69岁的罗杰斯(Jim Rogers)和他43岁的妻子佩奇(Paige Parker) 2007年将他们在纽约城的居所卖掉并搬到新加坡。两人这么做的目的是希望他们的孩子长大后会说中文。这对夫妻在新加坡植物园(Botanic Gardens)对面租了一套房子。之所以选择这个地点，是因为这样他们九岁的女儿Happy就能够进入当地顶尖的南洋小学(Nanyang Primary)学习了。在南洋小学，核心课程都是用中文授课的。Happy四岁的妹妹Bee上的是南洋幼小(Nanyang Kindergarten)。南洋幼小两年的课程完全用中文讲授。
Jim Rogers, 69, and his wife, Paige Parker, 43, sold their New York City home and moved to Singapore in 2007, specifically so their children could grow up speaking Chinese. The couple now rent a house across from Singapore's Botanic Gardens. The address positioned them to get their 9-year-old daughter, Happy, into a top local school called Nanyang Primary, where core subjects are taught in Mandarin. Her sister, Bee, 4, attends Nanyang Kindergarten, where instruction is completely in Mandarin for two years.

和金融大鳄索罗斯(George Soros)一同创立了量子基金(Quantum Fund)的罗杰斯并不会说普通话，也从未在亚洲生活过，但他说，让孩子从小自然地学习中文至关重要。罗杰斯说，这个世纪将成为中国的世纪，我们要为孩子做好准备。
Mr. Rogers, who started Quantum Fund with financier George Soros, doesn't know Mandarin and had never lived in Asia. But he says it's crucial for his kids to learn Chinese naturally from the start. 'This is going to be the century of China, so we're preparing them,' he says.

中文的难学是出了名的。普通话有四声，想要说的流利必须掌握数千个汉字。美国国务院下设的外交学院(Foreign Service Institute)说，想要掌握普通话需要2,200个课时的学习，其中一半课时要在说普通话的国家学习。而掌握西班牙语则只要600课时到750课时即可。
Mandarin is notoriously difficult to learn. The language is tonal, and fluency requires mastering thousands of characters. Mandarin competence takes 2,200 class hours, with half of that time spent in a country where it's spoken, according to the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service Institute, whereas Spanish can be learned in 600 to 750 class hours.

教育工作者说，学习普通话并没有所谓“唯一正确”的方法。旧金山中美国际学校(Chinese American International School)的负责人比塞尔(Jeff Bissell)说，随着指标和标准的确立，教学方法也在不断演进。他赞成让学生到中国学习普通话的方法。比塞尔将这种方法称作一个主要的战略重点。
Educators say there's no one right way to learn Mandarin. Jeff Bissell, head of the Chinese American International School in San Francisco, says teaching is 'evolving' as metrics and standards are established. He applauds efforts to get students to China to learn Mandarin, which he calls 'a major strategic priority.'

从中国搬回至美国以后发生的情况则是另外一回事。卡舍尔(Jim Cashel)和他的妻子Anne Ching在2009年带着两个女儿从加州索诺玛(Sonoma)搬到中国成都。他们的目标是学习中文、体验中国。Anne Ching是第四代华裔美国人，在成长过程中从未学习过中文。
What happens after moving back from China is another matter. Jim Cashel and his wife, Anne Ching, a fourth-generation Chinese-American who never learned Mandarin growing up, moved from Sonoma, Calif., to Chengdu in 2009 with their two daughters. Their goal: to learn Chinese and experience China.

自2010年搬回索诺玛后，Anne Ching和她的大女儿通过Skype定期向成都的汉语老师学习，以保持他们的普通话水平。但Anne Ching也承认，除了远程上课之外他们并没有真正的机会练习普通话。她说，我的方法就是未来10年要不断学习普通话。
Since moving back to Sonoma in 2010, Ms. Ching and her older daughter regularly Skype with a teacher in Chengdu to maintain their Mandarin. But there's no real chance to practice Mandarin otherwise, acknowledges Ms. Ching. 'My whole approach is I'm just going to keep working on it for the next decade,' she says.

贝尔德(Jeff Baird)也是那些考虑搬到亚洲让子女学习一年中文的父母之一。贝尔德家住加州伯克利(Berkeley)，是一名对冲基金经理。今年4月，他带着妻子和两个女儿（分别为3岁和6岁）到台北和新加坡旅行，以考察学校，并研究搬到亚洲学习中文的想法。
Among parents considering a move to Asia for a year is Jeff Baird, a hedge-fund manager who lives in Berkeley, Calif. In April, he took his wife and two daughters, ages 3 and 6, on a tour of Taipei and Singapore to see schools and research the idea.

他的妻子米莉是一位华裔美国人，在印第安纳州哥伦布长大，但她不会读写中文。米莉说，我们不仅想让孩子学习普通话，我们希望他们能够享受在海外体验一门语言的乐趣。
His wife, Millie Chu-Baird, is Chinese-American but can't read or write Mandarin, having grown up in Columbus, Ind. 'More than just instilling Mandarin into them, we would want it to be about giving them the joy of experiencing the language overseas,' says Mr. Baird.

在新加坡，贝尔德一家拜访了罗杰斯一家，探讨在哪里学习中文最好。两家孩子在一同玩耍的过程中，Happy被问到在学习中文的过程中哪些东西最难，她回答说：口语测试、作文、阅读理解，还有问答。
In Singapore, the Bairds visited Mr. Rogers, Ms. Parker and their daughters to discuss the best place to learn Mandarin. As the playdate progressed, Happy Rogers was asked to name the hardest thing about learning Mandarin. She replied, in Mandarin: 'Oral tests. And composition. And comprehension. And Q and A.'

Happy的母亲不会说中文，她一头雾水地看着Happy。在记者将Happy的回答翻译成英文后她的母亲说：那就是说，全部都很难咯？
Her mother, who doesn't speak Mandarin, stared at Happy uncomprehendingly. After a reporter translated Happy's answer, her mother said, 'So basically, everything?'

是的，Happy点头回答。
'Yes,' Happy nodded.