Some US Students Learn Mandarin With China's Help

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com Some schools in the United States and other countries offer Chinese language classes with government support from China. Saint Mary's School is a private college preparatory school in Medford, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest. Carly Irvine is in her fourth year of learning Mandarin. She says: "Since China and America are working so closely and our relationship is growing more and more, I think it will be very important in the future to know Chinese." Saint Marys also teaches Spanish, German and Latin. It added Mandarin in two thousand five. Two years ago, it became the first school in the country to join the Confucius Classroom program. The program pays about half the costs of a teacher sent to a school in the United States. China's Education Ministry also provides books and other materials. Saint Mary's principal, Frank Phillips, says knowing Chinese will help students in a world where China is quickly gaining economic power. But he admits to concerns in his local community. He says: "The question I always get is, 'Is this a gigantic propaganda move, is this an evil Communist plot on the part of China?' From what I can detect, having been involved in it for two years, I see none of that."In fact, the program has won the support of his local representative in the state legislature. Dennis Richardson says he has concerns about human rights in China. But he is among several lawmake

Published 2010-03-01 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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