In 2022, globally, 1.4 billion people speak English as a first or second language, with Chinese sneaking behind with almost 1.2 billion speakers. Chinese culture and influence have become more and more prevalent these past few decades with its huge manufacturing power, continuously expanding economy and international interest in its deep-rooted culture. In fact, the Chinese language has made it into UK secondary, and even primary, curriculum.
On the 7th October 2022, the awarding ceremony for the “Chinese Bridge” speaking competition was held in China Town, London. This national competition (with nearly 500 contestants from 100 UK primary and secondary schools) was organised by CLEC UK, supported by the Chinese Embassy and the British council, and even in partnership (as it has been for the past 17 years) with HSBC. As well as the awarding of the winners for each category, the ceremony also celebrated British and Chinese partnership, with the announcement of the Chinese Bridge Club in London and a cultural show showcasing China’s diverse and profound culture.
“China is at the centre of many developments,” said Joan Deslandes, headteacher at Kingsford Community School and awardee of the Confucius Institute Excellence Award.
Nick-named the ‘workshop of the world,’ China is a global superpower, with exponential economic growth predicted in the next ten years- exceeding the likes of the USA. It seems that Britain has taken a note of this.
In 2016, the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) was launched in collaboration with the British council and the UCL Institute for Education (IOE) with aims of getting more than 5000 pupils on track to fluency in Mandarin by 2021. This has proved successful with the continuation of this partnership in 2021 for a further 3 years. According to British Council research, Mandarin is “one of the most important languages for Britain’s future.” Many schools have introduced Mandarin as a compulsory part of its curriculum, including many primary schools. As of October 2022, there are 79 schools delivering the programme.
This UK-China relationship is mutually beneficial. In 2016, there were just shy of 600,000 Chinese graduates from the UK back in China, which values UK (a soft power superpower) as a trusted trading partner. This is especially apparent with the fact that the UK is now China’s second-largest research partner.
It is clear that Britain has taken the initiative to educate the youth to not only secure its international connections, but also provide opportunities for the future. Rather than becoming a competition between statistics and the ‘better language,’ this mutually beneficial relationship has given an advantage for future careers, useful language skills and promotes intellectual development for students across both the UK and China.
