our area visit Arogya: http://www.arogya.net/
We all know tea has healing properties, gives you energy, tastes great (if prepared the right way) and is good for you.
Following are some Tea Tips:
White Tea: May dispel effects of alcohol and nicotine; acts on colds and sore throats, strong antioxidants; steep for 30 seconds at 185 degrees F, 85 degrees C; may reuse up to 4 times
Green Tea: Acts on colds, sore throats, strong antioxidants; helps dispel fat; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may resue up to 4 times
Pu’er Tea: May regulate blood pressure, lower cholesterol, helps dispel fat, purifier, may eliminate toxins, mixing with gingeng is said to provide relief from rheumatism and arthritis; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may resue up to 4 times
Oriental Beauty / King of Oolong Tea: Good for blood circulation and skin; good for anemia, helps enrich blood; may nourish stomach if mixed with brown sugar; may soften blood vessels; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may reuse up to 4 times
Jasmine Tea: Dispels heat, improves eyesight; gives energy and may help relieve headache; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may be reused up to 6 times
Litchi Tea / Black Tea: May be good for digestion and promotes energy; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may be reused up to 3 times
Ginseng Oolong: Restores energy, protects liver and kidney; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may be reused up to 5 times
From Wikipedia: The history of tea in China is long and complex. The Chinese have enjoyed tea for millennia. Scholars hailed the brew as a cure for a variety of ailments; the nobility considered the consumption of good tea as a mark of their status, and the common people simply enjoyed its flavor.
Tea was first discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. It is said that the emperor liked his drinking water boiled before he drank it so it would be clean, so that is what his servants did. One day, on a trip to a distant region, he and his army stopped to rest. A servant began boiling water for him to drink, and a dead leaf from the wild tea bush fell into the water. It turned a brownish color, but it was unnoticed and presented to the emperor anyway. The emperor drank it and found it very refreshing, and cha (tea) was born.[citation needed]
While historically the origin of tea as a medicinal herb useful for staying awake is unclear, China is considered to have the earliest records of tea drinking, with recorded tea use in its history dating back to the first millennium BC. The Han Dynasty used tea as medicine. The use of tea as a beverage drunk for pleasure on social occasions dates from the Tang Dynasty or earlier.
Marco Polo discussed Chinese teas in his journals; two Russian explores brought tea to Russia in 1579.
For more on tea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea_in_China
To purchase wonderful tea in our area visit Arogya: http://www.arogya.net/
We all know tea has healing properties, gives you energy, tastes great (if prepared the right way) and is good for you.
Following are some Tea Tips:
White Tea: May dispel effects of alcohol and nicotine; acts on colds and sore throats, strong antioxidants; steep for 30 seconds at 185 degrees F, 85 degrees C; may reuse up to 4 times
Green Tea: Acts on colds, sore throats, strong antioxidants; helps dispel fat; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may resue up to 4 times
Pu’er Tea: May regulate blood pressure, lower cholesterol, helps dispel fat, purifier, may eliminate toxins, mixing with gingeng is said to provide relief from rheumatism and arthritis; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may resue up to 4 times
Oriental Beauty / King of Oolong Tea: Good for blood circulation and skin; good for anemia, helps enrich blood; may nourish stomach if mixed with brown sugar; may soften blood vessels; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may reuse up to 4 times
Jasmine Tea: Dispels heat, improves eyesight; gives energy and may help relieve headache; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may be reused up to 6 times
Litchi Tea / Black Tea: May be good for digestion and promotes energy; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may be reused up to 3 times
Ginseng Oolong: Restores energy, protects liver and kidney; steep for 30 seconds at 203 degrees F, 95 degrees C; may be reused up to 5 times
Monday, July 27, 2009
First Chinese American Woman Elected to Congress
First Chinese American Woman Elected to Congress
Here is a great news item from the San Gabriel Valley (southern
California):
Judy Chu Becomes First Chinese American Woman Elected to Congress
On Tuesday, adding to a 24-year political career launched on a local school
board, Judy Chu became the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress.
She won a special election -- with nearly 62% of the vote -- to succeed
longtime ally Hilda Solis, now U.S. Labor secretary, in the 32nd Congressional
District.
L.A. Times -- July 15, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-judy-chu16-2009jul16,0,2984735.story
Ms. Chu is here with her two nieces, both adopted from China:
http://www.judychu.net/
Here is a great news item from the San Gabriel Valley (southern
California):
Judy Chu Becomes First Chinese American Woman Elected to Congress
On Tuesday, adding to a 24-year political career launched on a local school
board, Judy Chu became the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress.
She won a special election -- with nearly 62% of the vote -- to succeed
longtime ally Hilda Solis, now U.S. Labor secretary, in the 32nd Congressional
District.
L.A. Times -- July 15, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-judy-chu16-2009jul16,0,2984735.story
Ms. Chu is here with her two nieces, both adopted from China:
http://www.judychu.net/
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