American-Born Chinese Learn a Second Language: Chinese

Some of the students who attend Saturday classes at the San Fernando Valley Chinese Baptist Church and School in Tarzana and at the Northridge Chinese School would rather be watching morning cartoons or playing with friends than studying a second language.

“It’s not always easy to make a Saturday class interesting,” said Sunny Chin, teacher at the Tarzana school for two years and a student at California State University, Northridge. “A lot of responsibility falls on us as teachers.”

But the greatest responsibility comes from the Chinese community, which places much importance on maintaining a bond with its 3,000-year-old culture.

“We don’t even need to advertise. It’s strictly word-of-mouth in the Chinese community,” said Winston Lau, principal of the Northridge Chinese School.

60 Affiliates

In the San Fernando Valley, there are about 10,000 American-born and immigrant Chinese, predominantly from Taiwan and Canton. The Tarzana and Northridge-based schools are two of 60 affiliated with the Southern California Council of Chinese Schools, many of which are in Monterey Park, Alhambra and Arcadia. Although no Chinese newspaper is based in the Valley, community ties here are strengthened through church activities and business alliances.

Lau, who has been principal of the Northridge Chinese School for five years, walks around Andasol Elementary, where the classes meet. He has a carefree and gentle manner, smiling and greeting parents and family members who sit talking while their children learn. He graciously provides information to newcomers and supervises as other parents set up crackers and juice for a break.

Lau knows the inevitable, that American-born Chinese are slowly changing, blending with their present culture to form a new one.

“This is more than simply learning a language; we are more concerned with a culture,” said Lau, who came from Hong Kong in 1954. “You ask the children and they’ll tell you they are American-born Chinese. They are proud to be American, but they are still Chinese.”

Started With Six Families

The Northridge school began in 1971 with six families who brought their 15 children to Northridge Park.

Today, the school has grown to 180 students with 22 teachers. Students are asked to pay a $70 donation for classes for a semester. Because of its proximity to CSUN, professors and college students have attended the school. Activities vary from kung fu, taught by Lau’s 26-year-old son, to calligraphy and music classes. The emphasis in recent years has switched from Cantonese to Mandarin, the official language of China and Taiwan.

Although local dialects are still spoken at home, Mandarin was established as the official language in 1949. It is of northern Chinese origin, a standardized form of the Beijing (Peking) dialect.

More than 50 dialects are spoken in China, each with its own distinctive tonal qualities and with radically different pronunciations.

“Someone speaking in Taiwanese can not understand someone speaking in the Cantonese dialect. They are that different,” said Laura Wu, principal of the Tarzana school.

“That’s why Mandarin is so important, so necessary. Now we are very slowly being able to communicate with each other,” said Chin, who also works as an anchorwoman at the Chinese-language Channel 38.

In contrast to Lau’s school, the Tarzana school is small. It operates year-round, and the children are 5 to 13 years old.

“We are a small operation,” said Wu. “We have about 30 students. I just signed up two more this morning, but they don’t speak any Chinese.”

Five levels of Mandarin are taught, and each class has five to seven students. Wu teaches the highest level. In Taiwan, it would be equivalent to the second grade.

“The learning is slow because the children are here only one day a week,” said Wu. She originally came to this country in 1972 from Taiwan to study mathematics at Utah State University at Logan. “We encourage the parents to speak Chinese as much as possible to their children, but sometimes they think it’s easier to speak English.”

Remembering the first classes, Lau said, “We couldn’t teach our own children. It’s easier if someone else teaches them.”

Wu was chosen as the school’s principal because she wanted to take an active part in her children’s Chinese education. Tuition is low--about $50 a semester--and the teachers are paid only a small token salary. “We are here to do something for the Chinese community,” she said, “to pass along something for the next generation.”

Wu is patient and soft-spoken, but she is also determined. She expects her students to practice at least an hour every night.

“It’s hardest on the kids who don’t speak at home,” said Chin. “Sometimes they feel like it’s a day-care center. But the better they get, the more they like it.”

“Now, I speak with my mother about half English and half Chinese,” said Marilyn Ho, a 13-year-old student who has been attending classes for five years.

But then there are the older ones, the ones who don’t start until they are well into their teens. They have difficulty grasping the language and don’t always understand why their parents want them to study.

“They are the lost ones,” said Lau, pointing to the older teen-agers playing volleyball during break. “But for some, it’s their only opportunity to be with other Chinese their own age. And that’s just as important.”

Julie Wong, 25, spoke Cantonese with her parents as a young child but lost much of her interest and ability as she got older, until she attended Washington University. There, she took a course in Mandarin.

“I’ve been here almost every Saturday for the last three years,” said Wong, a member of the adult intermediate class taught by Grace Lee at Northridge. “I want to learn to read fluently.”

Although class sizes vary, there are usually a dozen regulars in both the beginning and intermediate adult classes. Not all the students are Chinese. Some frequently travel to Taiwan and Hong Kong on business. Others are brushing up on their Mandarin, while some are learning it for the first time.

“We have a great time here,” said actor Alvin Ing. “It’s like a social hour.”

Parke Perine has been studying Chinese for about five or six years. His wife, Flavia, is from Shanghai and speaks Cantonese and Mandarin.

“I got tired of not understanding Flavia and her friends,” said Parke. “I had to learn Chinese. Paranoia set in.”

The Perines met in 1959 while both appeared in “The World of Suzy Wong” on Broadway. She now works at Dixie Canyon Elementary School in Sherman Oaks as a bilingual aide. Parke Perine, a screenwriter for 13 years, works on the television show “Knots Landing.”

The couple learned about the classes through an administrator at Flavia’s school. Besides his language class, he studies Chinese brush painting and calligraphy.

His diligence paid off. In the summer of 1984, the Perines traveled to China, visiting Flavia Perine’s home and relatives in Shanghai.

“I was very proud of him,” she said. “He really was able to hold his own.”

With his light coloring and blue eyes, Parke was noticed wherever he went. When he spoke, sometimes as many as 50 people would gather.

“They were all impressed. They wanted to know how I learned to speak Chinese,” said Parke.

For the Caucasians, speaking Chinese is a novelty. But for the American-born Chinese, it can be a necessity.

“Many grandparents live with their families,” said Wu. “Often, they speak very little or no English.”

“And remember,” said Chin, injecting a practical note, “relations with China are getting better. If you speak Chinese, your job opportunities are much better.”