What is fuelling this expansion, and will it change the status of English as a global language?
Shanghai-born lawyer Kailan Shu Lucas of Chinese Learning Centre organises lessons in Mandarin, the main Chinese language, for pupils in London – and she is very busy. She now co-ordinates lessons for 12 London schools. She believes that in most cases, having their children study the language is a career calculation made by the parents. “Parents nowadays think that in 10-20 years’ time, when their children are in adulthood, China will be even bigger – and so learning Chinese will be a very helpful tool,” she told BBC World Service’s Analysis programme. “This will be a very useful, important language to learn.” Versatile In London, the parents of most of the non-Chinese students studying Mandarin Chinese are from the finance industry. Kailan said that in this industry, China is “a big thing.” Money talks. Currently, the language money talks is the dollar. But it might not always be that way Professor David Crystal “That influences the parents’ thoughts,” she added. “They want their chil
