Rise in Chinese language programs

Last month, I had a post about the rise of Chinese language classes in Latin America, which is being spurred by the increase in business between the cultures.  Apparently, there is also considerable interest among Americans in learning to speak Chinese, stretching all the way down to elementary school language programs.  The International Herald Tribune just ran a story about this trend.

Paris is enrolled in a “dual immersion” program at the Glenwood Elementary School here in which the pupils – half native Chinese, half English speakers – do their lessons in two languages. The program is indicative of one of the fastest-growing curriculum trends in U.S. schools: the study of Chinese.”Americans are used to hearing about people in other countries learning English. Now we’re seeing the opposite trend,” said Michael Levine, executive director of the Asia Society, which promotes international content in U.S. schools. “Parents and students are deciding that, since more people speak Mandarin than any other language, it might be a useful skill to have.”

“We appreciate the importance of China in the global economy and the notion that our son’s knowing Chinese may give him a leg up later in life,” said Paris’s mother, Janet Walters. “Every morning while reading the newspapers we can point to articles about China, culturally, politically and economically. China is everywhere.” …

 

This autumn the College Board initiated a new advanced placement curriculum and exam in Chinese language and literature. Thomas Matts, who supervises the program, estimated that possibly as many as 300 secondary schools were already in a position to offer the program. “We haven’t seen such interest in a particular subject since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik and people got interested in Russian and physics,” he said.

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