英国掀起中文热 UK to see 400,000 people learn Mandarin by 2020

A new feature article in the UK's Financial Times newspaper is putting a spotlight on Chinese language learning in Britain.

The FT feature is suggesting an increasing(增加) number of people in the UK are starting to take an interest(兴趣) in learning Mandarin, suggesting the momentum is being driven - in part - by financial considerations, as China is one of the UK's main(主要的) trading(贸易) partners(伙伴).

British students learning Mandarin at a young age. [File Photo: VCG]

The UK government hopes to have 400,000 students enrolled in Mandarin courses(课程) by 2020.

Chinese missions in the UK have also been working to try to expand(扩大) Mandarin education.

29 Confucius Institutes(孔子学院) and 148 Confucius Classrooms(孔子课堂) have been established in the UK, with 160,000 students registering to learn the language, according to statistics(数据) from the Education Department with the Chinese Embassy in Britain.

While many(许多) British public schools(公立学校) have begun offering(提供) Mandarin courses, 45 percent of the UK's private schools(私立学校) have also established a Mandarin education option.

Mandarin is also an approved foreign language course in 86 primary schools(小学) and 37 secondary schools(中学) in Scotland. Students choosing to study Mandarin in Scotland now outnumber(多于) those who choose either the local dialect, Gaelic, or Italian as their second language course.

There are also an increasing number of British students taking the HSK, a national standardized exam for testing the Mandarin language level of non-Chinese speakers. 6,237 British students signed up for HSK by July of this year, 5 times the number of that signed up in 2011.

The British government launched its Mandarin Excellence Programme in September, 2016, with 10 million pounds of funding.

词汇 Words:

[zēng jiā] 增加 increase
[tí gòng] 提供 offer
[xìng qù] 兴趣 interest
[huǒ bàn] 伙伴 partner
[kè chéng] 课程 course
[shù jù] 数据 statistic
[xué yuàn] 学院 institute
[kè táng] 课堂 classroom

重点词汇 Key word:

热

• <形容词 adj.> hot
  E.g. Chèn rè chī。
  趁热吃。
  Eat while it's hot.

• <名词 n.> heat
  E.g. Tàiyáng fāchū guāng hé rè。
  太阳发出光和热。
  The sun gives off warmth and light.

• <动词 v.> heat(up); warm(up)
  E.g. Niúnǎi zài lúzi shàng rè zhe ne。
  牛奶在炉子上热着呢。
  The milk is warming(up) on the stove.

• <形容词 adj.> ardent; passionate
  E.g. Tā shì gè rèxīncháng。
  他是个热心肠。
  He has a warm heart.

• <名词 n.>craze; fever
  E.g. Chūguó rè zhèn zài jiàngwēn。
  出国热正在降温。
  The fad of going abroad is abating.

• <形容词 adj.> in great demand; popular
  E.g. Juéshì yuè yòu rè qǐlái le。
  爵士乐又热起来了。
  Jazz is getting popular again.