news.yahoo.com/s/afp/uschinaeducation
AFP China's rapid rise spurs Americans to learn Chinese Sun Jul 31, 6:19 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - China is casting such a huge shadow on the United Stat es that many Americans are scrambling to learn the Chinese language in a bid to retain their competitive edge.
Click Here "Interest in learning Chinese among American youth and their parents has grown dramatically in the past five years," said Vivien Stewart, vice pr esident at the Asia Society, a US group trying to bridge the gap between Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific. China's dramatic rise to near superpower status and its telling effects p olitically, economically and culturally are driving the interest to lear n the language, experts say. From kindergartens to high schools, studies by the Asia Society show, the re is a "rapid rise" in interest among pupils to study the Chinese langu age. This is despite the fact that most of the schools lack qualified teachers or do not currently offer the language in their curriculum. "The Chinese rich cultural traditions and blossoming economy mean that is now essential for all of our students to be better prepared to engage t hem and seize opportunities together," said Michael Levine, Asia Society 's executive director of education. A 2004 College Board survey found that 2,400 high schools -- an incredibl y high number -- would be interested in offering the Advanced Placement (AP) courses in Chinese language and culture when the courses become ava ilable in 2006. AP courses are administered by the College Board and give students colleg e credit for passing an end-of-the-year exam. But most of the schools th at have expressed interest do not yet offer Chinese. "We expected a few hundred schools to express interest in offering the Ch inese AP, so these results were eye-opening," said College Board Preside nt Gaston Caperton. "Americans have been the world's most successful students and entrepreneu rs for the past century. We have to envision a new set of global skills that include understanding world languages and cultures to retain our ed ge in an increasingly interconnected world," he said. China, the world's most populous nation, is critical to the United States because it is a leading trader, consumer and investor. Its political in fluence is also rising across the globe. It has replaced the United States as the world's largest consumer and cou ld become the second largest economy in the world, after the United Stat es, in the next two to three decades. US total trade with China is at a whopping 230 billion dollars, very much in China's favor. America's huge budget deficit, economists say, is being bankrolled by Chi na to the tune of one billion dollars per day through its purchase of US Treasury bills -- 200 billion dollars last year and possibly as much as 300 billion dollars already this year. Even though the US State Department has designated the Chinese language " critical" to national prosperity and security, the "current infrastructu re to support recruitment of students and teachers as well as the growth of high quality programs is woefully inadequate," an Asia Society study says. The Society has set a target of having at least five percent of American high school students learning Chinese by 2015. "Millions of Chinese are learning English, but only 24,000 Americans are learning Chinese," said Andrew Corcoran of the San Francisco-based Chine se American International School, the oldest Mandarin "immersion" progra m in the country. The most popular languages after English in US schools at present are Spa nish and French. "Our nation's schools are locked in a time warp," said Charles EM Kolb, president of the Committee for Economic Development, a pro-business thi nk tank in Washington. "By ignoring critical languages such as Chinese and the essential cultura l knowledge needed to succeed, our school systems are out of step with n ew global realities," he said. But US politicians are aware of the seriousness of the issue. Two prominent senators have proposed legislation that authorizes 13 bill ion dollars in federal funds over five years for Chinese language instru ction in US schools. The bill also would increase American consular activity to support rapidl y growing US businesses in China and would encourage Internet cultural e xchanges between Chinese and American citizens. "The rise of China comes with a whole set of challenges.
The infor mation contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agenc e France Presse.
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