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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We have three heritage languages between DH and I, plus English. We let go of 2 Asian languages (not anything to do with China) and focused on the one we both speak best, a European language. To do this, my kids have attended their weekend language school since they were little. It is a PRIORITY: until certain high school events, nothing was allowed to come before their language classes.

Mandarin Chinese, while perhaps not a heritage language for you, if your families speak other Chinese languages, is still geopolitically critical for your children. I would move heaven and earth, OP, to have them attend their weekend classes. It's WAY more important than sports or scouts. You will definitely regret not giving this opportunity to your children.

Don't let your kids pressure you. Young children are always unhappy at having to give up some of their weekend. It's only when they get to middle school and realize that other American kids are struggling to pick up a foreign language that they will start feeling good about their bilingualism!

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What does it mean for mandarin to be geopolitically important to your average Chinese American kid? I grew up with everyone saying how important it is to learn mandarin for career paths but I don't think this ever played out for anyone. There are simply way too many people who are fluent in both English and Chinese for the average ABC to leverage their elementary Chinese in any professional setting. [/quote]

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