Recent figures show that there are approximately 200,00 school children learning Mandarin Chinese, with governmental targets to increase this figure to 400,000 by 2016.
Such a rise is no small task and signifies just how important Mandarin Chinese is becoming. And with UK Prime minister David Cameron having recently urged more schools to adopt Mandarin Chinese within their curriculum this language certainly looks set to become more widely learnt than ever before. But why is it that we’ve seen such an increase in children learning Mandarin Chinese? And what is it about China that has seen this language become ever more important? Well in this guide we tell you!
The most spoken language in the world
It’s a little known fact that Mandarin Chinese is actually the most spoken language in the world. With many presuming that English could serve as an international language of business it’s taken recent financial instability to realise that western markets and businesses must change the way they operate in order to avoid becoming secondary markets within the world.
The emerging market of China
If there’s one thing that the world has learnt throughout the financial crisis it’s that previously unshaken economies are not immune to becoming unstable. Conversely, other economies that were previously thought of as secondary on the world stage have become ever stronger and unblemished by the rest of the world’s financial woes.
The Chinese economy is one such example; in 2013 the Chinese economy grew by an impressive 7.7%, outpacing the Government’s prediction of 7.5% (and in economics 0.2% is a significant difference!) These figures make for even more impressive reading when compared to the UK’s relatively poor figures. The UK economy grew by 1.7% in 2013, and whilst this is certainly the best growth seen since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2007, they still pale in significance when compared to the growth of the Chinese economy.
In terms of China being a market in which UK companies can grow, it is notable that the Government has announced a shift away from an economy based in investment, and into consumer purchases. For the average UK business this means that China could become an even more lucrative market for fostering growth. As it stands currently, China is the world’s second most powerful economy, but with such a shift, it is possible that in the coming years it becomes the most powerful. In a lot of ways it’s an imperative for economic reasons to ensure children learn Mandarin from a good tutoring company in preparation for the future. Fortunately, there are plenty of good Mandarin teachers in the UK.
Whilst Mandarin Chinese is considered to be one of the most difficult languages to master, the western world has certainly come to realise that it’s nothing short of a necessity if we’re not to fall behind within the world’s marketplace.
As well as proving vital to the UK’s future economies, it also means that school children will be more intellectually challenged than previously seen with languages such as French and German. Fortunately if you wish to find a language teacher in this area there are plenty.
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