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March 15, 2010

Starting young — 03/16/10

New WKU institute to teach Chinese to elementary kids

Anonymous The Daily Independent Mon Mar 15, 2010, 06:09 PM EDT

With the essential assistance of Western Kentucky University, elementary students in the Bowling Green and Warren County schools will begin learning Chinese this fall.

Most elementary schools in the state that offer foreign languages — and there are not that many — emphasize Spanish. The reason is simple: The number of children and adults who primarily speak Spanish continues to grow at a rapid rate. Thus, regardless of where one lives in the United States, knowing how to speak and understand Spanish can be a real asset.

However, Western Kentucky University’s new Confucius Institute has another reason for putting a new emphasis on American children learning Chinese. China has become a major player in the global economy, and knowing the language will help individual Americans be able to better compete in the world of international trade and banking.

WKU announced plans for the Confucius Institute last week. It is a nonprofit institute based in Beijing that promotes Chinese language and culture and supports Chinese teaching internationally through affiliated Confucius Institutes. With the addition of WKU, there now are 38 Confucius Institutes in America.

Beginning this fall, Chinese will be taught every day for about 20 minutes at the elementary schools in the Bowling Green and Warren County school districts.

Unlike Spanish, it is doubtful the young people in Bowling Green will ever have to know Chinese in order to talk to their neighbors, but the language definitely will be helpful in negotiating future business deals with one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

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New WKU institute to teach Chinese to elementary kids

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