British Leaders encourage students to learn Mandarin

British children have typically learned French or German as a second language at school. But David Cameron, who was the British Prime Minister, said that more British students should be “learning the languages that can seal tomorrow’s business deals.” So it’s time to look beyond the traditional focus on French and German and get many more children learning Mandarin.

And Boris Johnson, who was Mayor of London, said all British school children should learn Mandarin. He said that children growing up in the UK needed to understand the culture and history of China to prepare them for the global battle for jobs. He said children would grow up naturally knowing about China’s importance.

Mr Johnson said: ‘I think it’s going to happen. Human beings are very smart, we will gradually realize that this is the thing we need to know and so you’re going to find kids in our city, in London, growing up thinking yeah, China, got to know about that, and they’ll learn.’

Read more:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/dec/05/david-cameron-ditch-french-learn-mandarin-china http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2462652/Teach-Mandarin-British-schools-children-China-matters-says-Boris-Johnson-learning-himself.html#ixzz4Jx1kizYo