Why learn Chinese?

17 Jul 2014

Learning Chinese at school is becoming increasingly more 'fashionable': nearly 30,000 students are currently learning chinese in schools, compared with only 9,000 in 2004. But why is this?

Since 2005, Chinese has become the 5th most commonly taucht foreign language in France, and its popularity is continuing to grow. "It's not just a trend, though. Chinese has become essential in today's increasinlgy internatinal world" affirms Jean-Pierre Lorenzati, founder of the Franco-Chinese educational association.

Ten years ago, students chose to learn Chinese for cultural reasons or because of an interest in the exotic. Today, however, it is the economic argument that is most common. China is the second largest economic power in the world, and is the most popular destination for Eurpoean expatriates - more popular even than the USA and the UK, although it was only in 6th place ten years ago. China is also one of the most popular destinations for French interns from engineering and business schools.

Chinese is not reserved for the elites, nor are Chinese immigrants inflating the numbers, given that almost 90% of students learning Chinese are native French speakers who are not put off by the fact that the language is so different from our own.

The students have understood the importance and usefulness of Chinese in professional matters, which is increasingly important since many Chinese managers don't speak English. Speaking the same language as somebody simplifies things, and even a basic knowledge of Chinese to complete your CV can be the difference between being hired or not, epecially for French companies which operate in China.

 

Extract from the following article: http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2012/01/19/01016-20120119ARTFIG00781-la-vogue-du-chinois-s-amplifie-dans-les-ecoles.php

Translated by: Polyglottes Formations