Mandarin -- The Language of the 21st Century

The Boston Globe reports that Chinatown’s Kwong Kow Chinese School has embraced the teaching of Mandarin to keep up with changing times. It quotes Peter Kiang, director of the Asian American Studies Program at UMass-Boston: "Everyone just realizes that Mandarin is the language of the 21st century."

Here in Panda Land, we have children from Chinese American families whose mother tongue is Cantonese.  They also recognize the trend and want to learn Mandarin.  Panda Land uses the same series of textbooks as seen above at the Kwong Kow School.

Read the full article “A new accent in Chinatown” from Boston Globe 02/26 at:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/26/a_new_accent_in_chinatown/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed5

 In Panda Land, we prepare your children for the 21 century!

 

A Good Start for Chinese Lessons in Panda Land

Since Panda Land greeted its neighbors in January, it has happily received many positive responses and welcomed ten enthusiastic students.  Now we have three classes every week.  On Saturdays we have one class for grammar school age boys and girls who are joyfully learning Chinese, another class for high school girls who are taking their learning very seriously and doing a superb job.  On Sundays we have an individual class for a nice lady who is an ideal language learner.  She speaks Spanish and French and now is adding Mandarin Chinese to her collection.  I enjoy teaching them so much and I am very proud of everyone’s progress. In March we are going to start another class for five little girls.  I can’t wait to teach them and start a wonderful learning experience together.

In Panda Land, we believe in learning with a smile.

Why Do You Want to Learn Chinese?

A week ago, a mother who is interested in having her daughter learn Chinese from me told me that learning a foreign language can prevent Alzheimer’s disease.  I had sometimes worried that my language skills would deteriorate in old age.  I thought I would lose my English and revert to my mother tongue which is Chinese.  Since my husband is an American who does not speak Chinese, I thought I’d better teach my children Chinese so they could talk to me when I am really old.  But this mother reassured me that I will be all set and won’t have memory problems since I speak three languages:  Chinese, English, and French.

I googled on “foreign language and Alzheimer’s” and found several articles on how learning a foreign language can help prevent memory loss:

http://www.helpguide.org/elder/alzheimers_prevention_slowing_down_treatment.htm

Preventing & Treating Alzheimer's

Ideas for Exercising Your Brain: …Learn something new: how to play a musical instrument, a foreign language, or start a new hobby.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LivingLonger/story?id=1241571

Learning a Foreign Language Can Help You Live Longer

[Dr. Andrew] Weil believes that by learning a foreign language we can reduce the risks of getting some of the most common age-related symptoms and diseases such as memory loss and Alzheimer's.  “You don't have to master it,” he said. “Just the attempt to learn a language is like running different software through the brain. You're exercising more communication channels in the brain.”

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/01/language_brains.html

Language, Brains, and Alzheimers

“There are no pharmacological interventions that are this dramatic,” says Dr. [Morris] Freedman, who is Head of the Division of Neurology, and Director of the Memory Clinic at Baycrest [Research Centre for Aging and the Brain], referring to the four-year delay in onset of symptoms for bilingual patients.

Learning Mandarin Chinese Could Make You Happy

To be happy in a recession seems a hard thing.  However, an expert has suggested that studying Mandarin (Chinese) could make you happy:

5 Ways To Be Happy in a Recession
By Kimberly Palmer
Posted February 10, 2009 
  
…Spend more time and money on enjoyable activities, from traveling to cooking to studying Mandarin, suggests M.P. Dunleavey, author of Money Can Buy Happiness. Research shows that people are at their most satisfied when they feel engaged and challenged.

See the entire article at http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/your-money/2009/02/10/5-ways-to-be-happy-in-a-recession.html

I love teaching Chinese and I would like to work with you to engage in a fun and challenging experience which could make you happy in the current recession time.