Schools turn to Chinese language classes with help of Chinese government
By Susanna Capelouto, CNN Radio
Listen to CNN Radio's podcast on learning Chinese in U.S. schools from Susanna Capelouto.
(CNN) About 75 students at Hillsboro High School in Nashville, Tennessee, finished their first semester of Mandarin Chinese. Hillsboro Principal Terry Shrader says the inaugural class has been a success.
"We feel like, with the flattening of the world economy, that students who are able to learn some Mandarin and learn something about the Chinese culture have a leg up when they move into college and eventually the work force,” Shrader says.
Hillsboro offers the International Baccalaureate, a specialized high school diploma that focuses on global and cultural skills. Students here have to take a second language; until this year only Spanish and French were offered.
“We have a really strong world language department,” says Shrader, “but we can only expand when we have the resources.”
Those resources came from Chinese Ministry of Education though the Confucius Center at the University of Memphis. The center promotes Chinese language and culture at the university level and at high schools, says Dr. Hsiang-Te Kung, who runs the center.
“We almost provide them a free language teacher to teach the Chinese language. They also get other resources, like textbooks and technology support. So I think that helps develop the program much easier and faster.”
The Chinese Ministry of Education started the Confucius Center program in the United States in 2005. Kung says there are at least two dozen universities with Confucius Centers now in the U.S., and according to the National Association of Independent schools, there are at least 70 Confucius classrooms in U.S. schools, and the numbers are growing.
Dr. Terry Shrader, principal and Dr. Hsiang-Te Kung, director of the Confucius Institute attend the dedication of the Confucius Classroom at Hillsboro High School.
“One out of five people in the world will be Chinese, so Chinese is the most spoken language in the world,” Kung says.
The investment by the Chinese government is paying off. According to a 2008 study by the Center for Applied Linguistics, Chinese was the only language, besides Spanish, that showed significant growth in U.S. schools. Traditional languages all took a hit this past decade, says Nancy Rhodes, CAL’s director of world languages.
“French is decreasing in popularity in schools, German has decreased, Latin has decreased,” she says.
While the survey showed only 4 percent of schools offering Chinese three years ago, it marks an increase of 300 percent over a decade. Compare that with French, which was dropped by 18 percent of schools during that same period.
Some worry that the new push to study Chinese may be overrated.
“It’s a difficult language to learn, and you have to really think about the use of this language. It’s really not used worldwide; it is used in China," says Emanuel Lene, vice president of education at the French Institute Alliance Francaise in New York.
Just as the Chinese Education Ministry promotes Mandarin in foreign countries, the Alliance Francaise promotes French language and culture around the world. But unlike China,France has had to cut back on its language efforts in the United States.
“I have to admit that in the United States the efforts from the French government have diminished, because strategically we have a little less budget and they’re using their budget for promotion of French language a little differently. So, right now they’re investing more in South America,” Lene says.
Also working against European languages are efforts by the U.S. government. The Department of Defense, for example, wants more multilingual soldiers and promotes what’s known as “strategic languages.” Arabic and Chinese currently top that list.
The Department of Defense just awarded the Georgia Institute of Technology $720,000 to create a pilot program where Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) students learn Chinese. The school has been offering Mandarin to all its students for over a decade and the language is growing in popularity, says Dean Jacqueline Jones-Royster.
“China is a player on the world stage now so we have to treat them as players on the world stage,” Jones-Royster says.
And Samuel Graham, a Georgia Tech engineering student, wants to play on that stage, too. That’s why he’s studying Mandarin.
“There are so many Chinese people in the field of engineering these days that you almost have to speak the language," Graham says.
He hopes his Chinese language skills will enable him to visit China and help him improve his skills in table tennis, a major sport in the Asian country.
“I really want to learn the culture,” he says.
Related: Student News
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Such a small think. 😉 But such a great idea
Caucasians are the most racist people in the world. Their mindset is they are the best at everything and everything and everybody should adapt to them. What a bunch of crock ! That is why this country is falling behind in Math and Science and other countries are surpassing America. It does not hurt to learn a new language no matter what. It increases one's knowledge and skills and who knows one day it will come into use.
What?
Learning another language is always a plus. No one will not hire you because you speak more than 1 language. As for Emanuel Lene in the article, that guy is a moron. What country has been doing the majority of business the past 15 years? The french? Oh, right they are having a small issue in the EU right now...opps..I guess I should learn french? For those of you who don't think learning a 2nd language is important, you'll be taking my order when I go out to eat with my business associates. That's why America is falling behind, they think everyone should cater to them. Wake up, the world is catching up and if you want to do anything other than flip burgers for Americans, learn something that isn't "easy".
First of all figure out how learning Chinese will help you. If yes, then learn it.
If you want to be Engineer or a Scientist and work here, then learning Chinese (or ay second language) is useless. All standard literature is in English and so are interviews and medium of communication in tech companies even though a large% of the tech population is from the immigrant tool. I am an Engineer and an immigrant.
If you are seek to work overseas in a country where a large % of the population is Chinese AND they don't know English, then learning Chinese is worthwhile.
Learning a second language is a huge effort. In other countries learning English is compulsory so that one can strive to achieve one's educational and profressional goals. Eg in the scientific fields and medicine one has to be able to read and write English. US has the advantage that English is already the first language. Invest that time in building a solid base /foundation in math/science instead of wasting it in learning a second language!!! (unless it fits your carreer goals)...
Nonsense. Learning Chinese will help our engineers to do business in China. Yes, journals are in English, but the people who own the engineering companies and the companies that hire the engineering firms to build buildings or machines speak Chinese.
Learning a second language is a huge effort. Therefore our children shouldn't be asked to do it.
In 1984, I began business and technical support visits to China. I learned basic Chinese and many technical terms. It was fun and very helpful. Chinese characters help keep your brain "honed". Chinese is helpful just getting around in Asia.
Try and walk around or even order food in a Restaurant in English. If you're going to be in China for anytime you had BETTER learn, at the very least, "survival" Chinese.
Cool. This will help Americans communicate better with their Chinese masters.
Can't help it TRUE as it may be!
F-Grade, Yale Student, Imbecilic George Walker Bush made it so. What a sad day for America.
Americans are NOW a property of China. Get that all RACIST, crazy Repuke's and their tinfoil Teabaggars.
And in unison, say this: Yes SIR, America Chinese Masters.
Heehehehehehehehe!
When you give up your industrial base, your country becomes a "colony". That's what has happened with the United States. It is no longer in control of it's own economy. Very sad.
In about 3000BC, the cultural, military and economic center of early humanity was the Middle East. Then, it shifted to Greece, then Rome, then Europe, then the US, where it currently resides, more or less. It has continually shifted westward for the last 5000 years. China could be next. It is very smart to learn Chinese – not only the language but the culture.
What sort of Eurocentric garbage is this?!? You claim to be a historian, what a joke. China has been the World superpower for over 3000 years. Its decline has been for only the past 300 years. If it becomes a World superpower again, it is taking up a position that it is well accustomed to throughout modern history. Do you even know why Columbus discovered America? Because he wanted to find a faster route to trade with the then great nation of China. God, wake up!
I agree with you that Americans SHOULD be learning Chinese. However, the purpose is not for business, but rather for the inevitable day that they attack our shores. Yes it will happen. It already happens every day in cyberspace, and it's only a matter of time before it happens in the physical world as well. I am personally teaching my sons (3 and 1 years old) Spanish, and plan to enroll them in Chinese immersion elementary school when the time comes; again in both cases not for business, but for WAR preparations. If it happens to help them in business in the meantime, then all the better.
BTW – as of evidence of this, it is no coincidence that the article mentions the ROTC programs getting a grant to learn Chinese. This is for WAR, not business. Clowns that do business with this country, in it's current form with it's current leadership should be hung and flogged at high noon. You're selling out your own childs future.
Learn chinese. Not for business, but for WAR.
That is crazy. You want your kids to collabroate with them after they land? I can tell you that you will have a long wait.
They have a one child policy. Nobody is going to war with an only child.
"It’s really not used worldwide; it is used in China," Wow, apparently he is unaware of the fact that more than 1/2 of Singapore speaks Chinese, or that there are 7 million Chinese in Indonesia, 7 million more in Malaysia, and another 7 million in Thailand. Even Peru has over 1 million Chinese. There are as many Chinese people living outside the PRC as there are French people living in France.
Exactly. Chinese is used anywhere there are Chinese people. And you can find Chinese people everywhere in the world.
And he makes it sound like French is spoken EVERYWHERE. Typical nose-up-in-the-air Frenchman.
I am an American who has lived for the past six years in Thailand teaching English. Chinese is widely spoken spoken here. The school where I teach has a trilingual language program. Students here begin learning English and Chinese along with the Thai language beginning at age three. At such a young age students have the best opportunity to master languages. My own five year old son has no problem switching among all three languages. It would be wonderful if American schools could begin foreign language instruction beginning much earlier, when children are most likely to master a second language. The young children I teach English to here are doing amazingly well. I don't see why American children shouldn't do just as well.
As a Chinese-American, I can honestly say that I am ASHAMED of the racist and xenophobic comments on this page from everyone. My allegiance is to America, but my history is in China. What does it matter which languages you learn? This is AMERICA, a country based on freedom and sovereignty. You have a choice to learn whatever language you wish. No one is forcing you to learn Chinese, or Spanish, or French. If it helps YOU in YOUR career, then learn it. Don't judge other people for wishing to educate themselves.
You have clearly underscored yet another reason Americans are falling further and further behind the rest of the developed world. Americans are no longer leaders in innovation and education, but instead a racist rabble who glibly worship their own propaganda. America, once the leader in world education, now stands between 27th and 35th place in the PISA International ratings, compared to Canada which stands at a sound 5th. America can no longer afford to coast along on the coat-tails of a World War II victory and other past glories. It's time to grow up, move along, and implement new ideas that will allow the upcoming generation of American youth to become legitimately successful.
I agree with you that Americans SHOULD be learning Chinese. However, the purpose is not for business, but rather for the inevitable day that they attack our shores. Yes it will happen. It already happens every day in cyberspace, and it's only a matter of time before it happens in the physical world as well. I am personally teaching my sons (3 and 1 years old) Spanish, and plan to enroll them in Chinese immersion elementary school when the time comes; again in both cases not for business, but for WAR preparations. If it happens to help them in business in the meantime, then all the better.
Carol, we couldn't agree with you more.
Finally a language that will assist someone in the international market. More schools should follow this lead and not pander to the illegals forcing their ghetto spanish which serves NO purpose. At least the level of intelligence will grow perhaps we will have a chance to grow as a nation again from this cesspool due to the worthless drugged filled murder capital to our south.
The only reason that Mexico is a gang filled murder capital is because they are located between the US and its drug supply. If you US vanished next Monday, Mexico would be gang free by Friday.
Thinks so tooooooooooooooo!
Nice logic. Makes sense by itself.
Right – because english is just worthless in international business.
To all fellow readers,
I grew up in China and now lives in the US. I love both countries, and think both countries have great future. China has fallen behind in the 1800s because Chinese people grew complacent over past achievements and this ego prevented us to learn from the rest of the world. Fortunately, the tide has changed and modern Chinese are more eager to learn from the west than the average Americans.
The key to success is to be open minded. Then opportunities will certainly knock.
I'm currently teaching chinese in my local community.
"modern Chinese are more eager to learn from the west than the average Americans...."
What a racist thought !!!
If my statement were false, then it would have been a racist thought. However, if it's true, you can't call it a racist thought. It's just a statement of the truth.
Actually, truth is not racism New World. I have just returned from 3 years in China and the people there have been eager to learn whatever the west has to offer that will help them grow. Why do you suppose enrollment is growing rapidly at American and European universities and business schools that have established branch schools in China – including University of Arkansas, Duke and many others? On the other hand, there is a lot we can learn from them as well.
Not me, Old World.
I don't see any RACISM in your New Chinese Master's a.k.a 跳舞の影子 post above. Listen to your New Chinese Master's, 跳舞の影子 . He's stating the FACTS as they are and telling it like it’s. Learn the TRUTH from your New Chinese Master's, 跳舞の影子 post it might help you when they take over USA like a tsunami. Be warned; it’s tsunami brewing offshore in the ocean and in waiting; it will certainly hit sooner or later.
The question is; will you be prepared to welcome your New Chinese Masters finally to shore as the New America for prosperity?
Q: You call someone who speaks three languages "trilingual". You call someone who speaks two languages "bilingual". What do you call someone who speaks one language?
A: An American.
a little knowledge doesn't hurt our great country. understanding your allies and your enemies goes a long way. its why our country is able to tread safely most of the time.
"a little knowledge doesn't hurt our great country."
Yeah this country needs A LOT of knowledge
"understanding your allies and your enemies goes a long way."
Dropping the world view of "us against them" helps even more, the world is a lot more then just red vs blue
Take whatever rocks your boat, buddy!
You feel me?
Great article! The more we learn about, and appreciate, each other's culture, the less likely we are to conflict with each other as China takes on a larger share of global GDP. (and hopefully the responsibilities that come with it)
Not sure that I agree with that statement. The Esperanto movement has been saying for years that we would all get along if we had a common language. If that is so, who can explain Serbia-Bosnia-Croatia? Hatred decreases with understanding, but it is not a sinecure. Kaj jes, mi estas esperantisto. (And yes, I am an Esperantist)
so we will soon hear one for english, two for chinese and three for spanish?
Yeb, you catching on real quick and in-step with 21st. Century Citizens of the World to deal with. Glad you're not one of the 99% of Americans who are narrow minded. The intelligence of these crazy Repuke's and their tinfoil teabaggars magnifies this and makes it worse to the World at large. Intelligence in GOP party is not a pre-requisite. Being extremely dumb; reigns supreme and supersedes all other qualifications which can make you instant multi-millions and if lucky; as one of their top spokesman or spokeswoman. Keep it up baby!
Well, they should learn Chinese, they will need to know what their slave masters are telling them.
I say we bomb those slant eyed yellow skinned fish heads back to the stone age.
Well, if that happened, then you wouldn't be able to send those idiotic messages from your Chinese-made computer....Mr. Palin Twit.
Palintwit. Spoken like a true "twit". Apparently, you don't know it's meaning. Now back to your job flipping burgers. Your next job will be as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. Wait, you don't qualify since you don't speak Chinese.
HAHAHAHAHA!! Your comment refreshed my mood!
Make sense to me! Glad you knocked some sense into that trailer park idiot.
Whew, you made my Day!
Go ahead, make my day. I'll even paint a bulls-eye on my chest for you.
Yet another troll...
Typical Evil American mentality. You have no SOUL.
You hate Blacks due to the color of their skin. Now you hate your New Chinese America Masters due to the geometric shaped of their eyes. FYI: Hate is too much of a burden to bear.
Does bombing Iraq ring a bell? America Gov’t and GWB and his war lords paid Iraqis not to kill Americans. Not only that; America left Iraq with its bloody tail between it legs. Shame on you! You’re a disgrace to ALL Americans with your stupid banker mentality
I for one am glad I'm learning German...
China has more english-speaking Chinese people than the United States has english-speaking Americans. No joke. Thats because every single Chinese student must take English as a second language.
Same in Russia (English or German), it doesn't mean that russians speak either language, though. If you want to learn a language you ahve to study it 3 time a wekk, at least 2 hours each time, not 1 hour a week.
There is some truth in that. I took three years of Spanish in High School and I think I can just about count to twenty and say "I don't understand, do you speak English?" in Spanish.
Great new colorful bilingual Chinese-English eBooks include How the Fox Got His Color, Where Hummingbirds Come From, The Dance of the Caterpillars and The Gnomes of Knot-Hole Manor. Enjoy!
This would be illegal in Arizona, wouldn't it?
Nope!
Not when AZ is slave to its New Slave Chinese Master a.k.a Peoples Republic of China. Not even NRA can save them. Heheheheehehe! Just can’t wait, baby!
Chinese is a simple language, once you get over a few issues. It doesn't make a fuss about gender, tense, and formality (e.g. sie and du) etc.
China will have a mass market 5x the size of US. That is happening for cars, cell phones, househood appliances, building aterials, etc. At some point, you will have to talk to your customers directly, not only through a few English-speaking middle men.
Every company is there because they see the writings on the wall. They are not waiting for some uprising to happen. They know that guys who have 10% raise year after year aren't into uprisings.
Isn't it a tonal language , though and their alphabet is sign based? It is very difficult for a european. If I were to live in China I would learn it anyway but otherwise it is makes more sense to learn Spanish.
This reporter's work is lacking. Had she researched further, she would have found out that there are several schools in th U.S., both private and public, that teach Mandarin immersion' i.e., students are taught only in Mandarin language. These programs have been around for several years and are highly successful.
Go Burros! HHS '64
What do you call somone who speaks THREE languages? TRILINGUAL!
What do you call someone who spoeaks TWO languages? BILINGUAL!
What do you call someone who speks ONLY ONE language? AMERICAN, Lol :))!!!!!
True!
This makes complete sense. I have convinced 3 of my four kids to drop Spanish. What good is that language, unless you want to hold a conversation with a worker in McD's, Walmart, or on a landscaping crew. They are now taking 2 years of Latin which, while it is a dead language, is the basis for all of the romance languages and has great value in English vocabulary. They have decided to take Mandarin Chinese after they are finished with Latin as their high school offers the courses. Mandarin will be critical in the economy of the future, because of the burgeoning economy of China, while the Spanish speaking countries have little or nothing to offer us. I think it is a very proactive and forward looking course of action by these schools to offer the language.
i completely agree!
And woe to those students heading into medicine or botany or any of the sciences if they do not have a basis in Latin. Dead, perhaps, as a spoken language but the basis of most science.
Spanish still makes much more sense than Latin. I don't know why people would ever want to learn a dead language, when they can learn a living one with the same benefits. As it was pointed out, Latin is the basis of all the romance languages - Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, etc. Basically, these languages all resemble each other, because they evolved from Latin. Really these languages should be all called variants of "Modern Latin". So the words in Spanish (or French) still resemble, to a great extent, the original Latin. If that's the case, it makes much more sense to learn Spanish (or French), since you will still be able to recognize Latin roots and meanings by knowing Spanish (or French), AND you get to communicate with hundreds of millions of people. Learning Latin makes as much sense as learning classical Chinese (very obtuse) instead of the modern Chinese they speak in China today.
We learn dead languages in order to learn that people back then could be just as ignorant as the ones today.
I completely agree with you about the growing importance of Chinese in the world, especially from an economic perspective. China's presence on the global financial stage is an ever-increasing role. As such, our children should be educated about such an important culture, including its language. Meanwhile, your statement about only using Spanish in fast food restaurants, big box stores, and when hiring a landscaper is not only stereotypical, but also can be taken as racist. If you look at the immigration patterns throughout the history of the United States, today's service industry employees will be the next generation's entrepreneurs. Unlike the Chinese businessmen who we will be telecommunicating with overseas, those Hispanic business owners will be the people here in the United States who will own fast food restaurant chains, manage those big box employees, and run landscaping conglomerates, not to mention, be your grandchildren's future educators. How wonderful it would be for your children to learn about both the Chinese and Hispanic cultures to respect and appreciate what they both equally bring to the world.
But by that time, the 2nd gen. would not be speaking Spanish as their 1st language.
My comments regrading the use of Spanish in this country were meant to be condescending and critical. If I have to "press 1 for English" one more time I'm going to through up on my own shoes.
I have been turned down for jobs because, and I quote, "you only speak English (sic)?" At that point I asked them why their customers didn't speak English as the last time I checked it was still the mother tongue of the USA. Sorry, just tired of it. I would rather my kids learn the languages they will can use in the future for their jobs and betterment, not a language that helps you read a sign in Home Depot.
Sorry, I meant to say "throw up on my own shoes".
According to some experts in population trends-a.k.a. sociology, by 2050 or 2060, China will be the number one english speaking country in terms of number of speakers and the U.S. will (before the 21st century) have the largest number of Spanish speakers in the world. I'll back that up with News articles-http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130375977&ft=1&f=1008 and http://www.ted.com/talks/jay_walker_on_the_world_s_english_mania.html
Kinda makes you wonder don't it?
English, Spanish, Chinese. Know those three and you'll never go without a job.
Why not take all of them? Spanish is based on Latin, after all and Spanish is easier. Once you learn Spanish it is easier to learn Latin.
What's better than a dead language? A dead Hispanic.
Kirk, you shoulda been on my flight back in '37. Lots of folks who thought jes' like you.
Yes be proud of your children maybe they can go to China and find a low paying job! While the Latinos (the French included since they came up with "Latin America while they took Mexico) will enjoy our sunny beaches and class one lifestyle! Enjoy China!
NO!!! My fellow Americans, please DO NOT learn any foreign language! English ONLY! We are American, we do not speak other languages. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
No Chinese
No Spanish
No Geography
No Math
No Science
We are American!
Unfortunately your an idiot/
"Unfortunately your an idiot/" — Boosted
Don't you mean, "You're"?
" We are American, we do not speak other languages. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
No Chinese
No Spanish
No Geography
No Math
No Science"
Geography is a language?
The language of maps?
Imagine what it proves, [Americans] nerds have no idea what is Geography.
lollol! well, looking at people today here who have none of the forth you mentioned, the product of that sort of society is what we are dealing with now...what rational company would hire people without an education or people without discipline to get a better education to "better" themselves?
yeah, you so stupid.
You're a troll. Probably a Canadian (ie. just as fat and dumb as Americans but your country is weak and pathetic)
Canadians are the ones we don't deport. And 'Merica is a cesspool.
Fk you stupid ass
I don't think hes an idiot, i think hes sarcastic 😀
Are you by chance related to Sarah Palin, top GOP spokes leader with extremely low IQ that doesn't even register on any scale? Stay in your art hole and leave the rest of us alone.
Pretty soon, our grocery products won't be in just Spanish and English, there will be Chinese writing on them too. Can't leave out the most over populated group on the planet.
NO! We Chinese commend well in English, no ESL, please!
Zn, you may "commend" well but you don't COMMENT very well. Your English is not as good
as you think it is...
They should teach the kids to make cheap crappy products too. Then the ppl in the US could have the junk products they normally have but they would all say "Made in USA" and then everyone could be extra patriotic and go around flaunting how much they love 'merca.
lololol! right on! but then again, most "Americans" were raised to think "highly" of themselves...they would not have the stomach to go do minial labor work and pay that should be done by "foreigners"...i find it kinda funny where i go somewhere in the south and they tell me all the jobs are being "taken" away from them and replaced with "foreigners"...but they themselves would have no inclination to even apply for the job...
oops. I failed to stay on topic after reading so many posts.
Although China's run will come to an end and pretty soon, I do feel that in the US there needs to be more teaching of other languages and it needs to be taken far more seriously than it is today.
Although the business World revolves around English, knowing the 2,3 or 4 languages certainly would not hurt and in my experience, will only help open some doors you never knew existed.
getting ready for the future, good job kids.
The USA is so dumb and lazy we don't even use the metric system. Anyone expecting citizens of this country to learn a mandatory second language is dreaming
"The USA is so dumb and lazy we don't even use the metric system. Anyone expecting citizens of this country to learn a mandatory second language is dreaming"
1. The English system of units is a lot harder to learn and use than the metric system, so I don't know why that would support your "dumb and lazy" contention.
2. "Mandatory" second language? You're a little unclear about the concept of freedom, yes?
Not sure what area the country you are from, but all colleges are using the metric system.
Heck, even hospitals are making it mandatory. They won't weight people in pounds or measure temperatures in Fahrenheit anymore. It's only the lazy 50+ older crowd that still uses the old systems. Can't teach old dogs new tricks.... unless it threatens their jobs (engineer not using metric lol).
The Imperial weight system is considerably harder than the metric. You are a jacka$$
> The Imperial weight system is considerably harder than the metric
----------–
Yes, it is harder for those of us who grew up with the metric system, having to calculate feet and pounds back into metric system to make any sense. For those who grew up in the US and don't know the metric system, it doesn't seem to be an issue.
@Boo; FYI: it was that dumb, cowboy, Repuke Pres. Reagan who told Americans NOT to go Metric or System International (SI). And that have been the policy of dumb US Gov't to this day. Sadly; I can confirm that 90% of American Engineers are STILL clueless and deficient in Metric or System International (SI) units of measurements. It scares the heck out of them like AL-Qeada or 911 episodes all re-lived. America Engineers will rant all day like 2-yr. olds simply ‘cos projects assigned to them involve Metric or System International (SI) units of measurements both in design and calculations. Not only that; they’re lazy and dumb as well.
Wow, lots of china haters commenting. Kindly keep in mind that these are Chinese PEOPLE you are talking about. China is not just an abstract threat for Americans,and others to bash. I'm not saying the Chinese gov. isn't godawful on a lot of different levels. But what's wrong with learning Chinese?
Chinese people are finally getting a chance to make it out there in the global scheme of things. Now that there are talented people out there who's primary language is Chinese, what's wrong with learning a language to communicate with them? Sounds like something that will give these students an edge to me. Unless anyone here really thinks that English should be the only language in world and everyone should be an American. Appreciate diversity, don't hate.
Happy holidays, everyone!
The 50 cent army makes any article about China into an unpleasant argument.
But it was a nice try to redirect it back to us.
Yes the Chinese are so wonderful at so many things including using the earth as their personal toxic waste dump.
And we don't?
Yes china is used as a toxic dump, but it's not their fault. Pollution has dropped in US cities because it's been moved to China and their citizens have had to deal with that. That's the price we pay for wanting cheap goods and lots of them. Unfortunately China has to pay the price and not us.
I'm of the opinion that we Americans have always avoided learning the languages of those we perceive as enemies. The study of German in the US decreased as the Nazis gained more power in Germany. The Russian language was shunned until Sputnik was launched, which led to a concerted effort on the part of the US government to get students to study Russian. Other countries, however, seem to move language learning to a priority when it comes to dealing with their "enemies".
these people here dont care! as long as they are "bashing" someone else but themselves...its ok! its taught throughout their lives and churches have further instilled that way of thought to their parish...just like the way they teach that their "way" is the "true" way and all other religions are worshipping "false" gods...
Good point. I love learning foreign languages, it helps me understand the culture and the people. But most americans are very xenophobic. They think "US is the best" so why learn about anybody else. Of course, since they never learn anything about other places other than what fearmongering media feeds them, they never learn the truth about the rest of the world and themselves.
There are more people on the brink of starvation in China then people in the USA. Yah, that country will be running the world someday, after the revolution, again, after they figure out how to conquer our Naval supremacy in the oceans, and after they open up their censorship and strict trading rules, after they quit stealing every idea and patent and invention that they take pictures of... one big russia waiting to collapse.
funny, china out patents the US. So who exactly is leading who? funny how china discovered gunpowder, paper, science, math, etc. Funny how Europe basically stole all these items and called it their own invention. so who exactly is copying who?
"they open up their censorship and strict trading rules,"
OWS, SOPA, patriotic act.
and how's the us economy doing with its liberal trading rules? Oh that's right, 1 in 8 adults and 1 in 4 kids are unsure of where their next meal come from. But hey you probably don't like facts.keep ranting and it will eventually come true...right?
Out patents? They are patenting stuff already patented in other countries. They don't give a damn. Of course if you just copy decades worth of work in a few months you will do it at a faster rate in which it was created. Duh.
The US is a lot more high tech than China. China is always trying to copy our stuff.
Science and Math? Sorry but the ancient Egyptians beat them to that discovery.
you can't rule the planet unless the citizens support the country.
Right now is a suppressed desire for a more democratic system. There will be plenty of uprisings in china's future.
What does it have to do with their language? It is a culture that is several tousands years old. And US is 300 y.o. and americans somehow think they now everything, when they barely have any culture to speak of.
And look, we still own you. Funny. We always will. We always will.
What are you talking about? China is about 60-70 years old. The United States is well over 200 years old. Quit taking Chinese, and get back to taking history class.
The United States system of education has long been behind the curve in the teaching of other languages. This alone has placed us at a disadvantge in the world arena. Just because we can broaden our horizen does not mean that we are becoming weaker. On the contrary, it will make us an even stronger player.
thats because less educated people are easier to manipulate and scare into accepting ideologies...just ask the church during the "dark ages"...republicans/"faux" news today...scare tactics work wonders to the un/under educated...
> thats because less educated people are easier to manipulate and scare into accepting ideologies...
Exactly.
and some people complain about Spanish , China will eat the USA
ummm.... yea... that will never happen lol.
China will eat poisonous milk. Because, that's what China does.
You mean the Chinese add bovine growth hormones to their dairy products as well?
This news tell us that the future is in China.
It is a fact confirmed.
Sad, very sad! Chinese are the plague of the Asianic nations. They are vile, greedy, and selfish. They take and take till there are no profit left to be made then left their filth behind for the people of the land they ravish to clean up and live with their left over. Myanmar, Burma, North Korea, Mongolia, and Vietnam are a few of the countries they try to indoctrinate and taking advantage of.
Now we have to learn their hideous language? Isn't it bad enough that they flood our market with their defective products?
Spoken like a true Walmart employee.
hahaha kudos!
No...Spoken like the truth that it is...
Sounds like your average capitalistic nation (despite its "Communism"). America does the same thing.
Fool. America does not do the same thing. America has led and created industries, not stolen. Real difference.
America stole all their tech and "industries" from the Nazis after WW2. These days the only thing the US leads is mass murder and wasted economic resources. But hey at least we're leading the pack.
SonOfLiberty?...............more like son of Hitler.
Gee, Didn't we do that very same thing to the Native Americans of this country? Remember shooting buffalo from moving trains? How about using Native American land for toxic and radioactive dump sites? Remember Custer? Remember making hundreds of treaties with the NAs and breaking them repeatedly?
Heck, look at what we did to Hawaii! And how about all the 'Interventions" we played a key role in by supporting leaders of Iran, Iraq, Africa, El Salvador, who ultimately abused their own people, just to name a few.
Try reading history before spouting off SonOfLiberty – you might learn something. Your bigotry and ignorance are a sad reflection of American Education. 🙁
gee...sure sounds like early United States to me...arent we the nation that laid down the blueprint to become a superpower? and we have the audacity to be critical of other nations following the same blueprint? this nation has a pretty grim record in its history also...
FOR ALL OF YOU HATER, OUT THERE... YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOUR SELF!!! There's Nothing wrong with learning a different language, it only benefit us. DON'T let your jealousey ruins it for the rest of us!
America loves China. They build us junk and help build the railroad. We use them as labor to build us products. We give them lunch and they cook us dinner. Me loves de Chinese. I be part White and Chinese. Don't hate de haters marry them.
Michelle, if you could spell and use grammar at a 3rd grade level, we would take you more seriously.
Good language to learn, since they own us.
agree!
How do they own us, lol? You could not be talking about how much china has invested in US in bonds? They only own 8% US bonds. Check it yourself.
8% isn't really a 'drop in the bucket', but still, the 'owning us' part is pretty laughable.
We own there factories. Employ there people. It is wall street that owns the world. Americans invest world wide. Poor people owe money on credit cards cause they buy things they don't need. That debt is owed to rich investors in the banks. Aka the government and its buddies. So don't think china owns you. Only God should own you.
China (outside of their narcissistic nationalism fantasy) is just a cheap labor market for us. We kind of smile and nod at their delusions of grandeur, but India could easily replace them. In fact, India should. As China has this very evil ego and thinks its going to run the world some day. Yeah buddy keep copying..
And the pot calls the kettle black. If any country has a narcissistic nationalist fantasy, it's us.
Learning Chinese is a complete waste of time and money. It is an extremely difficult language and will be basically impossible for anyone (who is not Chinese and learning it at home) to speakwell. You are not going to have any kind of business advantage if all you can say in Chinese is "how are you?"
Chinese is a tonal language. If you say "ma" like this "MA!" or "ma?" etc., these are each completely different words and have totally different meanings. It is almost impossible to read in Chinese too since they have characters, not letters.
It would make the most sense to study German since Germany has the strongest economy in Europe and is still one of the most powerful economic engines in the world. Also, since English is linguistically the closest to German, it is the easiest foreign langauge for English-speakers to learn.
I'm taking a guess but you're white, right?
I am living in Taiwan to learn Mandarin. Because of my frustration with the tones and the fact that it has been the hardest of the 9 languages I have studied, I decided to audit German classes at the university where I am studying. Although my Mandarin gets me by with no problems, its always funny to the native speakers who like to point out that I frequently confuse the word 問 (wen?) and 吻 (wen?) which mean ask and kiss. Teachers find it funny when students mistakenly say I want to kiss you.... Oh well, at least I have hope with German!
...and you might just get a lot of kisses along the way...
English and German are both. German languages. You lack knowledge of the indoeurpean family tree.
The Germans will be extinct in 50 years. The language will soon follow. Mullticulturism has played havoc on the language and culture and race, and the Germans know it. 88 million people are easy to out breed and the Turks are going to conquer the country someday by numbers alone.
indeed, they're so powerful by bailing the rest of europe...it's actually funny that you mention german when your English is horrible
I agree with German. I'm interested in learning Hindi myself.
@Study German, I respectfully must disagree with you. I took 4 years of German in high school,, 2 in college, and spent my junior year at the University of Munich where all of my classes and coursework were in German. My neighbors in the Studentenwohnheim said that we American exchange students did more work than they did. All of those years and effort didn't really pay off, though. I get to use German only a few times a year with a native speaker, and that's mostly for my amusement (and to prove to myself that I can still get by). Any German you meet in a professional setting will speak English MUCH better than you can ever hope to speak German. It's depressing but true, so you might as well accept it.
If you want to have a career in the global marketplace, I suggest you start looking at languages spoken by people in countries/regions with less exposure to English: Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and, yes, Mandarin. All of which I speak in addition to German.
Spanglishnese, anyone?
I got 400 dollar extra monthly in the us army for just speaking Chinese. Iwas an e3 with a e5 salary. people in my squad were extremely jealous. I know someone in the army who got paid 800 extra monthly for speaking mandarin and 3other Chinese dialects. I don't know why the us would pay so much for someone speaking Chinese languages when 1.3billions speak that language.
Stop you shouldn't be talking. Don't telegraph government plans.
probably because those 1.3 billion don't work for the US military....
We should bomb the Chinese, make them our slant eyed slaves. A couple of nukes out of the blue would put an end to the word Chinese as we know it. It's that easy. Make them beg on there knees and slap them in the face with a fish. Now.. who's with me? I will get keys to the death star.
Your mom is with u.
So, how long have you been with the KKK?
i'm asians, but not chinese and i want to murder u and your family, every single one of them. thanks!
Excuse me If I were you take back what you said, just now G.W. Bush or should say I George W. Bush's pet dog. You don't like learning Chinese ha boo-who big companies out there are looking for people who can speak Chinese. A Chinese business man or woman is not gonna wanna speak to you English, Might as well call you a crackhead who doesn't wanna learn more than language. I'm proud to be who I am as a Chinese person.
what a loser.
bravo for speaking out like a true conservative republican/ tea partier/"faux" news follower!
I live in Germany, lived in France for some time and every person I spoke to from China spoke English quite well. America, what is the point? Schools are wasting their time for the ones I spoke with speak and read the English language better than many students that walked through my portals of whom are Americans.
Even if they don't speak English well, and there are lots of them that don't, it seems to be a loss of face to them to speak in Chinese with a foreigner if they don't know you well or you don't have extremely high proficiency in Chinese.
indeed, they should talk to foreigners like americans talk to asians...yell extremely loud, speak extremely slowly, and use your hands like you're epileptic
I agree. There is little reason to learn Chinese. Plus their gazillion letter alphabet is inefficient. The people touting the virtues are not Americans but Chinese propagandists.
I am bi-lingual.
I speak English and American. (and, yes Virginia, there is a difference)
cheers
JusDav
I thought it was WVA that was different.
English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, will be the most spoken, but computer programming will be the most common 'language' of the 21st Century.
Math, Chemistry?
Don't forget Russian and Portuguese...
Don't need to learn Chinese language! ENGLISH should be THE universal, official communicating language in the world! Encourage everyone to learn English! Because ENGLISH sounds great and intelligently!!!!! Period........I am not a native American, but I like English. I started to learn English from day one since I got to the US soil. Learn ENGLISH!!!!!!
Wow... have you ever been outside of your state...ever? This is one of the reasons for America's soon to be downfall, idiot!!!
Chinese nationalists hate English. But they learn it, because they have to.
IIB, obviously you didn't read "US Man"'s post. He said, "I am not a native American, but I like English. I started to learn English from day one since I got to the US soil."
And, I can guarantee you, America isn't going to fall merely because everyone isn't learning Chinese. Such a simplistic view shows a true lack of education and understanding of world cultures and economics.
Every moment you spend bragging about how hard working and great America is – someone in China is spending that minute actually working hard, and making their country great.
If by working hard you mean working hard copying and ripping off other people's actual hard work.
There's no need to learn Chinese. China has been learning English for decades, therefore it's pointless to learn their language. It's kind of a fad because the world knows more about China thanks to the Internet. The people bashing the US and up talking China are Chinese propaganda goons. They are not from here, in person or in spirit.
Most people here don't realize English is a mandatory second language to learn in most other countries. But of course people who are least likely to be educated would obviously be against a 'foreign' language. Looks like the world is globalizing even more to become united.
I have to say this is true. I've visited a Chinese engineering firm in China. One of the person I've met was fluent in 4 foreign languages: English, French, Spanish, and German (Including his native language Chinese).
Oh come on, people!!! If Wal-Mart ever went out of business, China would go bankrupt.
I get you are trying to make a point, but try to be less absurd....unless that is what you really believe, which case perhaps you should get your head examined, or extend yourself beyond your current xenophobic tendencies
looks like they are preping us for the great chinese take over
The toddler crushing, live animal skinning, blogger torturing, blind lawyer harrassing regime does not deserve to exist on this earth, much less take it over.
what does the US have to do with this?
You do realize that becoming fluent in English the language is required 2nd language in most other countries...
This fun fact was brought to you by me!
India must not be one of those places.
Those of us who live in the Pacific Rim know thatMandarin and Cantonese are extremely important. I am bilingual English/Spanish. Now, I want to learn Mandarin.
Says the Chinese plant.
It's a complete waste of time, the language is already flooded with bi and trilingual speakers.
Not only that but the Chinese prefer native Chinese people, so it's almost a useless language to Westerners.
Way to be close minded. What do you think the Chinese did back in the 80s? They learned english. Now they're a business powerhouse.
They learned English because we were a business powerhouse. They are a supplying of cheap labor, and a thief of technology. All good reasons that we don't need to learn their language.
China is already learning English in schools and has been for 20 years. There's no point to learn Chinese only to communicate with the uneducated people in China.
Choco monster; if you haven't noticed, learning Chinese gives people a job advantage over other's. Knowing more than 1 language is like a college degree, employers want you more than those with mono-lingual. Learning a language to a country of 2.1 billion potential clients/customer also gives a business a chance to succeed and bring in money. Exporting to other countries is what makes business strong–not just recycling the same money within the country.
There is no job opportunity for knowing Chinese. If you can't give them ripped off American technology they don't want anything to do with you.
No job opportunity for knowing Chinese? Are you kidding me? You really need to put your personal feelings aside and use some logic here, Choco Monster. Regardless of whether or not you hate the Chinese, there are certainly advantages to learning Chinese if youre looking to make your self more attractive to employers in certain industry.
Hey, Choco speak for yourself.
I will be enrolling in Chinese Class first thing after Jan. 1st, 2012.
Stay narrow minded and you will be left behind.
choco monster you are gonna be flipping burgers
choco monster you are gonna be lost in the future