Mandarin Mashup April 24, 2012
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Mandarin Becoming the Second Language of Luxury - CNBC
Mandarin is slowly becoming the second language of business, according to not one, not two, but three articles in The New York Times over the weekend. A front-page story in Sunday’s paper noted that high-end retailers have begun to employ salespeople who speak Chinese to handle the rising numbers of well-funded tourists from the People’s Republic.Bloomberg | Getty Images
The average Chinese visitor, the article says, drops $6,000 during his or her stay. Due to taxes their government puts on luxury goods, Chinese shoppers can get more for less in the United States and Europe.
Some Chinese come to these shores for longer stays, making Mandarin a growing necessity for real-estate agent in New York’s Long Island suburbs, adds an article in the Times real-estate section. The forces that are keeping home prices depressed here don’t pertain to buyers from booming economies like Russia's, Brazil's, and, of course, China's.
Wealthy Chinese are drawn to Long Island particularly for its abundance of upscale single-family homes, usually set in school districts that regularly appear near the top of the national rankings.
Shawn Elliott, a realty agent cited in the story, has added “translate” tabs to pages on his website and installed a separate phone line for Chinese callers. Next week he’ll travel to China to address a conference about luxury homes in the New York area.
Meanwhile, agents of Asian extraction who speak Chinese are finding that business is up.
Lastly, in a special section on education, the Times reports on efforts by German teachers to restore the language’s popularity among high-school and college students. The story cites a Department of Education study showing that only 14 percent of American high schools offer German language instruction, down from 24 percent in 1997.
German’s decline has coincided, according to a report by the American Association of Teachers of German, with the rise of Chinese. “China pursues a very active policy of subsidies, with the avowed goal of anchoring Chinese instruction in the U.S. educational landscape,” the report reads.
The German teachers do admit that China’s recent boom may also have something to do with Mandarin’s popularity: “A large majority of the population do not see foreign-language skills as relevant for their own economic, intellectual and social progress,” the association said.
Put simply, some kids see a bright future in luxury retail and high-end real estate.
© 2012 CNBC.com
- Find out more about this video series of Chinese videos for kids...
Find out more about this video series of Chinese videos for kids here or more Chinese Mandarin videos here
- Rosetta Stone(R) Launches New Language-Learning Solution for K-12 Market
ARLINGTON, Va., Apr 23, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Rosetta Stone Inc. /quotes/zigman/525896/quotes/nls/rst RST -0.40% , a leading provider of technology-based language-learning solutions, today launched the TOTALe(R) PRO platform for K-12 at the 72nd National School Board Association annual conference in Boston, Mass.
Rosetta Stone's award-winning classroom programs have been used by more than 20,000 schools. TOTALe PRO, Rosetta Stone's newest educational solution, now provides an even more advanced platform for the K-12 market. The TOTALe PRO platform combines interactive software with live online coaches who are native speakers, online educational games and activities, mobile apps for tablets and smartphones, adaptable administrative tools and proactive support services. The new solution was designed with a high degree of flexibility and scalability to accommodate programs focusing on English Language Learners and foreign languages, whether in an individual classroom, a district or an entire state.
TOTALe PRO for K-12 is Rosetta Stone's most comprehensive language-learning platform, helping students to develop four key skills--speaking, reading, writing and listening--by leveraging interactive technologies to replicate elements of the immersion environment in which people learn their first language. The superior technology, services and learning opportunities offered by Rosetta Stone's TOTALe PRO platform ensure that students are equipped with the language skills needed to succeed.
In a recent third-party evaluation, researchers found that the Rosetta Stone TOTALe(R) solution positively impacted students' language abilities in a number of areas. 94 percent of students increased their oral proficiency by one or more levels as measured by a customized Oral Proficiency Interview based on and similar to ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), and many participants studying Spanish achieved native-like proficiency on a variety of non-English sounds. Students also made significant improvements from pretests to posttests with a variety of linguistic structures and vocabulary items. In regard to listening-proficiency skills, 71 percent of Spanish and 55 percent of Mandarin learners increased at least one level as measured by the National Online Early Language Learning Assessment (NOELLA). This information is further detailed in the 2011 study titled "The learning outcomes of 'Rosetta Stone's TOTALe with elementary school-aged children: Mandarin and Spanish," which can be found at RosettaStone.com/k12study.
"A multilingual education prepares students to compete and succeed on a global level," says Judy Verses, president of Global Institutions at Rosetta Stone. "For nearly two decades Rosetta Stone has been an advocate of the blended learning model, and with TOTALe PRO for K-12, teachers and administrators are able to leverage technology to enable students to learn foundational language on their own, giving teachers more class time to engage with students and take them further in their language education. We selected the NSBA for the launch of our new classroom solution because they have a community of leaders who are committed to student success and who recognize the importance of innovation in the classroom."
Rosetta Stone TOTALe PRO for K-12 incorporates the following components:
-- Rosetta Course(R) The award-winning self-study software, complete with proprietary speech-recognition technology, enables students to learn to speak, understand, read and write--all without translation or rote memorization.
-- Rosetta Studio(R) Studio Coaches who are native speakers of the new language converse with students directly and facilitate live, interactive conversations in an online environment with other students at the same level.
-- Rosetta World(R). Students practice their new language online using interactive games and stories that are designed for their learning level. These activities build confidence, increase interest and add valuable reinforcement to language learned in Rosetta Course lessons.
-- TOTALe Course(TM) HD, TOTALe Companion(TM) and Audio Companion(R). Students can continue building their language skills with innovative mobile applications built for iPad(R), iPhone(R), iPod touch(R) and select Android(TM) devices, or they can review on the go with Audio Companion for MP3 players.
-- Rosetta Stone Manager(TM). Management tools deliver powerful functionality for teachers to add students and monitor overall student progress. Reports can be easily generated for each student or class to help teachers differentiate instruction and measure student engagement.
-- Customer Success Services. The Rosetta Stone team partners with schools and districts throughout the implementation process. From systems integration to implementation and from ongoing teacher support to management and reporting, Rosetta Stone's account managers leverage 20 years of experience in the K-12 educational market to deliver robust services and maintain engagement.
About Rosetta Stone Inc.
Rosetta Stone Inc. provides interactive solutions and cutting-edge technology that is changing the way the world learns languages. Rosetta Stone's proprietary learning techniques are acclaimed for the power to unlock the natural language-learning ability in everyone. The company offers many languages, from the most commonly spoken, like English, Chinese (Mandarin) and Spanish, to the less widely used, like Swahili and Filipino (Tagalog). Rosetta Stone solutions are used by schools, businesses, global organizations and millions of individuals in more than 150 countries throughout the world. The company was founded in 1992 on the core beliefs that learning a language should be natural and instinctive and that interactive technology can replicate and activate the immersion method powerfully for learners of any age. The company is based in Arlington, Va. For more information, visit RosettaStone.com.
"Rosetta Stone," "Rosetta Course," "Rosetta Studio," "Rosetta World" and "TOTALe" are registered trademarks of Rosetta Stone Ltd.
"iPad," iPhone" and "iPod touch" are trademarks of Apple Inc.
"Android" is a trademark of Google Inc.
SOURCE: Rosetta Stone Inc.
- Anti-Marijuana Rally Draws Chinese Families, Supervisor Candidates - SF Weekly (blog)
Medical marijuana is not a political issue for Leon Chow.Leon Chow (left) leads the way against medical marijuana dispensaries Or so the labor organizer insisted Saturday morning, when he led about 100 mostly Chinese men, women, and children on a mile-long march in opposition of three proposed medical cannabis dispensaries down Mission Street in the Excelsior.
"This is not about my candidacy -- this is about the issue," said Chow, who recently filed papers to challenge incumbent Supervisor John Avalos in the November election.
And perhaps he's right -- but that doesn't mean someone else won't politicize what appears to be a polarizing neighborhood issue in some parts of San Francisco. Joining Chow and the mostly Mandarin-speaking marchers were several perennial District 11 political hopefuls, who said that if they fail to defeat the permits of the Green Cross and two other dispensaries approved by the Planning Commission in February, they're prepared to file a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court to keep the Excelsior free of legal weed.Challenges could be filed as early as this week with the Board of Appeals, according to Chow.Chow also worked on the effort, led at the time by Sunset District Supervisor Carmen Chu, to organize neighborhood opposition to a pot club approved for operation at 31st Avenue and Taraval Street. That dispensary was also blocked at the Board of Appeals.
The same issues there are at play in the Excelsior, Chow told SF Weekly. "Adults are concerned about the accessibility [of marijuana] to children," said Chow, who said that kids who are caught using marijuana after school say they get it from customers of pot clubs. "I support medical marijuana -- why can't we just have deliveries, instead of storefronts?"
There are currently 22 operating medical cannabis dispensaries in San Francisco, according to records at the Department of Public Health, which writes the rules and collects a permit fee from the city's dispensaries. San Francisco began licensing and regulating dispensaries in 2005. The Green Cross went delivery-only after neighbors, irate with customers double-parking, helped kick it out of its 22nd and Valencia location.
Among the few non-Chinese folks present for Saturday morning's rally were Ahsha Safai, who lost to Avalos in 2008; Steve Currier, president of the Outer Mission Merchants and Neigbors Association; David Hooper of the New Mission Terrace Improvement Association, and several people who identified themselves as longtime neighborhood residents and property owners.
"Marijuana is illegal," said property owner Laurie Hahn, who says she owns a building near the Green Cross's proposed brick-and-mortar location on Mission Street near Silver Avenue. "It's out of control. It should be delivered [to patients], or put into pharmacies where it can be monitored and controlled."
That seemed to be the prevailing thought -- that there's nothing wrong with marijuana per se, but that the city's rules allow for too much "clustering," and the situatio! n on the 5200 block of Mission Street -- where the Planning Commission green-lighted two dispensaries -- is indicative of a need for more regulation.
Less important, it seemed, was marijuana advocates' insistence that the industry generate tax dollars for City Hall as well as to Sacramento, while creating jobs with health care and other benefits.
The marchers took about an hour and a half to march 11 blocks, holding signs reading: "Keep Marijuana Away from Kids" in English, Spanish, and Mandarin. "Gas station yes, marijuana no! Nursing home yes -- marijuana, no!" shouted Chow into his megaphone, to a few scattered responses. "Okay," he said, "we'll try some Chinese."
That seemed to work better, though the marchers' rally cries alternated between Mandarin and English. "No new pot clubs!" a young boy yelled into the microphone. "Nail salon yes, pot club no!" Chow said. "Liquor store yes -- pot club, no!"
The rally drew support as well as derision. Several cars honked their horns while whizzing by in seeming unison. Another vehicle carried several young gentleman holding what appeared to be thin cigars. "This is my neighborhood!" a 49er-gear-clad passenger yelled. "And I love weed."
Also on hand for the rally was Kevin Reed, president and CEO of the Green Cross (which later that day published a request on its Facebook page for Chinese-speaking dispensary customers to speak with media). Several onlookers seemed to side with Reed and three other dispensary employees, who held signs saying "Marijuana is Medicine" and "Respect Local Law" in front of Chow as he climbed into his car.
Not everyone had visceral reactions to the prospect of dispensaries in the Excelsior. A resident of an apartment next to the Green Cross' location said he was "apathetic." Two men who emerged from the barbershop next to one of the 5200-block dispensaries said the crowd was bad for business.
In any case, Chow will have other is! sues to use as platform planks. With a broad tent, a grassroots network, and close alliances with the Chamber of Commerce and other resourced political operations, he may be a formidable candidate. "The current supervisor is very nervous," he said.
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- Rudd's latest game of Chinese whispers: join Weibo - Sydney Morning Herald
The former prime minister Kevin Rudd has rekindled his love affair with China by embracing the popular Chinese social media site, Weibo.
The Mandarin-speaking Mr Rudd joined the popular site with more than 300 million users last Wednesday and has collected at least 100,000 ''fans'' within the past three days. He has flaunted his Chinese skills by posting more than a dozen comments.
''Thank you, my Chinese friends. I love the opportunity to read and write Chinese characters. It has just dawned on me that I have forgotten so many characters already and your language is certainly the most difficult language in the world,'' Mr Rudd's latest post says.
He also expressed his desire to hone his language skills further and travel to China more often. ''Since I have left my old job as the foreign minister, I have got more time to develop some of my long-term hobbies such as the Chinese language and I am also excited by the prospect of going to China more frequently.'' He signed off as ''Lao Lu'', or ''Old Lu'', an intimate and yet deferential way of addressing senior workers in China. Mr Rudd is widely known in China as Lu Kewen, a name he adopted during his student days at the Australian National University.
The history behind the name as explained by Mr Rudd is ''Lu signifies that I must know the Chinese mainland, Kewen means that I must overcome the language barrier.'' Mr Rudd still remains hugely popular with his Chinese supporters, both in Australia and China. His initial post was re-tweeted more 3500 times and more than 2000 people have commented on it.
One of his fans has urged Mr Rudd to start another coup: ''Lao Lu, the Chinese people support you to start another coup d'etat and bring down that old woman.''
泰山石刻：中流砥柱
泰山石刻：各一天
泰山石刻：云路
泰山石刻：风月无边
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