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Mandarin as a Journey
An Age-old Language Gains Traction at FIS
Approximately 2,500 years ago the Chinese philosopher, Laozi, is believed to have said 千里之 行 始于足下。Translated it means, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” One month ago, Grade 3 Freyja said 老师你好 or “Hello, teacher” to her Mandarin instructor, Yan Goedel. Freyja is part of a growing number of FIS students taking their initial steps to learn Mandarin from Ms. Goedel as part of the REAL After School Activities Program. Ms. Goedel grew up in Northern China, and immi- grated to Germany 20 years ago. She also teaches Mandarin at the Volk- shochschule and local companies.
Freyja’s motivation in joining the class is understandable. “My Mom told me I had to,” she said. But her teacher, Yan Goedel, has other motivations to teach Mandarin. “I want people here in Germany to better understand China. Understanding different cultures and other people should be one of the goals of a good education.”
Mandarin Chinese is a language possessed by many, but by too few outside China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. Approximately 1/5 of the world’s population (1.2B people) speaks Mandarin. In comparison, it’s estimated that only 500 million people speak English.
Chinese philosopher, Laozi
千里之行 始于足下
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Laozi
Many skills worth possessing are not easily acquired, and Mandarin is among those. The language dates back approximately 5,000 years, has over 100,000 characters recorded, and uses four tones in addition to sound differentiation to define meaning.
Ferdinand, a Grade 3 student, is taking his second Mandarin class with Ms. Goedel and understands the importance of tones. “If you change it, the whole thing means something else,” he said.
The students’ journey to learn Mandarin is not all up hill. Mandarin grammar is simple compared to English. It doesn’t conjugate verbs, doesn’t have gender-specific nouns, and doesn’t distinguish singular from plural nouns as in English.
Ms. Goedel’s students probably can’t appreciate the simple grammar, but clearly do appreciate her use of games to teach Mandarin. Ms. Goedel encourages enthusiasm for Mandarin by playing Shouxin Shoubei 手心手背, a Chinese version of “rock, paper, scissors” using “tiger, chicken, stick, worm.”
Todd Kearns, the REAL Program’s Activities Director, also appreciates Ms. Goedel’s work. “This course started last year with only one beginner class and this year we’ve increased that opportunity to three classes,” he said. “Mandarin is something that I see as a course that will gain popularity with China’s increased presence in world affairs.”
Ms. Goedel’s students probably aren’t following world affairs and don’t want to make learning Mandarin “A journey of a thousand miles,” but they have definitely taken that “single step” along a fun and rewarding journey.
Emmett Kelly, FIS Parent
In Mandarin class students learn the importance of tones
6 FIS World October 2015