tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684236.post116192038670601831..comments2023-10-16T06:10:24.969-04:00Comments on Julie Unplugged: Close Encounters of the Third Culture KindAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00088119765077193302noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684236.post-1162181424567753562006-10-29T23:10:00.000-05:002006-10-29T23:10:00.000-05:00I like that Caitrin has something like an "organic...I like that Caitrin has something like an "organic" interest in Chinese - that sounds a lot like my daughter's interest in Japanese. Alyssa has eaten with chopsticks since she was about 11 or 12, I think, and really seems to have an intuitive kinship with the culture, mindset, etc. of Japan. <BR/><BR/>Keep me posted on any interesting developments in Caitrin's Chinese education!David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684236.post-1162080587944077842006-10-28T20:09:00.000-04:002006-10-28T20:09:00.000-04:00Caitrin got interested in Chinese because some Chr...Caitrin got interested in Chinese because some Chromosome in her DNA likes characters and resists Roman letters. I think at an impressionable age, she watched the movie Mulan and was devastated to discover when it was time to learn how to read English that we used letters rather than those clever looking pictograms called Chinese characters.<BR/><BR/>She struggled mightily with reading English and used to lament that she couldn't just do the sensible thing and learn Chinese where the character told you the whole word and all you had to do was memorize the picture to know what the word should be. :)<BR/><BR/>She does read English now, but her fascination with Chinese culture, language and writing has never waned. So I finally splurged on Rosetta Stone language learning CDs and she works on it every day. It is amazing to see how this works. I have no idea if she will become able to speak or read or write, but I can't blame her for wanting to try and I know it's all good for her.<BR/><BR/>She's also studying biblical Greek faithfully every day! Maybe we have a polyglot in the making!<BR/><BR/>Matt: I agree about the value of second languages. I took five years of Spanish in school and then went on to proficiency in French (to the point of taking university courses in France in French) and conversational fluency in Moroccan Arabic. I love knowing other languages.<BR/><BR/>JulieAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00088119765077193302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684236.post-1162042946042776072006-10-28T09:42:00.000-04:002006-10-28T09:42:00.000-04:00It makes a lot of sense for Russians to study Chin...It makes a lot of sense for Russians to study Chinese, given their close proximity and the economic ties. I'm not confident that the American educational system is anywhere close to prepared to introduce Chinese courses into the curriculum, for pre-collegiates anyway. <BR/><BR/>What got Caitrin interested in Chinese anyway? And how intent is she on mastering it? Who would she practice with?<BR/><BR/>My daughter has studied Japanese on her own, first because of her interest in anime, manga and J-Pop, now because she simply loves the culture. She's also had some college courses in the language as well.David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684236.post-1161973973471581162006-10-27T14:32:00.000-04:002006-10-27T14:32:00.000-04:00With the world getting smaller and smaller every d...With the world getting smaller and smaller every day, learning a second language is definitely a very useful skill. My wife speaks Spanish quite well, and my daughter -- who is not yet 3 -- is already starting to count and say a few words in Spanish. I, however, am the drag on the linguistics aspect of our family -- three years of high school French, and three quarters of college Spanish, and I can't speak either of them. As I recall, the only reason I took French was because I was really wanting to figure out what Hercule Poirot was saying in all of those Agatha Christie mysteries!!<BR/><BR/>- MattNoVA Dadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661990626635939447noreply@blogger.com