There are many compelling reasons to study Chinese. Many people simply enjoy studying foreign languages.
Chinese is particularly fascinating because of its beautiful handwriting, melodic spoken language, and poetic phrasing. There are also very practical reasons to acquire another language and Chinese is increasingly important to our current and future dialogue with China.
China’s long history—more than 5,000 years—and its splendid traditions in literature, the arts, and cuisine make learning to speak Chinese an exploration and adventure. It is the most widely spoken first language in the world. There are some reasons why more and more people study mandarin:
Chinese is mentally stimulating, interesting, and fun. Chinese words are artistically formed. Chinese culture is one of the oldest in the world. If you know 1000
commonly used characters, you will recognize 90% of the characters in Chinese newspapers.
Chinese Is Important For Your Career! Chinese language skills are a resume-builder—knowing Chinese may give you an edge when competing for employment. International businesses prefer to hire people who speak more than one language. China is and will be an important business and economic partner of the U.S. and the world. China is a wonderful country to teach English in. China will play a major role in world affairs in the future.