Yong Zhao‘when I was growing up, my parents told

me, “Finish your dinner. People in China and India are starving.” I tell my daughters,

“Finish your homework. People in India and China are starving for your job.”

BBC business reporter Mary Hennock says students speaking fluent English and Chinese are going to be the executives of the future.

"China's economy is growing so quickly and becoming so influential in the world economy that people can't afford to ignore it. People who want to be ahead in whatever industry need to think about China and learning Chinese."

Garner (2009) states ‘China is now the fastest growing economy, with British exports to the country expected to quadruple by the end of the decade’.

Gill Shepherd: "If you ask business leaders, 'Is Mandarin important?', what they say is: 'Yes, of course but what is really important above all is to have someone who understands the culture of the country.”

Gill Shepherd: "If you ask business leaders, 'Is Mandarin important?', what they say is: 'Yes, of course but what is really important above all is to have someone who understands the culture of the country.”

Year Thirteen Lifeskills programmeMandarin, along with German, became instilled as the language module on a skills-based course that attempted to provide additional experience in First Aid, home management and global awareness. For eight weeks, pupils enjoyed two lessons with the CLA and this process was repeated until each Year Thirteen pupil had studied assets of the life of a Chinese citizen the same age.

Year Twelve Welsh Baccalaureatte As a language module on a popular post-sixteen qualification, Mandarin was exposed to over fifty pupils from the Autumn to Summer Terms. Severla of these students became heavily involved with the resources on the VLE and the Ning website. Such pupils did not access the academic challenge of the lanuage, yet discovered social expression could also take place on a safe, well-monitored forum with pupils from a different continent.

Extra-Curricular events: Liverpool has the oldest Chinese community in the UK. A visit to Liverpool’s citywide New Year celebrations was organised to permit students from Year Twelve to witness the culture they had studied in actuality. Three pupils practised tai-chi, drumming, dancing, Chinese hip-hop and sampled cuisine and street markets on a cold, snowy Spring Festival; a report, containing photogrpahs and video was placed on the VLE and has since received hundreds of ‘hits’.

Primary - Secondary transitionWhen the six lessons allocated to Year Twelve and Year Thirteen lessons were lost to examination leave, Mrs Zhang’s timetable was liberated from commitments. This provided the exceptional scope to involve Primary schools within the communication of Chinese Culture. Throughout the Summer Term, lessons have taken place each morning with different classes at a local feeder school; Years Three to Six have been engaged in language, arts and cultural activities. Year Six here will begin at Eirias High School next year and their Mandarin skills will be permitted to augment in Year Seven.

Key Stage Four - Key Stage Five transition Alongside the sample lessons Year Eleven pupils will encounter on their Induction Day, Mandarin Chinese language classes are scheduled throughout the whole event. Learners will be allowed the chance to observe a programme they may be actively involved within. This exposure to the scheme increases the credibility of the exchanging ‘free time’ for additional study; furthermore, by permitting pupils time to research and consider their option, a more focused and eager selection of young men and women will begin the course next year.

Year Twelve enrichmentMandarin has found its strongest consumers in Year Twelve. Offered as a two lesson per week scheme, the language would be taught alongside cultural awareness in place of ‘Supervised Study’. The justification that learning a new language would allow English language pupils to concentrate on the production of sounds and the glue of grammar and economics pupils the elementary conversation to accredit them in the language of the world’s largest growing economy evoked a contagious enthusiasm for the project; sixteen pupils exchanged two free lessons for the opportunity to learn about a new culture. Fourteen recently sat Asset Language speaking examination and it is anticipated all have successfully passed the Breakthrough stage.

Year Twelve enrichmentMandarin has found its strongest consumers in Year Twelve. Offered as a two lesson per week scheme, the language would be taught alongside cultural awareness in place of ‘Supervised Study’. The justification that learning a new language would allow English language pupils to concentrate on the production of sounds and the glue of grammar and economics pupils the elementary conversation to accredit them in the language of the world’s largest growing economy evoked a contagious enthusiasm for the project; sixteen pupils exchanged two free lessons for the opportunity to learn about a new culture. Fourteen recently sat Asset Language speaking examination and it is anticipated all have successfully passed the Breakthrough stage.

Year Seven project-based curriculumIn the Autumn Term, at the time of Chinese New Year, Mrs Zhang was approached to become temporarily involved in a skills-based Year Seven project on the theme of celebrations. Pupils responded with such fervour that the opportunity was introduced as a permanent arrangement; Chinese celebrations have been discussed by the Chinese Language Assistant in six of the eight mixed-ability classes and, subsequently, approximately one hundred and eighty pupils have been exposed to the culture of the link school.

The whole year teaching here has been meaningful to me. I will never forget all the staff and pupils. When I go back to China, I will surely share my experience with all the other teachers and my students. Next term in September another Chinese teacher will come here to take my place. She will continue the teaching and go on with strengthening the friendship between the two schools.