Phone apps boost Chinese-learning fever in the US

World
Europe

Thirty years ago, when Charles Laughlin was in college in the US state of Minnesota, Chinese was categorized along with Arabic, Swahili and Icelandic as a "Less Commonly Taught Language" in the United States.

Now, the world's oldest written language is the second most commonly spoken foreign language, only after Spanish, in the US, with over 2.1 million speakers, according to a latest survey by 24/7 Wall Str., a widely–quoted Delaware company.

Chinese fever hits primary, secondary education

Over 200,000 students are actively studying Mandarin in the US at present. /VCG Photo

"The most significant new aspect of this Chinese Fever, was that it went down to the level of primary and secondary education," said Laughlin, East Asian Studies and Department Chair, University of Virginia, in a recent phone interview with Xinhua.

Current figures reveal that over 200,000 students are actively studying Mandarin in the US at present, with more expected to follow.

Chinese–learning at university levels

At the university level, Laughlin observed there was a large increase in numbers of US students learning Chinese, but it has decreased in the past four or five years.

"It is not because of a change of attitude, but I think maybe because some of the students were initially interested in taking Chinese... they might have overestimated their abilities to learn Chinese," he said.

"It is important to remember the increase at the university level is still much higher than it was 20 years ago, in other words, now Chinese, at most universities, is No. 3, sometimes No. 2 the most widely taken foreign language, after Spanish and French," Laughlin said. "This has never happened before, it was not the case when I was in the college."

Chinese is one of the most widely studied foreign languages in US universities. /VCG Photo

Apps complement traditional classroom teaching

Mary Hoffman, a teacher from Brooklyn, New York City, once felt learning Chinese was so hard because she did not have native speakers to practice the tone language.

"I studied Spanish because I used to work in a Spanish neighborhood, and I carry on a basic conversation with the parents now about their job, and I'm sure it's going to take longer in Chinese, just because of the tones...So that's the challenge for Americans," Hoffman told Xinhua recently at the end of her first Chinese class at the China Institute in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

"It was even harder if you didn't have the ability to hear it many many many times when you went home, it's not like you can study it from a book in the same way that you could with Spanish, which is more phonetic, or any other language," she said.

"Now with the assistance of computer it would be a bit easier."

She was referring to online resources including smartphone apps for Chinese learning that have sprung up over the years. A quick Google of "Chinese learning app" yields over 31 million results.

"Smartphone apps have been a really helpful tool because they allow me to study Chinese while I'm on the subway or in a coffee shop," wrote Sborto Zhou, an editor who has studied Chinese for over five years, in his article "The 12 best apps to learn Chinese on your smartphone or tablet."

Interface of WeChat. /VCG Photo

In his opinion, the best apps for learning Chinese are Skritter (Learn how to write Chinese characters), FluentU (improve your language level through immersion in the language) and The Chairman's Bao (an online newspaper that has been simplified for people learning Mandarin), to name just a few.

Wechat, an instant messaging app that is extremely popular in China, is also considered one of the best platforms for Chinese learners to interact with native Chinese speakers as it allows one to meet new people.

"All these simple and accessible resources have revolutionized traditional Chinese teaching," said Chen Jinguo, an instructor who has been teaching at the China Institute for more than 20 years. "By embedding them within curricula, my classes are more interesting, interactive and engaging with local students."

(Source: Xinhua)