A readers’ guide to learning Chinese.

Do you want to learn Chinese? You do if you know just how important the language is going to be in your future. Here’s how to get started

ARE WE ALL TRYING TO LEARN CHINESE? 

We should hope so. China could soon overtake the US as the world’s largest superpower. Across Ireland, students are getting ready for a sea change in global politics. Chinese language and culture are set to form a core part of the overhauled Junior Cert syllabus (see panel). Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has also announced plans to offer Chinese as a Leaving Cert subject. University College Dublin and University College Cork already offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees with Chinese language and cultural components…