East West Connection
Confucius Institute and Georgia Pre-K language instruction partnership expands
The familiar…
Georgia
(Jun 10, 2010) —
Confucius Institute and Georgia Pre-K language instruction partnership expands
The familiar childhood classics “Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping)” and “Happy
Birthday to You” may never have been sung with as much expression as when a group
of 20 enthusiastic preschoolers at the West Cobb Prep Academy in Marietta, Ga. were
heard singing them in Mandarin Chinese.
After just three months of Chinese language instruction made possible by a first-of-its-kind
partnership between the Confucius Institute at Kennesaw State University and Bright
from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, the four- and five-year
olds exude confidence in their nascent skills. They recite numbers from 1-100, days
of the week, months of the year, animals, genders, body parts, shapes and colors.
With little prompting, they follow instructions given exclusively in Chinese by their
teacher, Fangly “Fran” Tan, a master’s student at Yangzhou University in China who
works under a two-year contract with KSU’s institute.
“It’s something many of them can’t do yet in English,” said Bose Imoukhuede, owner
of the culturally diverse early learning center, which also offers instruction in
Spanish and French. “They have picked up Chinese so fast, and the parents are very
impressed; more of them are requesting that their children take Chinese.”
The two Chinese language classes at West Cobb Prep were among the first seven
classes launched at three preschools in Cobb and Hall counties in October. By year’s
end, the partnership will offer 17 classes serving 340 preschoolers in Cobb, Whitfield,
Hall and Fulton counties.
The rapid expansion of classes offered under this new partnership reflects a national
trend toward an increased interest in Chinese language instruction in schools even
as foreign language at U.S. schools is diminishing.
No one is keeping an exact count, The New York Times recently reported, but calculations based on a federally funded survey by the Center
for Applied Linguistics suggests that 1,600 public and private schools are teaching
Chinese, up from 300 a decade or so ago. In addition, the College Board reports that
Chinese has replaced German as the third most-tested advanced placement language,
behind Spanish and French.
One reason Chinese language instruction is flourishing is due to the efforts by
China’s Office of the Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), which funds
282 Confucius Institutes throughout the world, like the one at KSU, which are designed
to promote Chinese language and culture. In addition, the organization has been responsible
for sponsoring hundreds of American school administrators and educators on visits
to schools in China.
The seed for the partnership between the Confucious Institute at Kennesaw State
University and Georgia’s Bright from the Start department was planted when Special
Assistant to the President for External Affairs Arlethia Perry-Johnson introduced
Ken Jin, the executive director of the institute at KSU, to Georgia’s commissioner
of early care and learning, Holly Robinson, in January 2009.
“Promotion and support of Chinese language education in Georgia is a top priority
for the Confucius Institute at Kennesaw State,” Jin said. “This collaboration with
Bright from the Start is a very exciting initiative that will benefit Georgia’s children
for many years to come.”
According to experts, another main impetus for the surge in Chinese language instruction
are parents like Shamikia White, mother of West Cobb Prep student Elijah, who believe
that fluency in Chinese can help open doors later in life.
“I was very intrigued by it,” White said. “Elijah’s very excited, and
he’s teaching it to my 7- and 2-year-olds. The rate at which he’s learning is amazing.
My 7-year-old has been studying Spanish for a while, but Elijah is much more advanced.
I’d really like him to continue with Chinese after preschool.”
- Sabbaye McGriff
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
