Costa’s removal of Chinese 1 reduces language diversity, access to course variety

By Jenna Walter 

Executive Theme Editor

 

Due to lack of enrollment, the Chinese 1 class has been discontinued for the 2023-24 school year. The Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD) should not have chosen to terminate Chinese 1 as it decreases Costa’s language diversity and hinders students’ access to true fundamental precepts of Chinese. 

   According to Costa’s administration, classes are based on a master schedule. When only 10 students chose to take Chinese 1, the class was cut entirely. The Chinese program has the lowest enrollment out of all languages at Costa, per administration. There is only one Chinese teacher and four classes this school year, while other languages such as Spanish have significantly higher enrollment.

   The biggest issue with the discontinuation of Chinese 1 is that the Chinese program will begin to decline after this year. According to Chinese teacher Pauline Chang, class sizes will continue to decrease, starting with Chinese 2, in the 2024-25 school year as there will be no students advancing from Chinese 1. There is a similar decrease of enrollment at Manhattan Beach Middle School (MBMS) as well. This school year, only Chinese 1B is offered  at MBMS, while other languages have a 1A and 1B class. 

  The Chinese program’s removal hinders the fundamental learning of the language. According to Chang, 10 students is the perfect amount for a beginner Chinese class. For students who have had no previous exposure to the language, a small class is beneficial for one-on-one learning. In the case of one student who skipped Chinese 1 altogether, an entire year of important curriculum will be foregone, posing greater challenges in Chinese 2. 

    Lastly, the removal of Chinese 1 will reduce diversity on campus. Chinese is the only Asian language taught on campus and without it, Costa will not be as diverse as neighboring school districts. In Chinese 1, students are taught about Chinese language and culture. 

    According to the Costa administration, the school could not allow Chinese 1 to be administered with 10 students due to lack of funding. The school would not make enough money to pay the teacher and cover other costs with only 10 students in the class. However, even though Chinese 1 was not offered this year, it is not gone forever—administration looks at enrollment per year and decides if there is a sufficient amount of students per class. School-wide budgets are hard to manage, but an exception should be made for the Chinese 1 students because a small Chinese 1 class provides an optimal learning environment.

   To avoid a decline in diversity at Costa, administration should not have discontinued the Chinese 1 class. Discontinuing the most basic Chinese class does not bode well for the future of the program because a decreasing number of  teens will sign up for Chinese each school year. Also, with fewer Chinese classes, Costa’s course offerings will become less diverse as the course not only covers the Chinese language, but also the culture and history surrounding the countries that speak it. While an argument can be made that there is not enough funding for 10 students in a class, a smaller class is better for learning the basics of Chinese.