Hundreds of pupils in England ’on track towards fluency’ in Mandarin

Hundreds of school pupils in England are on track towards fluency in Mandarin Chinese as part of a national language learning initiative which starts its second year this term. Progress test results from pupils on the Department for Education's Mandarin Excellence Programme indicate that the first cohort of almost 400 pupils from 14 schools across England are excelling when it comes to learning Mandarin Chinese - the most spoken language in the world. Delivered by the UCL Institute of Education in partnership with the British Council, pupils on the programme spend an average of eight hours per week studying the language. This includes four hours in the classroom which is a significant increase on the time usually spent on a language in school with the results showing that the Year 7 pupils' skills are developing at pace. The majority of those on the programme achieved marks of 80% or higher across specially-created tests in reading, writing, listening and speaking. This not only indicates the quick progress the pupils are making but as skills that aren't usually tested amongst this age-group, it highlights the uniqueness and rigour of the programme as a whole. And with an additional 23 schools throughout England starting the Mandarin Excellence Programme this term, hundreds more pupils will soon be reaping the rewards of the innovative approach to language learning which gives students an unprecedented opportunity to gain advanced skills at an early stage.