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Sasha Obama Speaks Chinese with President Hu Jinato January 21, 2011 (CBS) President Barack Obama’s daughter Sasha, 9, is learning Chinese in school. And like any encouraging dad, the president helped her find opportunities to hone her skills. This week, the 9-year-old had the chance to practice her phrases with Hu Jintao, the Chinese president.…

From Eugene Oregon TV station KVAL: Video here. Comments (6) EUGENE, Ore. — In China, party hosts still have about two weeks to prepare for New Year celebrations, but students 9,000 miles across the globe in Eugene are already celebrating by singing a traditional New Year song in Mandarin. Oak Hill School in Eugene offers Mandarin…

So I’m pretty sure this article from the New York Times about over-the-top high school seniors is a joke. One hopes so. But clearly, Mandarin is now part of the national consciousness, if only as yet another “can you top this?” item to add to a kid’s resume. For those of us in immersion, of…

Seven-year-old Anna Ferrebee carefully printed the letters b-i-r-d as she practiced the spelling and vocabulary words that are typical in a first-grade class. Then she moved her pencil to a second column and began copying a symbol few other first-graders in South Carolina would understand — the Chinese character for “bird.” Anna is a student…

This is the annual Chinese literary arts contest in San Francisco. Many students in the Mandarin immersion programs participate, especially in the recitation of poems, translation and Chinese drawing. 旧金山州立大学孔子学院与旧金山联合校区主办 Organized by the Confucius Institute at San Francisco State University and SFUSD 中国国家汉语国际推广领导小组办公室与中国驻旧金山领事馆教育组赞助 Sponsored by the Office of Chinese Language Council International and Education Office…

Mandarin immersion: 90 percent of curriculum in Chinese by Shannon Barry Posted: 01/06/2011 02:31:23 PM PST Click photo to enlarge A class of kindergarteners at Joseph Azevada Elementary School is learning the same core instruction of reading, writing and arithmetic as its peers at the school but is being immersed in a completely different way of…

[My own op ed – the man has a point. But I figure it’s easier to learn Chinese as a little kid and then pick up Spanish in high school than the other way around – Beth] Op-Ed Columnist Primero Hay Que Aprender Español. Ranhou Zai Xue Zhongwen. By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Published: December 29,…