Mandarin Mashup July 3, 2012
- Lampions Nippons
Be.scotte has added a photo to the pool:
- Black on Yellow
Be.scotte has added a photo to the pool:
- Learn to speak Mandarin at Fort Mill academy - Fort Mill Times
FORT MILL --
Say "ni hao" to Fort Mill's newest language school.
Fort Mill residents Bin and JJ Chen recently opened Simply Mandarin Academy in the Fort Mill-Tega Cay Business Center on Hwy. 160.
"The language we teach is Mandarin Chinese. There are hundreds of dialects in China. Mandarin is the only official language," JJ explains.
Why learn Mandarin? With more than one billion speakers, it is the most commonly spoken language in the world and one of six official languages of the United Nations. Since China is the world's fastest growing economy and the United States' biggest trading partner, speaking Mandarin as a second language is an increasingly valuable skill, people in industry say.
The Chens have heard lots of reasons.
"China is developing. People are looking for different opportunities in China. More parents are coming in to have their children learn Chinese at a very young age," JJ says.
"The way of writing attracts some people, and the history of it—people are curious," Bin adds.
Tega Cay resident Katie Shire, mom of 10 year-old Nate and Lizzie, 7, agrees. Because foreign languages are not typically offered in elementary school, the Shires decided to schedule private language lessons for their children.
"We chose Chinese because it's a widely spoken language and there's a lot of opportunity," Katie said. "We had talked about learning at an immersion camp, but we brought the kids here. They've been so nice. We're going to continue on and start another session in July."
In class, Nate and Lizzie practice speaking and listening in Chinese, and they learn to recognize and write different characters. JJ keeps classes small to ensure the quality of each student's experience. Projects like making traditional Chinese dumplings and practicing Chinese greetings on family and friends introduce students to Chinese culture and keep new skills fresh between classes.
JJ, who has a master's degree in law from Beijing University, moved to Fort Mill from southern China in 2008 when she and Bin started their family. She is now a teacher, small business owner, and full-time mom of two daughters.
"It was very hard at the beginning," she says.
"Now more kids know me. They say, 'That's Ms. JJ, my Chinese teacher!' It makes me very happy."
Simply Mandarin Academy offers Mandarin Chinese classes for children and adults. Courses include Chinese as a second language, Chinese as a heritage language, and Business Chinese for students of all levels.
- 夏天的吶喊-孩子王 Students Learning Mandarin Chinese
It's one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn, but that's not keeping some Sioux Falls students from trying their hand at Mandarin Chinese during a ten-day summer camp.
"We were moving really, really quickly. We had to remember everything we learned yesterday, and we had to do it again," Lincoln High School Student Chaska McGowan said.
McGowan is spending two weeks in Chinese Camp. The first eight days are online. The final two are in-person presentations.
"For the final two days, we come here to do a lot of really fun activities to do with the students directly face-to-face," Sheree Willis said.
Willis is the Program Director at Confucius Institute at Kansas University. Through a federal grant, she teaches students how to read, write and speak the language 1.3 billion people already know.
"Clearly learning Chinese is a very useful skill and we think we'll open doors for young people in our country who have that skill," Willis said.
Obviously, the students are not expected to be fluent in the language after just ten days. But they are learning about two to three months worth of material compared to a typical language class because they're immersed in the language.
"I was surprised at how much I learned and how difficult it was, and also how interesting it was," McGowan said.
No English is spoken to help students grasp the language, which can be even more difficult because it's tonal.
"Each syllable when pronounced in a different tone means something different," Willis said.
"Like ma means something different if you say ma, ma or ma (in different tones), which really makes a big difference if you're trying to say something and you say it wrong, it could mean something completely different," McGowan said.
McGowan says the challenge has been a lot of fun, and she's hoping it will open more doors in the future. That's just what the program is designed for.
This is the third year the camp has been held through the Sioux Falls School District. The district doesn't have a Chinese class during the school year, but they do offer an online learning program.
Fried Rice
Fried rice is a very popular Chinese food, especially for Happy Family Chinese Food. It is made from steamed rice stir-fried in a wok with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables and some kinds of meat and/or seafood. There are many popular varieties of fried rice, each with its own specific list of ingredients. In China, the more famous varieties include Yangzhou and Fujian fried rice. However, Chinese restaurants around the world have invented their own varieties of fried rice.
Fried rice is a common staple in American Chinese cuisine, especially in the form sold at fast-food stands. The most common form of American Chinese fried rice consists of some mixture of eggs,scallions, and vegetables, with chopped meat added at the customer’s discretion, and usually flavored with soy sauce instead of table salt , which is more typical for Chinese-style fried rice. Fried rice is also seen in other American restaurants, even in cuisines where there is no native tradition of the dish.
Chinese Fried Rice Recipe
This is a simple recipe for fried rice, you can add more ingredients if you prefer to.
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1 – 2 green onions, sliced
2 large eggs
2/3 cup chopped baby carrots
1/2 cup green peas
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying
4 cups cold cooked rice
1 – 2 tablespoons light soy sauce or oyster sauce
Directions:
Wash and finely chop the green onion.
Lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper.
Heat a wok or frying pan and add 2 tablespoons oil.
When the oil gets hot, add the eggs. Stir and cook until the eggs are lightly scrambled but not too dry. Remove the eggs and clean out the pan.
Add 2 tablespoons oil.
Pour in and stir carrots and peas; cook about 2 minutes.
Add the rice. Stir-fry for a few minutes, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to break it apart.
Stir in the soy sauce or oyster sauce as desired.
When the rice is heated thoroughly, add the scrambled egg back into the pan. Mix well. Stir in the green onion.
Serve hot.
Chinese Name
炒饭（chǎo fàn）
Peas, carrots and corn are a good choice because they’re all about the same size so they’ll be cooked at the same temperature and time. In addition, they’re a good size ratio to the rice. Other vegetables like a little cucumbers can be used but do not put too many veggies in ratio to rice or the rice will get soggy. Be careful, do not crowd the pan or the veggies, otherwise it will steam instead of cooking crisp and make the final dish soggy.
The egg is cooked right before the rice because it has a tendency to stick to the pan and remnants in the pan burn as the other ingredients are cooked. When cooked right before the rice, any remnants become incorporated into the rice. You can also add some seafood like shrimps by your preference.
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