The British government has started a￡10- million Mandarin(普通话) Excellence Program. The program will see over 5,000 British students towards fluency(流利) in Mandarin Chinese by 2020.
The program is led by local schools and supported by University College London. So far, 14 schools have taken part in the program.
Hundreds of secondary school pupils in England have been taking lessons in Mandarin Chinese. Over the next three years, they will spend eight hours studying Mandarin Chinese every week.
Nick Gibb is an officer of the British government. He said a high level of fluency in Mandarin Chinese would become more and more important. "Language skills are important for jobs and life in the global(* B)race. Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world. It is one of the languages that matters the most to our country's future development. If the United Kingdom wants to remain competitive on the world stage, we do need far more of our young people leaving school with a good command of Mandarin Chinese, "Gibb added. "We hope that our young people could be given the chance to study the language. We want them to be fluent in both spoken and written Mandarin. The Mandarin Excellence Program will help us do this. It will not only broaden the students' minds, but give them a great advantage when they enter the world of work as well."
British kids, in fact, are not alone. In America, about 200,000 students have been studying Mandarin Chinese. It is supposed that 800, 000 more will join them over the next couple of years.
①help British pupils find better jobs in the future
②help the United Kingdom remain competitive globally
③help the United Kingdom improve its relations with China
④give more British students a chance to learn Mandarin Chinese
