02 March 2006
More Americans Tackling "Super-Hard" Chinese, Arabic Languages
Many seek deeper cultural understanding of areas critical to U.S. foreign policy
Washington -- Once limited to scholars and select professions, "super-hard" languages like Chinese and Arabic are attracting a growing number of "ordinary" American students.
"Many people believe that learning Chinese is increasingly necessary in all fields due to China's growing political and economic importance in the international arena," says Chen Yang, a Chinese language instructor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Graduate School.
The school offers career-related and continuing education courses to professionals and federal, state and local employees throughout the country.
"Some people study Chinese because of a sense of curiosity about other people and other languages," he said in an interview with the Washington File.
Lindsey Benson, a graduate student in the social sciences at American University, said she is studying Chinese so that she can more easily conduct research in China.
"Immersion learning is the best possible setting for learning Chinese," Benson told The Washington File. "In this setting, teachers, by using minimal English, allow students to use the Chinese they are learning as well as develop faster comprehension of colloquial usage they will encounter in China."
Because the Middle East has become a prominent topic in U.S. foreign relations, more Americans are learning Arabic, says Fatima Deak, an Arabic instructor at Northern Virginia Community College.
"A lot of the students are professionals who are interested in learning the language because of work opportunities in business, legal and security fields," Deak said. But she added that many students are second-generation Arab-Americans who want a better understanding of their ethnic roots.
Michael Andrews, an information technology professional in Washington, said he has been studying Arabic for one year in the evenings to prepare for personal travel to the region.
According to Andrews, the three courses he has completed have had an incredibly diverse group of students ranging in ages from 20 to 60.
"Some of them are taking Arabic for U.S. government-related work, but many students are just interested in learning more about Arab culture and the Middle East in general," he said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
