Chinese lessons our children will benefit from learning

Boris Johnson wants British pupils to be taught Mandarin. So is it the language of the future, asks Chris Bond
Mayor of London Boris Johnson on a  'Boris Bike' in Beijing.Mayor of London Boris Johnson on a  'Boris Bike' in Beijing.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson on a 'Boris Bike' in Beijing.

FOR generations of children, myself included, the sound of “Alouette, gentille alouette” being tunelessly sung in the classroom is an abiding memory of their school days. It’s as ingrained as the name of their favourite teacher, the smell of gym shoes lacing the air and semolina pudding.

This song, along with the Tricolore textbook series, was part and parcel of French lessons up and down the country as youngsters struggled to get to grips with the idiosyncrasies of our Gallic neighbours’ tongue.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, in years to come the sound of French refrains emanating from classrooms may become a distant memory as another, Eastern influence takes over.

China’s growing importance on the world stage has not only seen countries clamouring to boost their trade links it has also highlighted the value of learning to speak Mandarin. Boris Johnson certainly thinks so. He and Chancellor George Osborne have been in China this week glad-handing as many Chinese business leaders as they can and during one interview London’s mayor said British children should be taught Mandarin as standard in schools.

Mr Johnson, who is studying Mandarin himself, suggested Britons should be learning as much as possible about the country as it expands its global influence: “Why not? Absolutely. My kids are learning it so why not? Definitely, definitely.”

His comments come in stark contrast to those he made back in 2005 when, in an article in The Daily Telegraph, he suggested teaching Mandarin to young children wasn’t a priority.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He has obviously changed his tune and he’s not alone as people are waking up to the importance of being able to speak Chinese. In Japan, for instance, Mandarin Chinese is now the most taught foreign language after English. In Britain, we’re trying to keep up. Next year the first English-Chinese bilingual primary school in the UK is due to open in London, while closer to home the Confucius Language Academy in Leeds, which offers a variety of courses for children and adults, says it has grown “very fast” since opening in 2008.

Dr Frances Weightman, senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Leeds, says schools are already teaching Chinese. “Some are teaching it to exam level and some are running after- school clubs, but it’s definitely becoming more mainstream,” she says.

“China’s economy is expanding at a rapid rate so from a business perspective it’s crazy not to be learning Chinese. But it’s more than that, from a cultural perspective you’re learning about a language and culture that’s very different from our own.”

She believes part of the resistance is generational and there will come a time when it becomes part of the school curriculum in this country. “There’s anecdotal evidence of students in Leeds that I’ve spoken to who’ve had children coming up to them in the street and saying ‘ni hao’, Chinese for ‘hello’, which would never have happened 20 years ago.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It’s often said that Chinese is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn but Dr Weightman, who started studying it in 1989, says that isn’t the case. “Chinese has a lot do with tones and characters which is better for children because they’re good at mimicking, so it doesn’t seem so much of a problem and with characters it’s a bit like drawing pictures.

“There are a lot of myths about how difficult it is, but it actually has a simpler structure compared to European languages. It’s no more difficult for English-speaking people to learn Chinese than it is for Chinese people to learn English.”

Until now we’ve expected the Chinese, along with the rest of the world, to speak English. In the future it may well be the other way round.

Related topics: