Students at HCH have been successfully studying French and Spanish for years, but are now ready for a new linguistic challenge: learning Mandarin!
China has the world’s second largest economy and globally there are over one billion native speakers of Mandarin Chinese. Therefore, having a knowledge of the language will open up many career opportunities in companies that have trade links with China as well as the possibility of working in China and other Asian countries. In a recent report from the British Council, ‘Languages for the Future’, Mandarin was ranked fourth in a list of the ten most useful languages for the UK’s future.
View the British Council’s report (pdf)
Since September 2013, students in Year 5 have had Mandarin lessons twice a week with the option to continue to GCSE level. Although Mandarin is regarded as one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn, we want to prove that to master Mandarin is not only possible but very enjoyable. Various topics are covered including: school and family; holiday and travel; food and drink; activities and hobbies. The skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing are developed at a steady pace. The students also have many opportunities to experience and learn about China’s rich history, traditions, philosophy, cuisine and folk art.
Mandarin is taught by native speaker Coco Cuiping Gu.