Published: October 01, 2008 09:52 pm         

Chinese language school open house scheduled for this weekend

TERRE HAUTE — A Chinese language school will open its doors Nov. 1, and a registration/open house is scheduled for Saturday.

Registration is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at United Campus Ministries at 321 N. Seventh St. At least one of the Chinese teachers is expected to attend.

“We’ve had a very good response,” said Curt DeBaun III, whose four adopted children, two from China and two from Korea, sparked his initial interest in starting the school. Three of his children will attend the language program.

The school, which will teach Mandarin Chinese, is open to children ages 4 and up, and DeBaun anticipates an enrollment of about 25 when the program begins.

Tuition will be $30 per month, which includes refreshments and use of books. Weekly classes will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. each Saturday at United Campus Ministries.

The program has three volunteer teachers, all natives of China. One taught English in China; another is working on a doctorate in linguistics in Terre Haute and a third is a graduate student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

If more teachers are needed, “We’ll get more,” DeBaun said.

In the future, the program hopes to offer an adult class.

In starting the program, the goal is to promote Chinese culture and language in Terre Haute, DeBaun said. “Many of us [involved in the program] have adopted Chinese children and we want them to learn their native language and culture.”

By broadening Terre Haute’s horizons in a cultural sense, he also hopes it might open some doors in promoting business and economic ties with China.

“It’s a world economy and we need to gear up and try to become part of it,” DeBaun said.

China is quickly becoming the largest consumer country in the world, he said previously, “and we can sell to them as well as buy from them.”

Beecher Wilhelm’s son and his adopted Chinese daughter both will attend the language school. His son Christian is 12 and daughter Jasmine is 8.

“It’s really an excellent opportunity to give [Jasmine] back part of her culture,” Wilhelm said. The Wilhelms adopted their daughter when she was just 11 months old; she was born in China.

Wilhelm also believes that Chinese will increasingly become an important world language that can open doors for Jasmine in the future.

For more information about the Chinese language school, contact DeBaun at (812) 299-5125.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.