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Overseas Chinese learners grow to 30 million
By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-21 06:10
The first World Chinese Conference, for Chinese speakers from around the globe, opened in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday.
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| A British man coming to China with a Chinese language summer camp shows the Chinese characters he learns to write on his arm. The words read "Love China". Photo is taken August 7 2004, Xiamen. [newsphoto/file] |
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"Chinese has become a real international language, and it has shown great practical value," said Joel Bel-lassen, inspector-general of Chinese teaching for the French Ministry of Education.
According to Bel-lassen, when the last school year began in 2004, the number of secondary school students taking Chinese lessons increased by 22 per cent in France. Some areas even witnessed a growth of 35 per cent.
"Learning Chinese has become a key to good jobs," said Bel-lassen. Even an advertisement on the streets of Paris says: "Go and learn Chinese! That means opportunities and fortune in the coming dozens of years."
The language fever is not confined to France. More than 30 million people outside China are learning the language, and about 2,500 overseas colleges in 100 countries offer courses.
"Our survey shows there already exists a strong interest in learning Chinese among high school students in the United States," said Gaston Caperton, president of the US College Board.
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