Two years ago, we ran across a website for a Dusseldorf Chinese School. Last year, however, when we came back to Germany I couldn't find it again. I was asking around about it when we happened to receive an e-mail newsletter from the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission that included a class schedule for the Rhein-Taipei Chinese School. We called immediately, and though we learned that it was a 50-minute car ride away, we decided to go sit in on a class.

After having sat in on two classes, we realized we were in luck. This Chinese school, which is in Neuss, has classes for kids from pre-school to fourth-grade age as well as adult classes. In all, it has more than 50 students--quite large for a school of its kind. Also, many of the students are the children of Taiwanese expats, so the expectations of the Chinese language classes are high.

This was good news to me, first of all because I wanted my kids' Chinese class to be stable--many schools end up closing classes because of low enrollment. Secondly, I hoped that they could continue to advance through the class levels at one place and not have to spend time getting accustomed to yet another new school. It was good news that the school had the different grade levels and adult classes. Thirdly, since we live in Germany and there are few chances to encounter the Chinese language, I hoped that the class would be somewhat demanding. Otherwise, how would the kids be able to learn?

In addition to Chinese language classes, students also enjoy music classes. Here, the first-grade class of teacher Wang Chiang-chiang (the eldest person pictured) takes part in a Chinese singing contest.

Forgetting Chinese

I remember when we first returned to Germany, my twins still spoke Chinese to each other for the first two months. They stuck together at kindergarten, and it was hard for the local kids to enter their little world. Even though their father spoke German to them in Taiwan, it was still a Chinese environment they were living in. Though they understood German, they were more comfortable using Chinese. Their spoken German was halting.

We decided to get them used to the German language. Their grandmother would read them stories, and I started speaking German with them. After just three months, the kids began conversing in German. They even began calling each other "doof," German for "stupid," rather than the Chinese "ben dan"--that was fast!

One day, the kids came home from kindergarten and said to me, "Mom, we don't want to speak Chinese anymore."

I asked why, and the elder twin, Wei-jen, said, "Because nobody here speaks Chinese. Speaking German is enough. The teacher also said we have to speak more German."

I was taken aback. I knew I had to think of something to entice them, and quickly. I said, "That's right--people here only speak German, but you can speak Chinese as well. That means that you are smarter than the German kids!"

That sent them thinking for a minute. Then they nodded and said, "That's right. We'll keep speaking Chinese. That means we're smart because we can speak German, Chinese, and even some English. That's three languages!"

Luckily, my little plan worked, and these two little devils "decided" to keep learning Chinese.

One day about six months later, one of the kids came out with "Mom, let's lunch eat." I realized that their Chinese sentence was following German word order, with the verb at the end, and they were trying to say, "Mom, let's eat lunch." I was shocked to hear that their Chinese had gotten so rusty!

At that instant, I made a 180o turn. I started speaking only Chinese to them and only allowing them to speak Chinese to me. At least that should keep their basic level up, I thought! A few days later, a teacher said to me that some Chinese mothers spoke German rather than their native language with their kids, but their pronunciation and grammar was flawed and their kids ended up with poor Chinese and German skills. The best thing to do would be for the mother to speak her native Chinese at home and let the kids learn standard German at school--that way they wouldn't end up in such a bad predicament.

We could hold simple, everyday conversations in Chinese all we wanted, but I knew they'd have to have formal classes from a teacher in order to really learn it properly. Mencius said a gentleman cannot teach his own sons--how true that is! I tried it but just ended up so frustrated I'd lose my temper and shout at them. I thought I'd better leave this job to the professionals.

No more sleeping in

I had always pictured a "Chinese school" to be a regular school with a campus and a set schedule of classes, so I thought I could take the kids to German school for half the day, then take them to Chinese school. I found out how naive that idea was.

When we got to Germany, I learned how much red tape there would be in setting up a formal Chinese school there. That's why many Taiwanese expats get together and rent space in an existing local school to use for teaching their kids Chinese. That gets them around the problem temporarily. After the schools operate for a few years, some of the parents form parent-teacher associations or organizing committees and begin operating more formally.

As the Chinese schools rent space out from normal schools, they usually can't hold classes from Monday through Friday when regular classes are in session--they have to wait until Saturdays or vacations to hold Chinese classes. On Saturdays, there is a morning session and an afternoon session. Of course the kids hate to lose part of their weekend when they could otherwise be out playing, and the parents spend part of their day off taking the kids to and from school. But there's nothing you can do about it--you just have to make the sacrifice.

Tuition for our school is 160 (approximately NT$6,400) per student for one semester. It's not too expensive. The hard part is getting up at seven on a Saturday morning, eating breakfast, and driving for 50 minutes to make it on time to the 9:30 class. There's no sleeping in on Saturday mornings for us. The kids have a hard time, and it's not easy on the adults either. It's not easy to keep it up.

But we did manage to keep it up. Now we've been sending our kids to the Rhein-Taipei Chinese School for a year and a half. Not only have they been learning the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols ("bopomofo") and Chinese characters, they've also been learning more about Chinese culture through activities centered around holidays like Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Lunar New Year.

The teachers also have the kids learn to recite Tang poetry and say tongue twisters to make their spoken Chinese more fluent and learn the rhythms of the language. Then, at the end of the semester, they give performances to show off what they've learned, reciting, singing, and performing skits. Everyone is always pleased by the amount of effort the kids put into the show.

Spring celebration

Writing couplets to hang on each side of the front door has long been a Lunar New Year tradition, and it would be a shame for the kids of expats to miss it. The Rhein-Taipei Chinese School makes sure they don't have to by holding a calligraphy contest. The kids get a chance to take up an ink brush and try their hands at writing a couplet.

In front of a large audience, the kids take up the brushes they've only just learned to use, going head to head writing their couplets. The older students still feel the novelty of writing Chinese characters, carefully following the proper order of strokes for each of the characters "Spring Arrives in the World." To the younger ones, the writing brush is more like a paintbrush. Though their work doesn't express the full beauty of Chinese calligraphy, all the strokes are there and they are legible enough: they read "Spring," "Blessing," and the like. For these kids growing up in Germany, it's not something they get to do every day.

After the contest, the prizes are distributed and there's an exhibition of spring couplets in the rented hall. Not only do the kids of Chinese descent get to feel the pride of seeing their works on display, the local kids also get a taste of Chinese culture. It's a cultural exchange bringing them all closer together.

I try to set an example for my kids and help out at the school, as do many of the parents. Now I teach and help with running the school. I hope we can create an interesting and fun environment in which to learn Chinese, so these kids living abroad will retain their cultural heritage.