1 Why Multilingual? And Why Chinese? By: 花老师， hua1 Lao3 Shi1

2 What do we call a person who uses or is able to use two languages? What do we call a person who is able to use three languages? Trilingual Bilingual What do we call a person who uses or is able to use only one language? American A common joke from the 90s…….

3 Bilingualism's Brain Benefits Bilingual speakers are better able to deal with distractions than those who speak only a single language, and that may help offset age-related declines in mental performance, researchers say.( Source: Washington Post, Monday, June 14, 2004; Page A07 ) Advantages of Multilingual The advantages that multilinguals exhibit over monolinguals are not restricted to linguistic knowledge only, but extend outside the area of language (Cook 1999, 2002b), and the substantial long-lived cognitive, social, personal, academic, and professional benefits of enrichment bilingual contexts have been well documented (Thomas & Collier 1998). Source: *Cook, Vivian J. (1999) Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching. TESOL Quarterly 33/2: ———— (2001a) Requirements for a multilingual model of language production. Retrieved from ———— (2001b) Using the first language in the classroom. Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes 57/3: **Thomas, Wayne P. & Virginia P. Collier ( ) Two languages are better than one. Educational Leadership 55/4: UNESCO (1995) Our Creative Diversity: Report of the world Commission on Culture and Development. Paris: UNESCO.

4 Q: Who is Harry Potter’s first crush?

5 *Source: Maps of World.Com

6 * Source:MedlinePlus

7 Who is Who?

8

9

10 Why Study Chinese? China is the most populous nation in the world, with 1.3 billion people. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 885 million speakers, making it the most widely spoken 1st language in the world. China is one of the world’s oldest and richest continuous cultures, over 5000 years old. What you might already know….. *Source : Boston University

11 China has the 2nd largest economy in the world and is one of America's largest trading partners. Many U.S. companies do business in China and have long-term investments there. Why Study Chinese? What you might already know…. The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing brought China to the world's attention as never before. *Source : Boston University

12 What college students say …. A lot of Americans adopt Chinese girls. It would be nice to know the language to communicate with the adopted girls. Knowing Chinese can help me order better Chinese food. China and Taiwan have become popular vacation destinations. * Source: Colorado State University

13 What college students say …. China is becoming a superpower on the world stage. It provides opportunities for finance, business and other career opportunities. So many things are made in China. Many American companies have manufacturing sites in China. Even if you work in the US, you might go to China on business. Chinese characters are cool. It would be nice to know what Chinese characters tattooed on people mean. * Source: Colorado State University

14 I'm a photographer, and being able to speak Mandarin means that I can work with Mandarin-speaking clients. Some of them might not speak English very well, and others can speak English but just feel more comfortable because they know I can speak Chinese. Because of this, I also get referred to other Chinese-speaking clients. I think it also helps me to be a little more memorable because people are often surprised that I can speak Chinese (but hopefully they like my photography, too!). By: Kevin Reed, Photographer What a bilingual professional says ….

15 *Source: Careerbuilder.com

16 What teenagers say….. “Knowing more languages opens a wider window of opportunity in the business world. Sometimes in a person's career, they may be required to translate something; or if they go to a different region or area, knowing their language helps.” Source: Good Deeds Academy

17 Weekend Chinese Schools Resources……

18 Resources…… Weekend Chinese Schools

19 Chicago China Town Resources……

20 Chinese Restaurants Resources……

21 Resources…… Chinese movies/ DVDs Libraries Internet learning resources Chinese grocery stores Chinese newspapers

22 Welcome Aboard to the Chinese World!