Idaho Mountain Express – Andy Kerstetter
“Some children in the Wood River Valley are getting a head start on becoming fluent in Chinese, thanks to Syringa Mountain School’s new Mandarin language program. The charter school in Hailey began offering Mandarin language study this fall in addition to its existing Spanish requirement…Mende Coblentz, the school’s education director, said that teaching both Eastern and Western languages, particularly character-based languages like Mandarin, offers more challenges and opportunities for cross-cultural learning. Also, Mandarin is a practical language to learn, since China is expected to become a major influence in international trade and education…Mandarin Chinese is now one of the first choices for filling foreign language requirements at schools across the country, particularly in light of President Barack Obama’s Sept. 25 press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, when he launched the “1 Million Strong” initiative…”(more)