Mandarin Chinese Language Classes in Chicago

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"With 20 percent of the world’s population and a very dynamic economy, China is one of the most influential nations in the world, and Americans should be paying more attention to its language and culture.”

Mayor Richard M. Daley

Why Chinese?
As the relationship between China and the U.S. becomes more important, those who speak Mandarin — the most commonly spoken language in East Asia — will become invaluable. Mandarin Chinese is the dominant language for commerce and culture in East Asia . Economic ties between China and the U.S. are rapidly increasing. Those who have knowledge of Mandarin—as well as Chinese culture, values and history—will be able to contribute to the economic, political, and cultural well-being of the relationship between the United States and China.

Time, June 19, 2006
As China’s economy rises, the world is embracing Mandarin, a language spoken by an estimated on out of every six people on earth. In South Korea, 160,000 high school and university students are studying Chinese, an increase of 66% over the past five years.

The number of Japanese secondary schools offering Mandarin more than tripled between 1993 and 2005, and in Japan it’s now the most taught foreign language after English.

Newsweek, May 9, 2006
The State Department has designated Chinese a “critical language,” but the most recent data show that only 24,000 students in grades 7-12 study Chinese, a language spoken by 1.3 billion people worldwide.

In 2007, the College Board introduced advanced-placement exams in Chinese and Italian, 2,400 high schools plan to offer AP Chinese – 10 times the number that plan to offer Italian.

CNN, March 1, 2004
In the next decade the new ‘must learn’ language is likely to be Mandarin.

Over 1.3 billion people speak Chinese. Spanish is spoken by 500 million.
The economic relationship between the United States and China continues to increase in importance as the $250+ billion trade deficit with China continues to grow.
The number of Chinese students studying English is 200 million; the number of American's studying Chinese, 24,000.

BBC, June 30, 2003

Chinese 'takes more brainpower'

Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.

More articles on the growing importance of Chinese: (please click to open the PDF)