Sunday September 13, 2009
Mind your Mandarin
By ANN MARIE CHANDY
Preschoolers can learn the Chinese language and to appreciate cultural diversity, with help from a little friend. Say hello to Kai-Lan.
AFTER a huge talent search in 2006, Jade-Lianna Peters – then a fifth-grader from Wauwatosa, a city of 45,000 in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin – was selected over hundreds of other child actors, for the title role in Nickelodeon’s original animated series, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan (Hello, Kai-Lan).
Jade-Lianna was, according to a report in Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel Online, so impressive during her initial audition that the show’s producers were determined to forge a long-distance work arrangement with her, instead of simply hiring someone from California, where Nick’s Burbank studios are located.
Three seasons and 40 episodes on, Jade-Lianna still records her shows from Milwaukee, the largest city in America’s northern Wisconsin state. At 13, and having just embarked on ninth grade, Jade-Lianna remains thrilled at lending her voice to the animated title character of a five-year-old.
“I teach Chinese on the show, and have lots of fun while I’m at it,” she explains during a telephone call from Milwaukee last month.
The bubbly Jade-Lianna Peters has many things in common with the character she voices, Kai-Lan. – Photos courtesy of Viacom International Inc Ni Hao, Kai-Lan is about being bicultural in the United States, as seen through the eyes of an inquisitive Chinese-American preschooler.
Two years ago, when the show premiered in America, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan was a hot commodity for Nick Jr, Nickelodeon’s preschool arm. Executives at the children’s network had hoped the half-hour episodes would be to Mandarin what Dora the Explorer has been to Spanish.
According to the official site (nickjr.com/shows/ni-hao-kai-lan/) the programme is a play-along, think-along series that weaves together the Chinese language and culture, preschool-relatable stories, and interactivity, with Kai-Lan playing the role of the viewer’s intimate friend and playmate.
If you’re an avid Nick fan, you’d have caught a trailer for the show, currently being promoted on the channel (available on Astro Channel 612). Tomorrow, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan (main dialogue in English) makes its debut in this region and is the first programme of its kind on Nickelodeon to introduce children aged two to five to Mandarin and Chinese culture.
The voice behind the girl
Jade-Lianna, born in China’s Jiangxi province, grew up in Milwaukee following her adoption by American couple John and Kathleen Peters since the age of eight months. Her parents chose the name “Jade” for the semi-precious stone treasured by the Chinese, and “Lianna” which means “daughter of the sun”. Jade-Lianna retains “Gao Jian” – the name she was born with – as her middle name. She has a younger sister, Alexis-Mariah, who is also a Chinese-born child adopted by the family.
Over the phone, Jade-Lianna comes across as a vibrant, confident American teen.
Still highly enthusiastic about Ni Hao, Kai-Lan after three years on the show, she says she enjoys “learning my culture and my language, and also just seeing it all come together after the work everybody’s put into it”.
The process isn’t very hectic or time-consuming for the youngster. “I go to a recording studio three miles (about 5km) from my house which is called Video Wisconsin. I spend about three hours there once a week,” she reveals.
Her teachers, Jade-Lianna adds, understand her work schedule and they give her homework in advance so that she can complete it ahead of time.
As for coping with celebrity at such a young age, mum Kathleen seems to have had the last word on that. “Actually my mum told the principal to tell everybody to just leave me alone. A couple of people have asked me what it’s like to be on the show, but it’s not really that big of a deal,” she remarks modestly.
Jade-Lianna, who has been acting and modelling since she was two years old, has done commercials and stage acting. Also a skilled musician, she plays the guitar, violin and piano. She enjoys swimming too. Currently a student at the Milwaukee School of Languages, she studies French, Chinese and English.
And just how good is her Mandarin? “Well, I can speak it and have a conversation but I’m not that fluent yet,” she admits.
Jade-Lianna describes herself as a humble person who is outgoing and bubbly. “I like to spend time with friends and learn new things with my sister. I am very imaginative.”
She hails her parents as her mentors. “I think they are my biggest role models because my mum and dad taught me everything from the day they got me when I was eight months. They taught me how to walk and they teach me how to figure out my goals in life. And they help me when I have a problem, just as Kai-Lan helps her friends.”
Bilingual, bicultural lessons
According to Nickelodeon apart from creating awareness of English and Mandarin, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan also explores the psychology of biculturalism. A team of educational researchers and social scientists was enlisted to develop curriculum goals that are tackled in each episode of the series in an interactive, fun manner.
The programme familiarises its audience with elements of the Chinese culture to promote multicultural understanding, especially among immigrants. It celebrates growing up in an intergenerational family and having friends from diverse backgrounds.
In the show Kai-Lan inhabits a fantastical realm with a tiger, a koala (who wants to be a panda), a pink rhino and a monkey. There’s also Yeye, Kai-Lan’s grandfather, who encourages the kid to discover why things happen. Kai-Lan’s relationship with Yeye shows viewers how to respect the elders and highlights the importance of family.
“Kai-Lan sends a positive message to kids about everyday life – like sharing, taking turns, and how to control yourself when you’re mad,” Jade-Lianna says.
In the show Kai-Lan inhabits a fantastical realm with a tiger, a koala (who wants to be a panda), and a monkey. When she got the job on the show she was thoroughly excited. “I had always wanted to help people and through the show I am able to do just that but as a five-year-old!
“I’ve actually learnt a lot. I didn’t know half of the Chinese that I know now coming into this. And I’m also learning a lot about culture.”
She cites an episode where Kai-Lan travels to China. “I didn’t know that when you go into somebody’s house you take off your shoes and put slippers on ... because at my house you don’t!” she says, laughing.
Not surprisingly, the voice-over star feels a connection with her character. “I feel like I am in her shoes. She looks and acts like me when I was younger. In the show Kai-Lan is very close to her grandfather, just as I was to my grandfather when I was younger. Kai-Lan wants to help her friends with all their problems, and I actually like to do that now. Also, because she’s Chinese and I’m Chinese.”
The best part of the programme, however, is that Jade-Lianna gets to help children around the world learn the Chinese language and culture in what she terms “a cute way”.
“Because of this show they will know that Chinese is not just hard and challenging ... it can be really fun to learn too!”
‘Ni Hao, Kai-Lan’ premieres on Nickelodeon (Astro Channel 612) at 10.30am tomorrow. Its regular airtime is Mondays to Fridays (10.30am).
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