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Getting Ahead: Jon Corzine’s Plan for Public Education in the 21st Century Read Speech | Website
Jon Corzine, Senator from New Jersey currently campaigning for Governor, gave a speech on September 8, outlining his plan for public education in the state. His goals include: ensuring students are well-versed in world languages and cultures and increasing by 3 times, the number of students studying foreign languages, especially those that reflect the regions that drive the world economy and the cultures that surround us.

Putting the World Into Our Classrooms
(Progressive Policy Institute Policy Report) | read full article
A new policy report by Michael Levine, Executive Director, Education is now available from the Progressive Policy Institute.

Excerpt: "As children learn to read, write, and compute, or are introduced to the foundations of scientific inquiry, there is no compelling reason why the international dimensions of these subjects cannot be included. In fact, adding international content is an exciting new way to advance the rigor, breadth, relevance, and intellectual ambition of classroom instruction. Recent reports from the Council on Basic Education and the National Association for State Boards of Education have justifiably complained that many schools are responding to accountability pressures by reducing their arts, humanities, and language programs. Global citizenship and international skills have substantial potential as a fresh, compelling theme for policymakers to appeal to parents who are increasingly concerned about their children’s future as economic competitors and engaged, constructive citizens."

Press Clippings

Oklahoma Recognized for Teaching of Global Themes
(KOTV Oklahoma/AP, December 27, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Oklahoma is being recognized as a leader in helping teachers bring international themes into their classrooms. A report by the Asia Society identifies teacher development and eleven other areas where states promote international education. Oklahoma appeared under three categories."

States Making Gains in International Studies
(Education Week, December 14, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "In fact, Kansas is one of a growing number of states that have embraced international studies over the past several years. With increasing attention to the global economy and interest in helping students compete internationally, a noticeable growth in education initiatives and policies to address the need has occurred, according to a report by the Asia Society and the Goldman Sachs Foundation, released here last week, in conjunction with the States Institute on International Education in the Schools. The growth, though, has been sporadic and piecemeal in many places."

Send Future Business Leaders Abroad
(Christian Science Monitor, December 8, 2005) | full story
An Op-ed by Henry Kaufman, chairman emeritus of the Institute of International Education and Thomas S. Johnson the chairman. Excerpt: "There is no doubt that America's economic well-being hinges on our preeminence in science and technology, which provides the foundation for our historical leadership in producing goods and services and creating personal and national wealth. But in a globalized economy, our national well-being also hinges on future CEOs, managers, professionals, and entrepreneurs who are competent to conduct business in a global environment."

US Students Take the Road Less Travelled
(DNA India, November 26, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "India has traditionally sent a large number of students to the United States, but now even American students are taking the road less travelled and heading overseas to study in India and China as the two culturally-rich, booming Asian economies emerge as top global powers.

With a growing recognition of the importance of international experience, the number of Americans studying abroad rose by 9.6 per cent to more than 1,91,321 in the 2003-2004 academic year, according to a new report released by a Washington research institute."

Young Language Learners Pack Classrooms
(Portland Tribune, November 18, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Southeast Portland’s Richmond Elementary School, the oldest “language immersion” program in the city and the recipient this month of a national award for excellence in international education. The award — and its $25,000 prize — comes from the Goldman Sachs Foundation, a philanthropic organization that chose Richmond from 400 elementary schools nationwide. “It was seen as really a model for the kind of education we need in the future if we’re going to have students who are prepared for a globally interconnected world,” said Vivien Stewart, vice president for education for the New York-based Asia Society, which manages the foundation awards."

Retired Four Star General Commends Teachers for International Education
(WOWK West Virginia, November 14, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Retired four star general Wesley Clark was in Charleston Monday night, as two teachers won the Cyrus Vance award. "I want to congratulate all of the nominees for what you're doing for international education and international understanding here in West Virginia, said Clark.

The Vance award is meant to honor teachers who have already placed an emphasis on teaching students about the world around them. It's named after Clarksburg native Cyrus Vance who served in a diplomatic role under three presidents."

International Education Committee Offering First Kansas in the World Prize
(Kansas City Infozine, November 11, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "The Kansas Committee for International Education in the Schools is pleased to announce the first Kansas in the World Award for Excellence in International Education 2006 to promote international knowledge and skills in Kansas schools and communities. This program will award two prizes of $1,000 and a plaque each year, one to an elementary/middle school and one to a high school that show a commitment to increasing international learning across the curriculum. Any elementary/middle or high school in Kansas is eligible to apply."

But Who Will Teach Them?
(Indianapolis Star, November 7, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Every Indiana middle school would be required to provide foreign-language classes under a state proposal that comes as school leaders already struggle to find enough Spanish teachers or the money to pay them. The plan would mean offering the classes in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, but students wouldn't be required to take them."

Global markets sound call for language study
(Chicago Tribune, July 17, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "But though the spread of anglophiles may be convenient for Americans, the pressure to learn foreign languages is only heightening--so much so that Harvard University recently modified the arts and sciences curriculum to include an "expectation" that students pursue an international experience.

"To be globally competitive and sell into other markets, we will need to know those markets better than our competitors," says Vivien Stewart, vice president of education for the Asia Society, a non-profit group that promotes communication between the U.S. and Asia."

Schools Embrace the World
(The News & Observer (NC), July 16, 2005) | full story (Free Registration Required) | press release
Excerpt: "Gov. Mike Easley announced Friday the creation of four international studies high schools that will open in fall 2006. One will operate in Research Triangle Park and serve students from the Durham, Wake, Orange, Johnston and Chapel Hill-Carrboro school systems. The others will serve the Alamance-Burlington, Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Onslow County systems.

"The growth of international business and research across North Carolina and the nation demands a work force that is aware of and connected to other regions of the world," Easley said in a news release."

Schools Focus: Foreign Studies
(The Herald-Sun (Durham, NC), July 9, 2005) | full story | press release
Excerpt: "Administrators from school districts in Wake County, Durham, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Orange County and Johnston County are in the initial stages of planning an international studies high school, to be run as a joint project among all five school districts and have a campus based in the Research Triangle Park.

The high school would be organized as a small learning community for students from international backgrounds, as well as for local students with a desire to take advanced languages or increase their knowledge of foreign cultures."

Class of '05 - And 9/11
(Hartford Courant, June 8, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "While 9/11 prompted some college graduates to think about careers in the military, national security or international affairs, the terrorist attacks also influenced the nation's high school students - renewing interest in world events and giving new urgency to the study of international politics and culture, educators say......

Michael Levine, an official with the Asia Society, a New York City-based group promoting cultural exchanges between America and Asia, said: "Since 9/11, schools have begun to increasingly look at their curriculum, but the progress has been uneven. ... There is clearly a growing cry for more emphasis on international education.""

A Classroom as Big as the World
(Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "In the eyes of some, Evanston - winner of a 2003 prize for excellence in international education awarded by the Asia Society and the Goldman Sachs Foundation - is a model.

Evanston makes learning about the world a requirement, not an elective. Sophomores take a full year of "global perspectives" courses, with offerings that include semester-long classes on Asia, Africa, Russia, Latin America, and the Middle East - or a year-long humanities course taught by history and English teachers that covers multiple continents."

International Studies a Hard Sell in U.S.
(Education Week, April 20, 2005) | read full article
Excerpt: "Proponents of international studies elsewhere in the United States have also broached the subject delicately, choosing to build grassroots support before pushing state-level initiatives. As in North Carolina, activists in other states have taken care to frame their arguments in ways that will attract the most support. Beyond the expanded economy, advocates argue that building students’ world knowledge would enrich the curriculum, engage students, improve school performance, and help children deal with the increasingly diverse communities in which they live.

Students’ “success requires an understanding of how culture, religion, politics, and history influence the world’s social and economic well-being,” the task force’s report, “North Carolina in the World: Increasing Student Knowledge and Skills About the World,” says. “Improving international education is about providing students the best opportunity for success in the emerging workforce.”"

Cultural Exchange: Via the Web, Students Talk About the Tsunami
(Education Week, March 16, 2005) | read full article (free registration may be required)
This article from Education Week details the recent Asia Society, Global Nomads Group, and Quarters from Kids videoconference between New York City High School students and Sri Lankan students affected by the tsunami.

Building a Diverse Student Body From the Ground Up
(International Educator, March/April, 2005) | read full article
International Educator, published by NAFSA: the Association of International Educators, features an interview with Stephanie Bell-Rose, the President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation.

Group Promotes Global Studies in Classroom
(Education Week, March 2, 2005) | read full article
Excerpt: "While policymakers and business leaders have lamented American students inadequate knowledge about the world, a growing number of schools around the United States are beginning to infuse a global perspective into the curriculum and classroom activities.

U.S. Bringing Iraqi Students and Educators to America
(Education Week, January 12, 2005) | read full article (subscription may be required)
Excerpt: "Eleven teenagers from Iraq have been living with American families and going to school in the United States this school year as part of the U.S. government’s resumption of education and cultural ties with that country."

Elementary youngsters immersed in Russian Classes in Alaska School
(Education Week, January 12, 2005) | read full article (subscription may be required)
Anchorage’s Turnagain Elementary School has one of the only Russian-immersion programs at a public elementary school in the United States. Excerpt: "The initiative, which began in the fall, is run through two classes in 1st grade and two in kindergarten, where children spend half the day learning entirely in Russian and half in English. Over the coming years, the 49,000-student Anchorage district plans to expand the program to higher grades, year by year, so that students can continue to build on that early language base."

Bay state students get grim lessons on death, destruction
(Boston Globe, January 4, 2005) | read full article
This article describes the ways classrooms in the Boston area are dealing with and teaching about the recent tsunami in Asia.

A Nation Apart?
(California School Board Association, Winter 2004) | read full article
Excerpt: "We all got a geography lesson in the fall of 2001 as the U.S. turned its attention to Afghanistan. For many Americans — especially younger ones — the nightly news was an abrupt introduction to the relevance of Asian cartography. The need to understand the history and culture of places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran became strikingly clear.

In the wake of Sept. 11, schools across the country seized the opportunity to explore the beliefs and values of inhabitants of the Middle East and beyond. Indeed, the whole Asian continent — from Turkey to Russia to Indonesia — has become a vital cog in the world’s economic, security and social machinery. Sixty percent of the world’s population lives there."

Press Clippings: Chinese Language
Learning the Language: Mandarin Spoken Here
(Patriot Ledger (Boston), December 13, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Some economists predict that China, already the globe’s fastest-growing economy, is poised to become the world’s biggest exporter within five years and the largest consumer of luxury goods within 10 years.

To that end, Judy Rielly, Hingham’s director of foreign language, views offering Mandarin part of the town’s responsibility to prepare students for an ever-changing world. ‘‘We can no longer isolate ourselves,’’ she said. ‘‘We’re a mosaic. We’re part of the global community. That’s our obligation to prepare our students to function in it.’’"

Crece interés por aprender mandarín en Estados Unidos
(El Universal (Caracas, Venezuela), November 28, 2005) | full story
Spanish language article on the growth of Mandarin classes in the United States.

Mastering Mandarin: In A Changing Landscape, Difficult Language Gains A Foothold In State
(Hartford Courant, November 28, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Sounding much like a music instructor, Anping Zhang recited a series of strange but delightful sounds as her class full of seventh-graders listened intently. Zhang is a rarity - a Mandarin Chinese teacher working in an American public school. A Beijing resident, she has been at Northwest Regional Middle School in Winsted since mid-September as part of a pilot program that officials in both China and the United States hope will lead to a dramatic expansion of Chinese language instruction in this country."

Chinese Language Instruction Getting More Popular in Public Schools
(National School Board Association, November 8, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Relatively few public students are currently learning the Chinese language, but experts predict the number of K-12 schools offering such instruction will soon soar. With China poised to become the next global economic superpower, policymakers say it’s essential that American schools expand their Chinese studies. Worldwide, 1.4 billion people speak Chinese. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 K-12 students are now studying Chinese in U.S. schools, but that includes students who are taking private lessons after school or on weekends."

Chinese Language Teaching Takes Off
(UPI, November 8, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "All across U.S. schools, Chinese is slowly becoming the hot new language as government officials seek more focus on security-useful languages like Chinese.

Proponents see knowledge of the Chinese language and culture as a leg up in a global economy where China is growing in importance. In Chicago, the program has grown to include 3,000 students in 20 schools, with more schools on a waiting list."

Next Hot Language to Study: Chinese
(Christian Science Monitor, November 8, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Chicago itself is home to the largest effort to include Chinese in US public schools. The program here has grown to include 3,000 students in 20 schools, with more schools on a waiting list. Programs have also spread to places like Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and North Carolina.

Finding teachers "is the challenge," says Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser for the Defense Language Institute's Washington office and a Chinese teacher for 15 years at the collegiate level. "Materials are easy in comparison. Or getting schools funded.""

Schools See a Demand for Chinese
(Dallas Morning News, November 7, 2005) | full story (Registration may be required)
Excerpt: "You could write a fair history of late 20th-century America just by tracking the languages high school students learned in school. At the height of the Cold War, Russian was hot, spasibo very much. Japanese boomed in the late 1980s, when it seemed the rising sun would eclipse America's economy. And by the morning of Sept. 12, 2001, Arabic was getting more attention than ever. But say "ni hao" – "hello," that is – to the newest language to push its way to the forefront: Chinese."

China's Clout Echoes in Classes
(Philadelphia Inquirer, October 31, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "In a push to prepare students for the ever-changing global marketplace, the Philadelphia School District is expanding classes in Mandarin Chinese - the most prevalent language in the world, yet largely neglected by the nation's schools until the last few years. More than 1,700 students are taking Chinese this year at six district high schools and three elementary schools - up from 900 two years ago."

Red Hot China
(Inside Higher Ed, October 28, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "At Northwestern University this fall, there are two sections of third-year Chinese, the first time ever that a second section has been needed. At Yale University, enrollment in introductory Chinese is up 68 percent from last year, and for the first time professors can remember, significant numbers of freshmen are arriving with enough Chinese to start in second- or third-year Chinese."

Language Teachers 'Need Training'
(BBC News Online, October 26, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "A scheme enabling all children to learn a foreign language is to be extended to all primary schools in England. Ministers are publishing funding plans and guidance for teachers, with the aim of making language lessons available to all seven to 11-year-olds by 2010."

Greenwich Schools Join Growing List Offering Mandarin Chinese
(Boston Globe, October 16, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Mandarin Chinese could be taught at Greenwich High School next fall, adding the town to a growing number of school districts in the United States that offer one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. If accepted by the Board of Education, the plan to teach Chinese would place the language with Spanish, French, German, Italian and Latin among others taught at the 2,700-student high school."

Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity
(New York Times, October 15, 2005) | full story (subscription may be required)
Excerpt: "Chicago has a waiting list of schools that want to offer Chinese. The main obstacle is a lack of teachers certified by an American college, a requirement of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Davis said...The shortage of teachers is common throughout the United States, said Michael Levine, executive director of education at the Asia Society in New York.

Six states have signed or plan to sign agreements with the Chinese government to import teachers from China and send teachers from the United States to China for training, Mr. Levine said."

Chinese Makes Inroads at GHS
(Greenwich Time, October 16, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "So far, five districts in Connecticut offer Chinese, including schools in East Hartford, Bloomfield, Norwalk, Bridgeport and New Haven, according to state Department of Education World Languages Consultant Mary Ann Hanson. The teaching of Chinese still lags far behind other languages. In Connecticut, about 70,000 students are learning Spanish, while only about 300 are learning Mandarin Chinese, Hanson said."

Asian Languages Inspiring Interest in School Districts
(Washington Times, October 9, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "While most everybody from school administrators to Sesame Street producers was busy in the late 1980s reinforcing the importance of teaching Spanish to children, Fairfax County educators were reaching a different conclusion: The next generation needed to know Japanese."

To Strengthen Ties with China, Speak the Language First
(Christian Science Monitor, September 30, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Congress and the public must not let terrorism abroad and political controversy at home blind them from the long-term implications of this legislation. More than 30 years after opening diplomatic contacts with the People's Republic, we are still woefully unprepared to work with a China whose rise increasingly laps onto our shores. Our government leaders have been too slow to acknowledge that mutual understanding grows out of classrooms, not just trade volume, and their complacency has kept the most significant bilateral relationship of this century in a retarded state."

Why Teach Chinese?
(Charlotte Observer, September 29, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Nurturing existing language immersion programs and starting new ones should be a national education priority. Only 9 percent of Americans speak a second language fluently, compared to 53 percent of Europeans. We are woefully unprepared for a new global order that demands bilingual or multilingual workers, not just to do business with emerging economic powers like China, but to do business right here in Charlotte."

The 'IT' Language:China's Growing Influence Drives Demand for Classes
(Chicago Tribune, September 27, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Mandarin Chinese, the most widely spoken form of the language, has become the new "it" language among students, business executives and others trying to gain increasingly useful career and life skills, experts say....

That such a challenging language has become all the rage speaks to the global influence of China's rapidly expanding economy. Locally, 2,500 students are learning Chinese in 20 Chicago Public Schools. Those numbers are dwarfed by the thousands of children learning Spanish in more than 100 city schools, but administrators say the Chinese program is growing dramatically: Before the end of this school year, they will offer Mandarin in 10 more schools."

China Trip Gives Educator New Perspective
(The News Journal (DE), September 25, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: Appoquinimink School District Superintendent Tony Marchio learned about China's rosy economic outlook through a 10-day trip he took there this summer. "It really caused me to think what we were doing in our school system and what we needed to do," he said.

"Can we, as Americans, afford to ignore what is happening in China and the rest of the world?" Marchio said. "Are we, as educators, preparing ... students for the world they are about to enter?"

Grant Will Boost Teaching of Chinese
(The Oregonian, September 20, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Portland Public Schools will become a national flagship for the study of Mandarin Chinese, more than doubling the number of students immersed in the language from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Additionally, as part of a national security-based initiative, Portland students who promise to continue studying the language in college will be eligible for 12 full-ride scholarships to the University of Oregon, worth $15,000 a year, and a free year of study in China."

Foreign Languages in Schools
(All Things Considered, KPLU Seattle/Tacoma, September 12, 2005) | full story
From the KPLU website: "The mastery of foreign languages has never been one of this country's strengths. Only 9 percent of Americans are fluent in a second language, compared with more than 50 percent of Europeans. There is a campaign now underway to make foreign language learning more mainstream. Congress has declared 2005 the year of language learning. In the first segment of a three-part series on foreign languages in the schools, Deborah Wang spoke with Michele Anciaux Aoki, a long-time foreign language advocate and leads the Washington State Coalition for International Education."

How to Learn Chinese in 2,200 Not-So-Easy Lessons
(Washington Post,August 9, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "I spent several years, and some of your tax dollars, trying to learn Chinese, so I need to say something about a new campaign to get that language into U.S. schools and colleges.

The Asia Society just put out a report (see the internationaled.org Web site ) on how more Americans can learn Chinese. There was a world conference on the subject last month in Beijing. Chinese language instruction is, obviously, a good idea. China is our biggest trading partner, after Canada and Mexico. The country reminds me in some ways of America in the 1870s. It is recovering from horrid domestic events, getting stronger, with the potential to be the most important nation in the world. Chinese, along with Arabic, should be among our top foreign language priorities."

Growth of Chinese Language in a Multicultural World
(CCTV, July 23, 2005) | view entire piece (You may have to click "Reload" to view page)
View an episode of the English-language CCTV show Dialogue featuring a panel discussion on the growth of Chinese languages in a multicultural world. The panel includes: Michael Levine, Executive Director, Education, Asia Society; Brigitte Kuela, University of Zurich; and Qiguang Zilao,Chairman of the Department of Asian Languages, Carlton College. (You may have to click "Reload" to view the interview link.)

China's rapid rise spurs Americans to learn Chinese
(AFP, July 31, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "From kindergartens to high schools, studies by the Asia Society show, there is a "rapid rise" in interest among pupils to study the Chinese language. This is despite the fact that most of the schools lack qualified teachers or do not currently offer the language in their curriculum.

"The Chinese rich cultural traditions and blossoming economy mean that is now essential for all of our students to be better prepared to engage them and seize opportunities together," said Michael Levine, Asia Society's executive director of education."

U.S. schools lack adequate Chinese language skills
(Reuters, July 12, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "U.S. schools lack resources and teachers to meet the demand for Chinese language and culture studies, despite the growing importance of China's economic and political relationship with the United States, according to a study released by the Asia Society on Tuesday."

Along with ABCs, some learn Chinese
(Boston Globe, June 8, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "Chinese, a language most school systems don't offer until high school, if at all, is becoming popular in elementary classrooms around Greater Boston, as well as elsewhere in the nation. Spanish still reigns as the most popular language, but parents and lawmakers hope that Chinese soon will become commonly taught. School systems are starting the lessons with the youngest students in hope they learn the language well enough to compete in the new world economy, as China becomes an economic and political superpower."

U.S. bill would encourage language classes to foster US-China ties
(AFP, May 26, 2005) | full story
Excerpt: "A pair of prominent US senators proposed legislation that would encourage Chinese and American citizens to learn each others' languages, in an effort to improve bilateral cultural and business ties. "The rise of China comes with a whole set of challenges. But the ability to talk to and understand each other should not be among them," said Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman."

Chinese Classes Grow in Popularity with U.S. Students
(NPR, May 3, 2005) | listen to full story
NPR featured a story on the growth in popularity of Chinese in the U.S. Asia Society's Vivien Stewart is interviewed.

The Future Doesn't Speak French
(Newsweek, May 9, 2005) | read full article
Excerpt: "Earlier this year Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey introduced legislation calling for increased funding of programs for less commonly taught languages. "For reasons of economics, culture and security we should have much better facility with Chinese languages and dialects," he says. The State Department has designated Chinese a "critical language," but the most recent data show that only 24,000 students in grades 7 to 12 study Chinese, a language spoken by 1.3 billion people worldwide. (More than 1 million students learn French, a language spoken by 75 million people.)"

More Young Americans Take Chinese Language Challenge
(Reuters, April 27, 2005) | read full article
Excerpt: "The United States has declared 2005 the "year of languages" although few Americans are aware of the designation. According to a 2002 Modern Language Association survey, more college students are studying foreign languages than ever before. Enrollment in Chinese rose 20 percent over 1998.

The 1.4 million students learning 15 leading languages represented a 17 percent increase over 1998. But only 9.3 percent of Americans are able to speak both their native language and a second tongue, compared to 52.7 percent of Europeans, according to the Census Bureau."

Great Toddle Forward
(New York Magazine, April 4, 2005) | read full article
Excerpt: "In an age when even a venerable New York institution like IBM has sold its most visible element to the Chinese, the city's mandarins have realized, for class-preservation reasons, their children must adapt. Which is why Hilton Augusta knows more Mandarin than English: She has a Mandarin-speaking nanny. The lycée is passé (old Europe has no trade surplus), and some parents are scouring Craigslist and placing ads in the China Press for sitters who speak Mandarin, China's official language."

Some 300 educators committed to such an approach gathered here Feb. 17-20 at the International Studies Schools Association conference. They shared ideas and resources for teaching children about other regions and countries, including their geography, history, politics, and culture."

American Students Brush Up on Their Chinese
(NPR, All Things Considered, February 12, 2005) | listen
Americans are aware of China's rising strength in the world economy and are studying Chinese. We hear from several Chinese language students at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J.

U.S. Interest Grows in Chinese classes
(San Jose Mercury News, February 11, 2005) | read full article (subscription may be required)
Excerpt: "Much as Japanese classes began popping up in the nation's high schools in the late '80s, Chinese courses are starting to catch on now. And given Silicon Valley's web of connections to the Pacific Rim, it's no surprise that students here are out in front on this trend....``It's definitely taking off,'' said Vivien Stewart, vice president for education for the New York-based Asia Society."

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