英语翻译
Burstingintotheclassroomfromrecess,15children
taketheirseatsandfacethewomantheyknowasTeacherYang.
“Whatdayis
this?”sheasks,inMandarinChinese.
“Confucius’birthday!”thefifth-
gradersshoutinMandarin.
“WhydowecelebrateConfucius’birthday?”
“Becausehe’sthegreatestteacherinthehistoryofChina!”exclaimsa
brown-hairedgirl.ShetooisspeakingMandarin.
Englishisrarelyheard
inLisaYang’sclassattheChineseAmericanInternationalSchool(CAIS),
despitethefactthatfewstudentsarenativespeakersofMandarin.
The
UnitedStatesisactivelytryingtoincreasethegroupofstudentsin“critical
languages”suchasMandarin.ThestudentsatCAISarewayaheadofsuchatrend.