YOUR MONEY-China Syndrome: Why more kids are learning Mandarin

(The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed

are his own.)

By Chris Taylor

NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) – If famed investor Jim Rogers

is known for one trait above all, it is for spotting themes

early — and betting on them big.

So when the co-founder of The Quantum Fund (with George

Soros) and author of “Adventure Capitalist” became a father, he

naturally thought of how best to give his daughters an

advantage.

His answer: Have them learn Mandarin.

“I am spending a lot of time, money and energy to be sure my

kids do it,” Rogers told Reuters.

Indeed. Instead of just hiring a Mandarin-speaking nanny or

having his daughters take a language class or two per week, the

Rogers family packed up their belongings and moved across the

world to Singapore.

“My older daughter has now won the nationwide

Mandarin-speaking contest two years in a row,” Rogers said. “Her

little sister is even better.”

Of course, not every parent is willing to undertake such a

dramatic life change. But there is no denying that more and more

Americans are keen to have their children learn the language of

the world’s most populous country and second-largest economy.

From schools with Mandarin enrichment, to immersion programs

overseas, to lessons with private tutors, the Chinese-language

options for everyone from toddlers to teens seem to be

multiplying by the day.

“Based on a survey of type-A parents in D.C., New York and

Los Angeles, the interest level is 100 percent,” jokes Marc

Ross, spokesman for the US-China Business Council, a Washington,

D.C.-based trade group.

But as with anything in high demand, acquiring such skills

does not necessarily come cheap, although there are some free

options. Here is what it will cost to pick up the Mandarin

tongue.

MANDARIN ENRICHMENT AND IMMERSION

For a stunning array of options, check out the institutions

in the Confucius Classrooms Network, the New York-based Asia

Society’s roundup of “exemplary” Chinese language and culture

programs (here).

Together, they add up to more than 25,000 students at more than

100 elementary, middle and high schools across the nation.

Some programs go well beyond the occasional instructional

class, all the way to language immersion — even for

pre-kindergartners with their sippy cups and stuffed animals.

Search for local options by simply plugging in your ZIP code

at another site (chineseimmersionschools.com), and you

get results plotted on an interactive map.

One free example: Washington Yu Ying public charter school

in Washington, D.C. (washingtonyuying.org) – visited by

First Lady Michelle Obama before her March trip to China -

offers Chinese immersion for students who win a spot through its

application lottery.

A growing number of private institutions are rolling out

Mandarin options, too.

On the high end: Brooklyn’s Science, Language Arts (ecolefrancochinoise.org),

an immersion school for pre-kindergarten through the third

grade that teaches both French and Mandarin. This year’s tuition

ranged from $14,800-$16,300, with a minimum of two Mandarin

classes a week and more time set aside for advanced speakers.

OVERSEAS IMMERSION PROGRAMS

As any language learner knows, an efficient way to learn is

to have no choice but to speak the local language.

The Mandarin Immersion Parents Council — founded in 2007 in

San Francisco — offers a handy compendium of camps and summer

programs for kids (here).

Many take place in Beijing, such as those offered by China

Study Abroad (here),

Live the Language (here),

and Ivy Schools (here).

Costs start around $3,000 and can go up to nearly $40,000.

One new summer-camp option is the International Leadership

Camp (ileadershipcamp.com) in Taihu, China, organized by

Pennsylvania-based Camp Kweebec. The organization will take up

to 50 kids, between ages 10 and 13, for a 25-day camp this July

that will mix Mandarin classroom instruction with cultural

activities like martial arts, cooking and calligraphy. The price

tag: $9,975.

“Some parents might think it is nuts to send their kid to

China,” says Matt Rosenfeld, Camp Kweebec’s associate director.

“But others say it is exactly the kind of experience they have

been looking for. The goal is for kids to come home speaking

comfortably, learning between 300-400 characters.”

PRIVATE TUTORS

If having your kid travel to Guangzhou or Shenzhen isn’t

really your bag, you can stick close to home and go the

private-tutor route.

Rates tend to vary widely, depending on location and

experience. Local options can be sifted at sites like WyzAnt (wyzant.com),

which boasts a database of more than 72,000 tutors in multiple

subjects.

Of course, with tech advances like Skype, you don’t even

really need to have a tutor in your living room. The site

DiscoverMandarin.com, for instance, founded by Ridgewood, New

Jersey’s Corinne Dillon – a fluent Mandarin speaker herself -

links you live on a one-on-one basis with teachers in Beijing.

Such an approach is geared more toward middle-schoolers and

high-schoolers, given the nature of the format. A package of 50

classes, lasting 50 minutes each, runs $25 per lesson — or

$1,250. Signing up for fewer classes boosts that rate up to $30

or $35 per lesson.

(Follow us @ReutersMoney or here

Editing by Lauren Young and Leslie Adler)

YOUR MONEY-China Syndrome: Why more kids are learning Mandarin