More Americans see benefits of learning Chinese

"I JUST WONDER WHEN I CAN PICK OUT EVEN ONE (CHINESE) WORD"

Mary Hoffman, a middle-aged woman teacher from Brooklyn, the most populous borough of New York City, is equipping herself with Chinese for a better understanding and communication with a growing number of Chinese students and their parents in her neighborhood.

"There are so many Chinese students now, to overhear the conversation on the subway and I just wonder when I can pick out even one word, like I know the word 'pengyou,' I think it's 'friend.' If I can pick up that when I have a conversation with the parent, there always has to be an interpreter present, but if I can pick up one word in what the interpreter is saying, I would be just like, wow, I understand that."

According to a report published by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May 2016, there were some 353,000 Chinese students studying in the US, accounting for 34 percent of the total number of international students in the country.

"If you learn another language, it's like that it gives you a slightly different perspective on things," said Hoffman, adding she also wants to learn Chinese to explore the fascinating culture manifested by Chinese students.

"I just was struck how hard the (Chinese) students work, and that cultural piece of working hard and being humble, we see a lot of that in the Chinese immigrant communities, so it's interesting to know where it comes from,"she said.

"And also the (Chinese) family structure seems to be very strong, because you'll see a young people walking with an older person, and holding their hands and helping them. You don't really see that with the American families. So that's been really noticeable," she added.

Like McCaffrey, Hoffman also attributed the growing popularity of Chinese in the US to China's growing influence in global affairs.

"A lot more high schools are offering it (Chinese) now, so I think it's a combination of factors, the impact of the culture has become more stronger as it's become more prosperous," she said.

Current figures reveal that over 200,000 students are actively studying Mandarin in the US presently, with more expected to follow. The US-China Strong Foundation said it aims to expand to 1 million the number of US K-12 students learning Mandarin by 2020.

"I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE A LITTLE BIT BETTER (WITH MY ADOPTED DAUGHTER)"

For Patrick Gunn, Chinese is a language of love. The general manager of a local asset management company and his wife adopted a one-year-old girl from Guilin, Guangxi Province of China in 2006. In order to keep her Chinese heritage, the couple raised the girl with her mother tongue by going to a bilingual school.

"It's hard for me to communicate in the language with her, particularly because her language skills have got very good, she makes fun of me when I try to pronounce things in Chinese and tells me that I'm saying nothing," Gunn smiled.

"I'd like to know more about the culture, more about the language. I'd like to be able to communicate a little bit better," he said. "We are making a trip in about three weeks, we are going back and visit some cities in China, and I'd like to be able to communicate with some people along the way."

"IT'S A NEW THING THAT AMERICANS LEARN CHINESE FOR JOBS IN CHINA"

Chen Jinguo, who immigrated to the US in early 1990s, has taught many adoptive parents like Gunn in his nearly 20-year teaching at the China Institute.

"These parents often turn out to be very dedicated Chinese learners, Gunn's words are so sweet and moving," Chen said.

The 50-year-odd man said he feels great to see more and more Americans come and learn his native language.

"There was an English fever in China when I left for the US Now we are seeing a Chinese Fever here," he said. "Moreover, many of my students study Chinese for jobs in Chinese major cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, that is something I have never seen before."

Actually, Chinese has been becoming a language of business and tourism, Chen noted. There are more and more American businesses not only having their products made in China, but also marketing towards the expanding market of the Asian power.

China is one of the fastest growing international market for New York City as nearly 1 million Chinese visited the Big Apple in 2016, according to NYC & Company, the city's tourism marketer.

Businesses across the city, including hotels, cultural institutions and restaurants, are turning to Chinese travellers, many of them have started offering Chinese language tours, and hot tea, slippers and other amenities.

"Chinese tourists are big spenders and they also help fan up the Chinese Fever here," Chen said.