Over 30 Million People Learning Chinese Overseas
11/8/2006 13:39
"Nihao, Xiexie, Wo xihuan zhongguo...".There are over 30 million
foreigners learning Chinese through various means, as per the latest statistics
revealed by the fifth Chinese Teaching Proseminar at Fudan University in
Shanghai.
Learning Chinese is still an increasingly popular activity in
the world. More than 2,500 universities in one hundred countries and regions
offer Chinese programs, and Chinese language study has also been added to
primary school curriculums in the U.S., Britain, Japan, and South Korea. The
number of foreign students coming to China has increased by 20% within 5 years,
while this year has set a new record. And over 80 branches of the Confucius
Institute have been established overseas, providing more opportunities for
Chinese fans to learn.
An interested individual at Hawaii University
said, "In the U.S., Chinese has the greatest increase in the number of foreign
language learners."
In the U.S., 800 out of 3000 universities have
opened Chinese language courses, and the U.S. will promote AP Chinese courses in
high school, which means that if students simply finish the course and pass the
exam in high school, they will be given a Chinese language credit for
university. More than 2400 high schools have welcomed this plan.
Experts
suggest that the reason why foreigners are crazy about studying Chinese is that
Chinese culture is full of myths, legends, beliefs and art; and that China has
the biggest population in the world. Learning Chinese means they obtain a useful
language tool for a promising future career.
CRIENGLISH.com
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