国际英语新闻：100,000 Strong Initiative Gets Boost from Chicago Ties to China

The Shanghai Expo in 2010 also helped raise the level of awareness of America in China.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton directed the State Department to participate in the Expo by creating an American Pavilion.  She says learning Chinese paid off for the Americans who worked at the pavilion.

“I think part of the reason we were the second-most visited pavilion was because the Chinese were just thrilled to come meet these young Americans who were speaking their language," Clinton said. "And they were asking all kinds of questions, and the young Americans were asking about their pronunciation, and it was just a fabulous moment. And we need more of that.”

Secretary Clinton asked Mayor Daly to co-chair the Advisory Committee to the 100,000 Strong Initiative.  The Initiative is a goal set by President Barack Obama in 2009 to encourage 100,000 American students to study abroad in China.  The program’s success depends on more institutions nationwide following Chicago’s lead.

“We understand that about fifteen other American cities had picked up on the Chicago model for putting the Mandarin program in place in the public schools,” Spence said.

Even with those language programs, the U.S. State Department says there are 600 times more Chinese students studying English than Americans studying Mandarin.  The State Department also says ten times more Chinese students study in the United States than Americans in China.  The 100,000 Strong initiative is intended to begin bridging that gap.