Don't understand the obsession about wanting to learn Chinese (Mandarin) (community college, tuition)
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You realize of course there are people out there who want to do hard things *because* they are hard, right? That was me and learning Russian.
In my experience anyway, only MENSA level people can learn Russian successfully starting as an adult. Probably the same for Mandarin.
I am thinking about starting in on Mandarin after 20+ years of Russian study. "To infinity! And beyond!"
Beyond that, at least with the Russian, in country I get *much* better treatment because I have obviously not only made an effort, but have as Churchill put it "not just done my best, but done what was necessary" and can carry on a decent conversation in Russian. Very likely the same in China.
Bravo, Mitch! Knowing the language makes all the difference when travelling almost anywhere. And with Russian, especially. And yes, Russian is challenging for students who don't have a natural facility for language. The grammar is a crusher, even for many American-born Russians! Chinese grammar is much easier. The main thing is to develop an ear for the tones. I think you should get jiggy with Chinese.
BTW, where have you been in Russia? It's a big country. So much to see.
IMO kids brought up in a bilingual education environment with English + intensive East Asian Language (Chinese, Korean, English) are usually the smartest, especially in Math.
Why? Plain simple. Look at the result of PISA test over the years. The top 5 countries with students that score the highest points in all three tests (math, reading ,science) are always from students in Japan, South Korea, and Chinese-speaking communities (Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore or Taiwan).
Though such phenomenon is partly as a result of their education systems, it may be also likely related to the bilingual education that these countries adopt: teaching kids two entirely different languages may help develop the brain and improve their learning ability.
My guess is Spanish and English are too close. Learning two similar languages simultaneously does not help in improving the kids' brain development.
This is interesting, although it's hard to figure out what is the cause and what is the effect. People who make the effort to teach their kids a difficult Oriental language probably won't stint on math instruction either. Also, when one learns a language, a certain amount of the culture is taken in with the language, intentionally or not. So some of the Oriental "stract-ness" and stoicism is bound to filter into the kids studying these languages.
I have heard that learning a difficult language is "good" for the brain, although I forget the specifics.
The PISA test is for student at age 15 from 60+ developed countries. The Japanese students have already learnt English for 5 years when they take the test.
Have you tried speaking English with Japanese high school students? Their facility with English is notoriously poor and I highly doubt that it has impacted their math and science skills in a positive way.
Having studied a language in school for a few years does not mean you were raised in a "bilingual education environment."
This is interesting, although it's hard to figure out what is the cause and what is the effect. People who make the effort to teach their kids a difficult Oriental language probably won't stint on math instruction either. Also, when one learns a language, a certain amount of the culture is taken in with the language, intentionally or not. So some of the Oriental "stract-ness" and stoicism is bound to filter into the kids studying these languages.
I have heard that learning a difficult language is "good" for the brain, although I forget the specifics.
Japanese people are terrible at English. So you can actually say that many Japanese people are monolingual.
Japan, Korea and China just have good education system on math.
Nothing to do with knowing any languages.
Talking with any students in English from China, Korea and Japan -- you will have an impression that they are terrible in English because practically you can't understand what they speak.
So is their English bad? Not really. As I wrote, language is more related to immersion. They have learnt English for many years but they have no chance to put it into practice -- speak English to a foreigner. Their teaching emphasizes more on grammar and less on oral communication. But their written English is usually quite acceptable though.
On the other hand, foreign language study at college level in U.S. emphasizes more on colloquial. Most students know how to speak some daily phrases before they learn the grammar and sentence structure. So it looks like that they are fluent in speaking after couple years' study but that is it.
I speak three languages fluently, and write them as well.....I wish I could speak more.....There is nothing more beautiful in the world, than being able to communicate with people, from other countries......and understand their culture........
I speak three languages fluently, and write them as well.....I wish I could speak more.....There is nothing more beautiful in the world, than being able to communicate with people, from other countries......and understand their culture........
Yessss! And it shows a certain level of respect to those, whose language/s you've made an effort to learn well.
Being at least functionally fluent in a language that's uncommon for your countrymates to know can open a ton of doors professionally. (Ask me know I know! ) While it's certainly true that you can do business with China without speaking a Chinese language, if a business, NGO, or government agency has the choice between two people with similar resumes and one speaks Mandarin, which do you think they will hire? It definitely sets one apart from the bulk of applicants. Additionally, for better or worse, people tend to take being multi-lingual as a sign of intelligence, which improves the impression one makes.
There are also tons of jobs for translators and interpreters. Not all of them are great jobs, but someone who is skilled in one of these languages, has at least a bachelors in whatever, and has a clean record, is pretty unlikely to be out of work for long unless they choose to be.
I know a number of Americans who are not ethnically Chinese and have pretty high OPI ratings in Cantonese or Mandarin, so it's apparently not so direly impossible as you make out.
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Chinese grammar is much easier. The main thing is to develop an ear for the tones. I think you should get jiggy with Chinese. 
More Is Better Than Less......
) While it's certainly true that you can do business with China without speaking a Chinese language, if a business, NGO, or government agency has the choice between two people with similar resumes and one speaks Mandarin, which do you think they will hire? It definitely sets one apart from the bulk of applicants. Additionally, for better or worse, people tend to take being multi-lingual as a sign of intelligence, which improves the impression one makes. 