View Content #12096
| Contentid | 12096 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | Article: Mandarin's Great Leap Forward |
| Body | From http://www.economist.com/node/17522444?story_id=17522444&fsrc=rss Mandarin's Great Leap Forward Interest soars in learning China’s official language Nov 18th 2010 As the Chinese economy surges, so does interest in Mandarin. The Chinese government estimates some 40m people study Mandarin outside the country, up from 30m in 2005. A tight job market in the West is partly responsible. According to a survey in September by Rosetta Stone, 58% of Americans believe the lack of foreign-language skills among native workers will lead to foreigners taking high-paying jobs. “The recession has focused people on where growth is going to come from,” says Tom Adams, the firm’s chief executive. Among existing corporate customers logging into the company’s multi-language programme, the number learning Mandarin increased by 1,800% between 2008 and 2010. The question remains whether the Mandarin rush will prove a fad. Japanese and Russian also had “hot” periods, only to recede in popularity. And Chinese can be controversial. With some parents fearful of communist influence, a California school district recently turned down $30,000 per year from the Chinese government to pay for Mandarin classes. Read the full article at http://www.economist.com/node/17522444?story_id=17522444&fsrc=rss |
| Source | The Economist |
| Inputdate | 2010-12-02 07:01:25 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2010-12-02 07:01:25 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | 2010-12-06 00:00:00 |
| Displaydate | Not set |
| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
