WITH China well on its way to becoming an economic superpower, speaking Mandarin could give today's high school students a huge advantage in their future careers. And teenagers at Denbigh High School are already getting in on the act, with after-school Mandarin lessons taking place every Tuesday. Cambridge University scholar Xuan Zhang is visiting the school every week to teach the language to a very keen group of students, and Denbigh is one of the few secondary schools in the country to give youngsters the opportunity to learn Mandarin. So far the students have learned some key phrases and basic vocabulary, and are now able to have brief conversations with each other. Head of modern foreign languages at Denbigh, Beverley Blackham, said: "It is quite a difficult language to learn but I have been amazed by how well our students have adapted to learning Mandarin. "They are also really enjoying it and some have even commented that it is easy." Year 9 student Joanne Bridgland said: "Learning Mandarin is great. It is a very detailed language that has a lot of depth with the characters and tones. "Sometimes it gets quite hard but at the end of the session I always feel proud of the achievement, and I have certainly learnt a lot already." The move to teach Mandarin in UK schools is on the increase, with education secretary Michael Gove announcing earlier this month that the government is pioneering a new partnership with China to train 100 more Mandarin teachers for secondary ...Video Rating: 4 / 5
Comments