Chinese University sees growing need for skills in a language that is increasing in popularity
The 21st century is being hailed as the Chinese century, just as the 20th century was American and the 19th British.
The mainland is the most populated country on the planet and has one of the fastest-growing economies. People are also jumping on the cultural bandwagon, with mainland language learning at an all-time high, with no end in sight.
According to the mainland's Ministry of Education, there will be about 100 million people worldwide learning Chinese as a foreign language by 2010. To meet this growing need, the Chinese University will be offering a master of arts programme in the next school year called Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition.
The programme is the first of its kind in Hong Kong and, according to Gu Yang, programme co-ordinator of the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, it will be a commitment to the field of Chinese linguistics and language acquisition.
Gladys Tang Wai-lan, chair and division head of the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, said that it was the department's decision to offer the programme, which it had considered for a long time.
'We are pitching our programme at students learning more at the theoretical level, meaning they are being taught what to teach rather than how to teach. The students will be teachers of Putonghua who want to deepen their knowledge of the subject.'