Mandarin is key to future careers
WITH China well on its way to becoming an economic superpower, speaking Mandarin could give today’s high school students a huge advantage in their future careers.
And teenagers at Denbigh High School are already getting in on the act, with after-school Mandarin lessons taking place every Tuesday.
Cambridge University scholar Xuan Zhang is visiting the school every week to teach the language to a very keen group of students, and Denbigh is one of the few secondary schools in the country to give youngsters the opportunity to learn Mandarin.
So far the students have learned some key phrases and basic vocabulary, and are now able to have brief conversations with each other.
Head of modern foreign languages at Denbigh, Beverley Blackham, said: “It is quite a difficult language to learn but I have been amazed by how well our students have adapted to learning Mandarin.
“They are also really enjoying it and some have even commented that it is easy.”
Year 9 student Joanne Bridgland said: “Learning Mandarin is great. It is a very detailed language that has a lot of depth with the characters and tones.
“Sometimes it gets quite hard but at the end of the session I always feel proud of the achievement, and I have certainly learnt a lot already.”
The move to teach Mandarin in UK schools is on the increase, with education secretary Michael Gove announcing earlier this month that the government is pioneering a new partnership with China to train 100 more Mandarin teachers for secondary schools in England.
South West Bedfordshire MP Andrew Selous raised the issue of Mandarin lessons in schools during a debate in Parliament earlier this week.
Speaking afterwards, he said: “It seems sensible for British children to learn the languages of the major trading powers of the coming century.
“There has been a 40 per cent increase in children taking GCSE Mandarin since 2002.
“Twelve schools in Britain have now have Confucius Classrooms allowing them to grow as specialist hubs, helping other schools to bring in Chinese studies.
“Chinese is a language in which pupils who struggle with other languages can do well. I will be writing to upper schools in my constituency to see if they will investigate the teaching of Mandarin, Hindi and Arabic.”
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Friday 25 May 2012
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