English instruction in Beijing school

Journal archives/

RIVERHEAD, N.Y.

IN THE SEVEN YEARS since the Olympic movement selected Beijing as host of the Summer Olympic Games, the city has undergone a stunning transformation. From the 91,000-seat, $450 million National Stadium to new transportation infrastructure and ATMs on nearly every corner, the “newness” of the ancient capital city is everywhere in evidence. But the one Olympics project that will most profoundly change China is its embrace of the English language.

In 2001, China declared primary-school English-language instruction compulsory. By 2005, nearly 200 million Chinese were formally studying the language, including 50 million secondary-school students. Educators, parents and employers now regard English as essential — like writing, science or math. According to state media, roughly 500,000 Olympic volunteers — mostly Chinese university students — have had English training. These English skills of course help the Chinese deal with about 500,000 visitors during the 16-day Olympics. But the significance of this investment far transcends the Games.

China is an economic and military power on the rise. Its trade and direct-investment ambitions run throughout Asia, and increasingly through Africa and the West. The Chinese people seem to understand, as perhaps no nation has on this scale, that mastery of a “critical” language such as English can facilitate market access and expand its influence.

At the same time, American educators and government officials are increasingly concerned about the lack of expertise in a language considered critical to our own national prosperity and security. In 2005, only 24,000 U.S. students in grades 7-12 were studying Chinese, spoken by 1.3 billion people worldwide. When you compare that to the one million American students studying French, spoken by only 80 million people, it is clear that our language-training priorities need an overhaul.

America must strive to understand emerging and dominant world languages and cultures, to retain our edge in an increasingly interconnected global economy and in a world in which our security depends on our ability to understand and engage with others. The State Department declared Chinese and Arabic to be “critical languages” for American interests. But we have yet to take action on a scale remotely approaching China’s commitment.

In recent years, a number of bills have been proposed in Congress recognizing the need for Chinese language skills. In 2005, U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman (D.-Conn.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced the United States-China Cultural Engagement Act, proposing $1.3 billion in federal funds over five years to provide for Chinese language and culture instruction in American schools. The bill was introduced in Congress but was quickly lost in subcommittee, never becoming law. A similar bill was proposed in 2007, but again it did not move. Congress has been too slow to recognize one of the key trends of the future — an ascendant China — and that cooperation and cultural understanding grow out of classrooms.

At my community college we have embarked on an initiative to introduce our students to strategic languages, specifically through new programs in Chinese and Arabic. Community colleges are important tools in America’s strategic kitbag: Our historic mission is to help Americans transition in times of economic and social change. Now is one such time and we must step up to the plate.

Chinese students are certainly going to grow up with an understanding of the West that their parents never had. As a result of the Beijing Olympics, there will be a greater understanding between cultures that, hopefully, will foster increased dialogue and build friendship between our peoples. It is now time for our education system to respond.

The Beijing Olympics will surely leave lasting legacies in physical achievement, infrastructure and national pride in China. But its most meaningful legacy can and should be a tighter and more unified world enhanced by a new ability to communicate and share knowledge between cultures. As the world arrives in Beijing to a chorus of English-speaking Chinese, American educators must face up to the realization that Chinese is no longer a language that we as a nation can afford to be deaf to.

Shirley Robinson Pippins is president of Suffolk County Community College, the largest community college in New York.