Manhattan Beach Unified expands Mandarin Chinese instruction
Chinese-learning students at Manhattan Beach Middle School take turns Monday introducing visitors from Haihe High School in Tianjin, China. Photo Monday morning’s third period class for some twenty Manhattan Beach Middle School students was unlike any other. The students, mostly eighth graders in their second year of learning Mandarin Chinese, trickled into their classroom to find about 30 sophomores from Haihe High School in Tianjin, China, uniformly clad in blue and white school tracksuits. The group was visiting the school as part of their two-week excursion to the States. In other words, it was a rare and perfect opportunity for the MBMS students to practice the language with Chinese natives their own age. “Ni xihuan ping pong ma? (Do you like ping pong?)” “Ni jiao shenme mingzi? (What’s your name?)” Questions as such bounced throughout the bustling classroom. Names, ages and hobbies were identified, photos snapped, high fives exchanged. “It was really cool to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t know English very well,” said Drew Waller, an eighth grader at MBMS. “Our teacher knows English and if you don’t understand something, she could just tell you in English. But…
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