Obama's Daughter Sasha Practices Chinese With Hu Jintao

[RandySF]

President Obama's daughter Sasha finally found the perfect study partner for her developing Chinese skills: Chinese President Hu Jintao, in town for a historic state meeting this week.

According to Reuters, the nine-year-old developing polyglot is currently learning Mandarin with her classmates, and sought out the Chinese leader's assistance in a language exchange, a moment which Hu recalled during a formal state dinner.

"Not every has the opportunity to try out their first phrases of Chinese with the president of China, but she had that chance," Ben Rhodes, a White House deputy national security adviser, told a video conference with Chinese bloggers. "She's under 10 years old and they're studying Chinese, and she wanted to have the chance to practice her Chinese with President Hu." He went on to note the anecdote illustrated Americans' desire to get to know China better with more people studying the country and doing business there.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/21/obamas-daughter-sasha-pra_n_812142.html

[47of74]

1. I'm waiting for that fat ass drug addict to say something stupid...

...along with Billo-the-Clown, Slanthead Hannity, and the Savage Weiner.

[backscatter712]

15. We'll hear Rush do the "ching-chong" routine some more.

Yeah, they're a real class act, aren't they...

[handmade34]

2. very cool!

[buzzard]

3. Good for her, a second or third language is always a plus.

[Darth_Kitten]

12. Yes, must be nice going to a private school ....

that's out of the reach of regular working folk. :(

[SidDithers]

14. ...

Sid

[pampango]

16. Dayton has a public elementary school that has had mandatory Japanese classes for 20 years. n/t

[NotThisTime]

20. our public school starts French for 4th graders then Spanish then 5 languages at the high school

[CTyankee]

23. My grandson is in an immersion foreign language First Grade class at a PUBLIC

school in Glendale, CA. He is six years old and has been in this program since kindergarten. His teachers are native speakers. Since 90% of his school day is totally in this second language, he has rapidly become bi-lingual. This school offers regular English only classes and 3 classes in other languages: Spanish, German and Italian. He is in the Italian class and they expect to continue all thru the grades and even into middle school.

Actually, German and German heritage parents approached the school to get this program up and running. The Italian and Spanish class creation followed. The school was on the chopping block due to low enrollment of students, but with the ability of parents from other districts to go to this program (if there is not one offered in their own district)and energetic outreach by a foundation started by the parents themselves, they have "spread the word," held OPen Houses and recruited parents, explaining how beneficial it is for kids to learn another language at an early age...

Glendale is fortunate to be next door to Burbank, which has a number of multi-national companies such as Disney, Warner Bros, and other entertainment related entities. They have employees from all over the world who want their kids to keep their language...there are other glendale schools that offer Korean as well and I think they're getting a French class going in one of them.

I think this project is very cool, but I realize it is pretty unique. But it does show that where there is a high degree of working together, parents and schools, much more can be offered to kids...

[mainer]

26. Almost every public school offers a foreign language

My kids came up through public schools and they could take French, German, Latin, or Spanish. And many public schools are trying to start Mandarin programs.

[CatWoman]

27. I remember I took french in elementary school

and that was eons ago :)

[LynneSin]

35. Seriously was that even necessary?

You think we should just put these 2 kids into a public system where they could be at risk and put other children at risk because of their parents?

I have no problem with these kids in private school.

[mfcorey1]

4. Every school in this nation should encourage students to become bilingual. It can be very lucrative

as a career and it makes them more competitive on the international market. Schools in China, France, Japan and many othe countries almost demand that their students learn English. Some Americans were complaining recently about a program here paid for by China to teach Mandarin to American students. That is ridiculous. We have to better prepare our students for global competition.

[HEyHEY]

6. It is UNREAL the amount of small minded zeros that are somehow against learning other languages

In Canada the whole country has french immersion as an option and you have to take French until grade nine. Yet, people complain about it. Last year people in Vancouver began the first mandarin immersion and people complained about it. Heaven forbid someone has more initiative than the lazy fucks in our society who choose to be monolingual and bitter.

[Hannah Bell]

9. they don't have the time for that anymore. not since the bush-obama ed deform turned them into

test-taking machines.

obama is going to recommend more tests in the sotu.

[Odin2005]

5. Very cute!

[girl gone mad]

7. Hope she sticks with it.

Chinese is a very difficult language for měi guó rén to master.

[gateley]

8. What an amazing -- and historic -- opportunity! nt

[old mark]

10. I recently saw an article stating there are good jobs available for English speakers

who also speak fluent Spanish or Chinese, but there are virtually no takers, and many people in the US do not want to learn other languages, ecidently feeling that everyone in the world should speak English...


mark

[a la izquierda]

11. Ugh, tell me about these opportunities in Spanish....

I'm a fluent Spanish speaker and if I don't get an academic job, I'll be looking around

[old mark]

13. Many jobs in social services really need fluent Spanish speakers

in lots of various positions...Don't count on getting rich, though, and with the GOPers in charge, there may not be nmanyh jobs in that field shortly anyway...but that's what I did...I'm nowhere near fluent, but I had 2 years of Spanish in college.

mark

[TuxedoKat]

22. Do you remember where you read that?

Was thinking about improving my abilities in both those languages. TIA.

[old mark]

37. I think it was one of the very early morning business prorgams on TV,

but I really wasn't paying much attention to it. I searhced recent news and found only things like this:
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/bilingual_careers.htm

But I worked in social work, and even a bit of Spanish or other languages is a help. It really depends where you live-if you have a large ethnic/immigrant population, it's always and advantege to learn the language.

I also just found that only 20% of Americans speak a second language, which by world standards seems pretty pahetic to me.

mark

[TuxedoKat]

38. Thanks mark

I always loved languages. 20% is indeed pathetic. I think kids should start learning a second language in K.

[mmonk]

17. Who?

[pampango]

18. President Hu.

;)

[mmonk]

19. Who?

[pampango]

21. Who's on first base. Hu's on second.

:)

[CTyankee]

24. I Don't Know is on third...

[pampango]

25. Who?

;)

[CTyankee]

29. I told you. I don't know...

[pampango]

30. But you said that you know Who is on third.

;)

[CTyankee]

31. I didn't say that. Who is on first, what is on second, and I don't know is on third...

[pampango]

33. I think in light of the Chinese president's visit, we should let Hu be on second.

:)

[CTyankee]

32. Here...this will clear it up for you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfmvkO5x6Ng

[Romulox]

28. "EVERYTHING must go--prices so low, we must be in the terminal decline of our nation!"

:shrug:

[Cleita]

34. Maybe we should all be learning Mandarin.

:-( Does her school know something we don't?

[Major Hogwash]

36. Way cool.

It would be great to speak Chinese with the leader of a country with a billion and a half citizens!!

I can't even imagine what that would be like.
To live there.

[yurbud]

39. How many days, weeks, or years will right wingers freak about this?

''My god, she speeks a forn langidge, 'n' it ain't even a WHITE one! Ain't there nothing Obama won't stoop too? Why can't his kids jes speek English the way god intended?''