Following the huge success of online language learning show, The Lingo Show, BBC kids channel Cbeebies recently launched a TV version of the show which aims to help children between ages 4-6 learn languages. According to the makers of the show, mandarin is one of the three “priority languages”, as well as French and Spanish. Dr Frances Weightman, a senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Leeds, England, commented that “pre-school children would not find Mandarin difficult to learn” due to it being a tonal language and so allowing children to learn the language through songs and music, and also because the sounds are so much shorter than other European languages such as French. The show teaches children simple greetings in mandarin as well as numbers, colours and other simple words.DrWeightman also commented that “learning mandarin is going to be the way forward”. This comes after analysts predicted that China could overtake the United States by 2027 as the world’s greatest economic power.
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