Mandarin lessons for 'BBCs' popular in UK(2)

 Natalie Powell, London, said, "Here at Imperial College London there's a disproportionately high number of students who enroll with already some knowledge of Mandarin, compared with other British universities. And the university's optional Mandarin classes have proven popular among BBCs."

Course coordinator Ruth Heard says these courses present a challenge students from a Chinese background, who haven't been brought up in China.

Ruth Heard, Mandarin course coordinator of Imperial College London, said, "Many students have a parental pressure to learn Chinese and the students perhaps they've only ever spoken English at home and it's been a shock, this is the language of their parents and grandparents and they realize how difficult it is to learn and they get a bit angry."  

As for BBC university students, the main driving forces appear to be a combination of improving future job prospects, heritage and some parental persuasion:

"I was born in England and I've never had that immersion in Chinese culture."

"I'm thinking about the future when I'm doing Mandarin, it's helpful to learn Mandarin because it makes you more employable."

"My mum has always been pushing me to learn Chinese, and that was a major factor of me learning it."

And with China's importance in the world continuing to grow, in the UK, lessons for the most widely spoken language in the world are likely to do the same.