Public Elementary School Students in New York City
New York, NY — Have you ever seen Black children speaking Chinese? If not, watch the video below (It’s truly amazing!). It’s called the Global Language Project (GLP), and its an after-school language program in New York City that teaches teaches urban elementary school children how to speak not just Chinese – but also Spanish, and Arabic.
The program is the visionary product of Angela Jackson, an African American former employee of Nokia who used to travel often to Europe and Asia for her job. Motivated by her experiences overseas, Angela saw firsthand that children abroad were multilingual at an early age, and that their ability to speak another language positioned them more competitively for opportunities in higher education and the global marketplace.
She started Global Language Project in 2009 with 30 third-graders and within one year, expanded to multiple grade levels in several schools throughout New York City. The program now serves over 800 students in Manhattan and Brooklyn and works both after school, before school, and during the day. Donors and supporters include AXA Equitable, HBO, Nintendo, PepsiCo, Viacom, and many more.
But why do Black kids need to learn Chinese?
Learning a second language is no longer a luxury; it is a necessary skill that students must have in order to compete in a global economy. It broadens their opportunities in higher education, and research shows that learning a second language helps children in their overall cognitive development.
Of the over 55 million students in U.S. public schools, only 50,000 students study Mandarin Chinese – a language spoken by over 1 billion people worldwide. This is a sad statistic especially because China is expected to become the world’s largest economy (larger than the U.S.) in just 10 years.
Watch The Video Below:
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For more details, visit www.globallanguageproject.org or call the foundation at (646) 657-8075.