Panel 1: Cantonese and/or Mandarin?: The Language of Chinese America

San Francisco boasts a community of over 150,000 Chinese-speaking residents. The city’s rich tapestry reflects California’s immigration history, shaped significantly by the influx of Cantonese and Taishanese immigrants since the Gold Rush era. As China has grown economically and politically… allowing for more migration, including from those from Taiwan, Mandarin has been on the rise. This linguistic transformation has sparked debates about the allocation of resources and funding within the community and where the future of language is.

Join us for “Cantonese or Mandarin?: The Language of Chinese America”! This session will illuminate the experiences of Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking educators and individuals, providing valuable insights into the linguistic dynamics of the Chinese diaspora. Should Chinese bilingual education focus on Cantonese or Mandarin? What are the pros and cons of doing so? Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into the complexities of language evolution within Chinese America!

Moderated by: 

Julia Quon, Save Cantonese CCSF

Julia Quon 關美欣, is a proud San Francisco native and child of immigrants, with a background in healthcare and education. She was previously a community health educator at Huckleberry Youth Services and lead volunteer doula at San Francisco General Hospital. With a strong commitment to cultural diversity, she advocates for preserving Cantonese at CCSF and actively volunteers in her community. Drawing on over three years of doula experience, Julia is dedicated to making a positive impact as the current co-director of community health with the Nursing Student Association at San Francisco State.

Panelists:

Liana Szeto, Principal of Alice Fong Yu Alternative School

Liana Szeto is the founding principal of Alice Fong Yu (AFY) Alternative K-8 School, the nation’s first Chinese immersion public school. In 1984, she was part of the design launch team of Chinese immersion, an innovative idea that was not offered or valued at its time. She led Alice Fong Yu School from a small local pilot program of one hundred twenty-five (125) students to a National Blue Ribbon School (2012), California Distinguished School, and Gold Ribbon School with an enrollment of almost six hundred (600) students. In 2000, Liana developed and implemented a cultural exchange program where the eighth grade class could travel to China for two weeks. In exchange, students from China spent a week in San Francisco and stayed and learned from American host families. Today, Liana continues to be a leader and advocate for rigorous bilingual, multicultural education for students from all ethnic backgrounds in public schools. Her leadership at Alice Fong Yu continues to be a national model for Chinese immersion programs around the country.

Joanna Szeto, 4th Grade Bilingual Educator at Gordon J. Lau Elementary School

Joanna Szeto is a teacher, writer, and mother of two. She teaches a 4th grade Cantonese class in San Francisco. She writes stories in English and Chinese. Her stories are published on ichinesereader.com and Storyshares.org. She writes her own little Chinese readers to sell on teacherspayteachers.com through her store Working Wonders.

Lori Liao, Former Director of the Weekend Chinese School at Wah Mei

Lori began her journey at Wah Mei as a parent, a teacher, and later the Director of the Weekend Chinese School. For three years, She received the prestigious Association of Northern California Chinese School Exceptional Educator Award. Under Lori’s leadership, Wah Mei Weekend Chinese School grew to 140+ students, exploring ways to empower communal and collaborative learning. Today, she continues to serve the Wah Mei community behind the scenes.