U.S.A.
January 18, 2016
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
Students tackle Mandarin at Boise Chinese school
MOUNTAIN IMMERSION. Boise Modern Chinese School students
Caitlin Yang, front, with Catherine Rui and Sunny Gu, perform for family
and friends in Garden City, Idaho. The school of more than 100 students
meet for two hours of instruction every Sunday afternoon, followed by
time to learn chess, play soccer, or practice Chinese dances. (Darin
Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP)
By Bill Roberts
Idaho Statesman
OISE, Idaho (AP) — At the Boise Modern Chinese
School’s year-end performance day, young
students sang a Mandarin song to show what they
had learned in the previous semester.
Girls performed ancient Chinese dances in bright
costumes.
In the corner were refreshments for the roughly 100
people who came to celebrate the way their sons,
daughters, grandkids, nieces, and nephews are
understanding Chinese language and culture.
“Our parents (want) us to learn Chinese, so they
enrolled us,” said Rachel Brooks, 13, who has attended the
school for about four years. “My mom is Chinese and just
thought it would be good.”
Boise Modern Chinese School has teachers who are
compensated for their instruction in Chinese, said Dazhi
Yang, a Boise State University associate professor in
educational technology who was selected principal in May
and volunteers her time.
The school’s 107 students meet for two hours of
instruction every Sunday afternoon, followed by time to
learn chess, play soccer, or practice Chinese dances.
The school teaches Mandarin, because it is the official
language of China and is widely understood throughout
the country, even though many people may speak a
different dialect, Yang said.
Many, but not all, of the school’s students come from
families where one or both parents are Chinese.
Lisa Brooks came from China about two decades ago.
She wanted her daughter Rachel to learn Chinese and the
culture. Brooks was raised in rural China, in poverty
where the family grew food to survive.
When she sees Rachel learning Mandarin — even
though it isn’t the language her mother speaks — it makes
B
q
Governor Haley
and speaker Ryan
offer new GOP
answer to Trump
Continued from page 8
decision the next day to
praise her, with press
secretary Josh Earnest
saying she deserved credit.
However, Ohio Republi-
can chairman Matt Borges
said Trump’s approach
could become a liability,
though he said there’s time
to correct course.
“No Republican has won
the presidency without
winning Ohio, and you
cannot win Ohio with a
divisive message,” Borges
said as the Republican
National Committee con-
vened its winter meetings
in
Charleston,
South
Carolina. He said he
delivered that message to
the candidate personally.
Ultimately, Borges said,
Trump and the party will
have an opportunity to
shift. “Part of this is just
the
primary
process
playing out,” he said,
adding, “I think he under-
stands that we have to have
a unifying, inclusive mes-
sage.”
Associated Press writer Bill
Barrow contributed to this report
from Charleston, South Carolina.
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her feel good.
“She knows my background more and where I came
from and where I grew up,” Lisa said.
Parents of children who aren’t Chinese see various
benefits from sending their children there.
“I think children learning a second or third language
when they are young is a good idea,” said Katie Scanlan,
who has two children, Aidan, age 13, and Maggie, age
nine, attending the school. “When you learn it your brain
is more wired to pick it up in later life.”
Scanlan sends her two youngest children to the school
in part because of the diversity it offers.
“It’s good for kids to not always be in the majority,” she
said.
Learning Mandarin is not an easy way to spend a
Sunday.
Different tones in the language denote different
meanings of words, Rachel Brooks said. “If you don’t do it
the right way, things can get very confusing.”
Understanding how to write Chinese characters strains
the brain. Students need to understand not only what goes
into a written character, but also which strokes are done
first, middle, and last.
“It is hard to write a new character,” said Lain Barrett,
age 12, who came to the United States from China when
he was three years old.
Xiaoping Yang, 53, a teacher and former principal at the
Chinese school, says teachers try to make the learning fun
with games and word puzzles.
Learning Chinese is important, even if it is difficult,
Xiaoping Yang said. “One day, if you go to China, how
(else) do you talk to your relatives?” he asked.
But for many of the students learning Chinese, it’s not
widely spoken outside of class.
“When they talk to us, they use Mandarin,” Xiaoping
Yang said. “When they talk to each other, they use
English.”
The adult Scanlans don’t speak Chinese and cannot
converse with their children in Mandarin.
“They talk to each other,” Scanlan said. “I think that is
much more beneficial.”
The Chinese school offered its first round of Advanced
Placement (AP) exams this year for students to earn
college credit for their mastery of the language.
Alice Jiang, a 16-year-old, straight-A sophomore at
Eagle High School, was one of five students at the Chinese
school to pass the AP exam. She’s taken Mandarin lessons
since she was five years old.
“I have heard that Chinese is one of the hardest
languages to learn,” she said. “I was born in a Chinese-
speaking family and I’ve gone to China. It is all about
being exposed to more Chinese. It helps me learn.”
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