Mandarin takes its first steps at Eltham College Junior School
China is a growing market in the world economy, and Chinese (Mandarin) is the fastest-growing studied language in the world in recent years. Allowing students to learn Mandarin at Eltham College will help them stay more competitive; give them more options for careers and will open their eyes to this country of huge potential.
"Young children need to have their minds developed and stretched at the earliest opportunity, and learning a different language is one of the best ways to do this. Rather than follow the traditional route of taking on a European language, at Eltham College Junior School, we have decided to tackle Mandarin Chinese. Mandarin requires the pupils to adapt not only to different sounds, but also different shapes, linguistic rules and culture – all of which are the ideal stimuli for enquiring minds." says Keith John, Master of the Junior School.
Mrs Angela McCullough (above) who will teach the boys, comments "Chinese is a very different linguistic system from English, although this does not necessarily mean that it’s much harder. In fact, the Chinese language has a straightforward set of rules regarding speaking and grammar, including tone, characters, and pronunciation. The Chinese have a way of writing how a character is to be pronounced. This is PIN-YIN, a phonetic alphabet based on our own alphabet. The earlier one can learn and approach Chinese at school, the easier it is for our minds to adapt to this system."
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Eltham College Junior School