<p>We have one child in BS (not taking Mandarin)and one that may be going to BS in the future. The younger one is starting Mandarin and the teacher asked if we want her to learn traditional or simplified Chinese characters? Exeter appears to teach some of both but we are wondering what other boarding schools do.
Any opinions on which way to go?</p>
<p>personally I think should take simplified Chinese,it used in the mainland china
also easy to learn</p>
<p>the writing of Traditional Chinese is Way more difficult even for a native speaker like myself</p>
<p>the meaning of words is the Same but simplified Chinese is taken much less strokes to write</p>
<p>Also there is a thing called "pingying"Which help the pronunciation which only exists for simplified Chinese</p>
<p>lastly it is much more widely used</p>
<p>Traditional Chinese is Only used in Taiwan</p>
<p>Thanks for your response!</p>
<p>My C is a freshman at Concord Academy, taking Mandarin I. They teach only simplified. C loves the course, the teacher, and the school in general. </p>
<p>Not sure if this happens much at other schools, but at CA, it appears that many freshman choose to take language classes at a lower level than what they could. For example, it’s not unusual for someone who had 3 yrs of Spanish in middle school to take Spanish I as a CA freshman.</p>
<p>In fact, my C is one of only 2 students in Mandarin I who has no prior exposure to Mandarin. We’ve learned that students do this because language courses at CA particularly difficult. It’s turning out to be a good thing for my C, who needed more of an academic challenge anyway, but I thought I’d mention it so others might be more aware than we were when it comes time to choose courses!</p>
<p>It depends where your child wants to study abroad. If Taiwan, you want Traditional. If Mainland China, you want Simplified. Obviously, if your child has the chance to learn both writing systems, that would be ideal. Most popular study abroad programs for high school students (think School Year Abroad) are in Mainland China, so that is something to consider. </p>
<p>If your child is interested in learning Classical (pre-modern) Chinese - think the Chinese version of what Old/Middle English or Latin is to modern English - Traditional is key. </p>
<p>You should also inquire as to which Romanization system the school uses. Many schools that teach Taiwan-based Mandarin use Zhuyin Fuhao (Bopomofo), whereas programs that teach Mainland China-based Mandarin use Pinyin. Personally, I strongly prefer Pinyin. Not only is it easier to learn, as it uses our letters rather than creating additional symbols for the Western student to memorize, but it’s also much easier to type using it. That said, being able to read Zhuyin Fuhao is very advantageous if using materials originating out of Taiwan. </p>
<p>One thing I will say is that starting out with Traditional and then transitioning to Simplified is a whole lot easier than doing it the other way around. Even that is hard, though; coming from a Taiwan-based program in the 90’s and finding myself in a Simplified, Pinyin-based study abroad experience on the Mainland really threw me for a loop writing-wise. Not knowing Pinyin when I got there was extremely frustrating (this was before the Internet was a household thing, so I couldn’t just go and Google it before I left), but I eventually learned it and came to prefer it.</p>
<p>My advice: Think about the ultimate goal. Is it to communicate primarily in regular conversation, or is it to study ancient texts? Is it to study in China or Taiwan? Which specific programs? What character/Romanization system is used for that? Then, look for Mandarin programs in the US that teach toward that goal.</p>