The scene looked nothing uncommon: a group of Chinese children are reciting classical Chinese poems under the watchful eyes of their parents.

The place, however, was quite unusual. The whole scenario happened in a shopping mall in the Russian capital of Moscow. The watchful parents, eager-to-learn kids and earnest teachers are all Chinese living and working in Russia. Determined to let their offsprings carry on Chinese culture and tradition, they initiated a year ago a special class to teach the Chinese language and culture.

"Our kids are immersed in a totally Russian environment," says Zhang Xiaojun, organizer of the class in Moscow.

The class groups a dozen kids aged between three and nine including Zhang's own kid.

"From the point of view of systematic learning, we parents agreed that a special class should be formed to be staffed with professional teachers so as to generate more educational gains to the children than just learning at home."

He said that among parenting Chinese nationals, opinions differed on how to bring up their children in Russia.

While some have opted for local international schools which teach some Chinese apart from Russian, others have chosen to send their children to local schools which teach Russian only.

The results of both choices are not encouraging to Zhang and his like-minded peers.

International schools teach some Chinese, but such schools are rare in Moscow. In local schools, Chinese kids get no training in reading and writing in Chinese, though they are encouraged to speak Chinese at home.

The parents at Zhang's class have agreed that with either of these two types of schools, they will only see their kids gradually lose the ability to read and write in Chinese.

For some kids, their school-learned Russian is estranging themselves from their families.

These parents have finally reached a consensus: their children should not discard for good their native tongue.

They have also agreed that their special class will not only teach the Chinese language, but it will also impart to their kids the Chinese values and traditions.

Since the special class was set up a year ago, the parents have escorted their children to the class twice a week for four hours of study. They are pleased to see their efforts have paid off.

Their kids can now recite classical poems by great ancient Chinese poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu and their handwriting has improved with time.

Their kids have become so enthusiastic about learning Chinese that they would compete with one another in reciting more ancient poems.

The parents have also found that by attending the class, their kids have become more sociable and have made more friends.

While appreciating Russian kindergarten's emphasis on fostering independence and training practical abilities, they realized they have to do something by themselves to cultivate social values which are dear to the Chinese, such as politeness and modesty.

Looking back to the operation of the special class, the parents agreed that they have created a better environment for their kids to carry on their cultural heritage. They are prepared to enroll more kids and find a permanent place for the class.

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2010)