Reply to S/O what''s the point of studying Mandarin?

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "S/O what''s the point of studying Mandarin?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Chinese language programs around the country are seeing significant declines in interest and enrollment. Now that we are about 15 years into the "China will rule the world" fad it looks like people are finally realizing Mandarin is not so essential to their (or their kids') success in life. I don't consider Stanford students to be isolationist or disinterested in the world so I think it telling that enrollments are so low.

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/01/18/beijing-study-abroad-program-suspended-indefinitely/

"Stanford has announced that due to low enrollment, it will be indefinitely suspending its undergraduate overseas studies program in Beijing at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year.

This decision comes just months after the University’s consolidation of both the Chinese and Japanese majors and minors into one East Asian Studies program; both changes were made due to low interest and enrollment.

The Beijing program, which allows undergraduate students to study at Peking University, one of China’s leading research institutes, was established in 2004. Enrollment, which was high at first and able to fill the 20 to 30 slots each year, steadily declined over time. Last spring, only eight students participated in the program....."[/quote]

So, you revived a 2 year old thread, just to add this?

Well, for those who don't think that Mandarin is a significant language, here's just a few thoughts.

If you search on a job search engine, I picked indeed.com for a sample, and you put "Mandarin required" you get 5366 hits, 258 if you restrict it to Washington DC.
Now, put in French required and you get 3803 hits, 304 in Washington DC.
Now,  put in German required and you get 1400 hits, 85 in Washington DC.
Japanese required 1735 hits, 26 in Washington DC.
Not surprisingly, Spanish is the big one with 44,443 hits and 1109 in Washington DC.

So, Mandarin is the second most common foreign language required for jobs, second to Spanish.  French and German aren't as useful languages as Mandarin in general.  However, business is increasing in Mandarin speaking companies and companies that are trying to expand and do business in China.  This is world-wide, the largest underdeveloped market and has the most opportunities for expansion anywhere.  As time passes, the usefulness of French and German in employment will continue to decrease while [b]the usefulness of Mandarin will increase.  It may never become as dominant as English[/b], but Mandarin and Spanish are likely to be the most sought-after secondary languages over the next century.[/quote]

IMO Chinese will never become dominant at all, because the tones are so difficult to learn after childhood.

English is simply much easier to learn as a second language. There is a practically endless supply of native Mandarin speakers who have some basic proficiency in English. Contrast that with the infinitesimal number of native English speakers who have some basic proficiency in Mandarin (a number that gets even smaller if you exclude foreign-born ethnic Chinese). Also consider that there is a steep learning curve for Westerners regarding Chinese culture and customs. If you're a business looking to expand in China, why would you hire from Pool B instead of Pool A? And if you do want to hire from Pool B why would you go for a white person who learned it in school vs an ethnic Chinese person who has a cultural and familial connection and may have an easier time working with Chinese clients?

And regarding the job postings, the relevant ranking IMO is "spanish" vs "all other languages" as there is a full order of magnitude difference. Note that Spanish is also extremely easy to learn as a second language and the culture/customs differences are not as stark. Learning Spanish seems like a no-brainer whereas the upsides to learning Mandarin are less clear.

Just my two cents.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics