From SignOnSandiego.com
As China emerges as economic superpower, more in county seek to learn difficult dialect
When the San Diego Hua Xia Chinese School opened eight years ago in La Jolla, it had 45 students.
Today, about 1,000 youths learn Chinese through the weekend program, which is held in rented classrooms at Miramar College and branch locations in Carlsbad and Riverside. The school plans to open a branch in Chula Vista next year.
Hua Xia is the largest and fastest growing of six private Chinese-language schools in San Diego County. The rapidly expanding interest in the language is being fueled by China’s emergence as an economic superpower and the growing Chinese population drawn here by jobs in the biotech, high-tech and telecommunications industries
… While interest has surged, there aren’t enough certified teachers to meet the nationwide demand. The College Board, a nonprofit agency that administers the Advanced Placement program, is working with a government agency in China to attract language teachers to the United States.
Ken Carroll 凯恩
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/eng.....616640.stm
In response to your posting, I thought you will be interested to know that a school in the UK has just started to teach Chinese Mandarin as a core language, to reflect China’s position as the fastest-growing economy in the world.
I was born in HK and moved to the UK for study and now working. Having just picked up learning Mandarin, I love your site and Podcasts! Keep up the good work.