Incoming students have the opportunity to pick a variety of classes to take their first year, including the choice of a foreign language to take for the next 3 or 4 years. While normally students have their pick of three languages (French, Spanish or Mandarin), this year the decision looked a little different. With the Mandarin program set to close at the end of the 2025 – 2026 school year, incoming students no longer have the option to take classes in that language.
The conclusion of the Mandarin program is largely due to a lack of students. In her letter to students enrolled in the program, Mme Thiel explained that “the program’s enrollment is no longer viable to sustain” as the Spanish and French programs enroll the majority of students each year. Classes in those departments have an average of 13 students. Meanwhile, most Mandarin classes have an average of only 6 students.
Mandarin was first offered at Archmere 13 years ago, However, with the arrival of Ms. Yachi Yu in 2018, the Mandarin curriculum developed and the scope of the program expanded, including more levels and an honor society. Under Ms. Yu’s leadership, the Mandarin program has sponsored an exchange with a Yanping High School in Taiwan as well as having offered numerous cultural activities after school and in the evenings. Ms. Yu remarked that it “is a disappointing school decision” especially because of “all the work she put in [over] all these years.”
So what does this mean for current Mandarin students? The answer depends on whether they are current juniors or sophomores. For current sophomores, students will have to sign up to take another language for their junior year. This will mean starting over at level one, during a year where many of their peers are already onto level 3 or 4. Additionally, this means that students will not be able to complete the typical 3 years required of one language. While they will be exempt from this rule, it has caused some concern for current students.
One concern students have is about how the switch in language will look in their college applications. Elizabeth Keenan ‘28 says she signed up to take Mandarin because she “was planning on taking AP Mandarin.” In addition to not being able to take that class, other opportunities such as hosting an exchange student and traveling to the sister school in Taiwan are no longer an option. This has led to some disappointment from students, including Elizabeth who said “I think it is really unfair that we will have to be juniors taking a freshman level course.”
For rising juniors, who will be able to complete their third year of Mandarin, the resolution is a little different. Being able to fulfill the requirement means that after this school year, they are finished with their language requirements. This means they could have opted to not take Mandarin their senior year regardless of the program’s status. However, most students prefer to take up to 4 years of language, with a handful even going on to to take the AP level their senior year. Without this option, students will be forced to stop their study of the Mandarin language and culture after this year.
In order to continue their studies of the Mandarin language, many students will have to opt for outside-of-school classes. While this method will allow them to continue their study, it interrupts their current learning path. Nyla Nkempta ‘27 expressed her concern, saying she “might not be on the same level or could be ahead” and that will “disrupt” her current pathway to proficiency in the language.This situation may prove to be an obstacle to overcome should students choose this independent route.
With all this in mind, it poses the question: Could a new language be introduced in the future to replace Mandarin? What language could be successfully introduced to compete with the very popular Spanish and French programs? While students in the Mandarin program will greatly miss their classes there is no doubt that they will benefit and continue to learn from the variety of language classes offered at Archmere.
