Graduation Day for Bangor Chinese School

Some young students are getting a whole new vocabulary this summer, one that will help them communicate with people across the globe.

"She said, 'Do you want to learn Chinese?' And I was like, 'Sure!'" says 11-year-old Sebastian Ragot.

After four weeks of studying Chinese, these students are showing off what they've learned.

"I like learning music, culture and language. I also come for the food," says 11-year-old Anthony Mason.

It was graduation day for the summer program "The Future Speaks Chinese," put on by the Bangor Chinese School.

"In four weeks we can see from their performance they learn a lot. And the kids, they love this language!" says Jing Zhang.

This year some students attended for free, thanks to a grant from the National Security Language Initiative.

"I have an interest in that part of the world, so I saw the opportunity and wanted to take it," says 11-year-old Jamie Hammack.

The program - Startalk - encourages learning languages from strategically important countries.

"We are so lucky to get the support from this program," Zhang says.

Despite the complexity of the language, these guys say they're learning quickly.

"Once you learn a couple of words you start making a whole new vocabulary," Mason says.

They're also picking up on cultural differences.

"How they have more respect for their elders and how they take care of their elders," Hammack says.

Some students say they'll be back next year for more.

"It was pretty fun," Ragot says.

"You just come, and learn Chinese!"