China’s talking the talk

With the second-largest economy due to outstrip the US by 2027, speaking Mandarin could become a necessity for our children, says Suzanne Harrington

HOW is your children’s Chinese? Fluent? If not, maybe it should be. China is the world’s second-biggest economy, after the US, having overtaken Germany as the largest exporter. Analysts say by 2027 China may be the principal economy, so when our kids are adults, Mandarin may rival English as a global business language.

With this in mind, the BBC launched a language show last month to teach kindergarten-aged kids the basics of Mandarin. The Lingo Show on Cbeebies began online, but proved so popular with parents that it moved to television. It’s not just Mandarin the show teaches, but also Punjabi, Urdu, and Polish — languages common in British school playgrounds — as well as Welsh, French and Spanish.