KEVIN Rudd has called on Australians to .. make their nation the most Asia-literate country in the West.

In a major speech in Singapore, the Prime Minister declared his dream of Australian children learning Chinese or Japanese and reaching out to the region.

"I am committed to making Australia the most Asia-literate country in the collective West," he announced.

Labor went to the last election promising $62 million for new Asian language courses in schools.

But Mr Rudd's new promise raises the commitment and there is sure to be a push for extra funding.

Mr Rudd last night said the time had come for Australians to be more active in Asia.

"My vision is for the next generation of Australian businessmen and women, economists, accountants, lawyers, architects, artists, film-makers and performers to develop language skills which open their region to them," he said.

The call came as Mr Rudd tried to rev up his plan for a new regional body called the Asia Pacific Community.

Mr Rudd outlined the proposal two months ago and has been selling it during his recent tour of China, South Korea and Singapore.

The Opposition have been scathing of the plan, calling it a flop, and there has been no groundswell of major support from Asian countries.

But Mr Rudd has hit back, saying there are no major "roadblocks" to the idea and saying it was a long-term project.

The speech came after Mr Rudd and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday signed a new defence deal for greater cooperation between the two nations.

Singapore is due to soon send a medical team to work with Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Earlier in the day, Mr Rudd opened a new junior section of Australian International School Singapore where he spoke to children about the value of Asian languages.

Mr Rudd speaks Mandarin, which he uses often when touring in the region and did it again yesterday at a press conference.

It was Rudd's first prime ministerial visit to Singapore and he has now visited most of the major nations in Asia - including China and Japan twice.

Children aged 15-16 take first Mandarin access exam in Scotland.

Record numbers of children passed their Higher Grade exams. For the first year children ages 15-16 could take Mandarin at Access 3 level.Mandarin Chinese continues to be very active in schools in Scotland. In May 2008, the first Confucius classroom opened in St George's School Edinburgh. Scotland plans to have eight Confucius classrooms in a networked hub.

Part of China Now, 3000 children developing Chinese cross-curricula work have created a new Chinese opera.

350 students performed the new work alongside professional artists.This project was an initiative between the Hackney Music Development Trust (HMDT) and East Hackney Education Zone. 'Confucius says' is a new opera based on Chinese myths and legends written by Stephen Plaice and Richard Taylor for Hackney schools and children learning Chinese.

We share our experiences in teaching Mandarin Chinese young including Mandarama at the SSAT Chinese network conference

Please come and see us either at our exhibition stand or during our workshop. Get guest access to Mandarama at our stand and learn about how children learn languages young at our workshop. We are sharing our experience in teaching Chinese young and would like to hear your views too.

Children learning Chinese at Hove Park Primary School win competition..

Students' Mandarin leaves rivals red-faced
By Ruth Morgan
Argus Lite 26 May 2008

William Page, 12, shows off his Chinese skills at Hove Park School. Youngsters left their rivals tongue-tied to scoop a top prize at a national language competition.

While many students may turn pale at the difficult task of learning another language, students from Hove Park School showed off their skills to secure a prize at the National Chinese Mandarin Reading contest.

The event was held at the University of Westminster and was entered by more than 26 schools, colleges and universities from across the country.

The six competitors from Hove Park had only been learning the complex language for eight months but managed to beat off competition from 23 other institutions including a University of Sussex team to come third in the non-native speakers category.

The children read out poetry, prose and stories at the event to take home the coveted trophy.Of the 26 institutions that took part, only six were able to walk away with a prize.
In addition to Hove Park's success, pupil Nicola Burt, 14, added to the team triumph, winning a third place individual prize.

How are Chinese children different?

On day one I was shocked by the dedication of the students.

Chinese children spend countless hours in the classroom, arriving at around 6am and leaving at about 10pm with just a few breaks in between for food and exercise.

All students are unanimously focused on the Gao Kao, the final year exam taken to get into university.

Particularly for students from the countryside, such as these, it is their only way out. Securing a place at a good university is synonymous with securing a comfortable life later and the curriculum seems entirely geared towards it.

Learning the correct answer to write on the exam paper is more highly prized than encouraging independent thought
An education in Chinese schooling

A parent's view of Chinese immersion schools for children

Why do we need a Chinese language immersion school in the Eugene School District?

What country is said to be destined to become the largest English-speaking nation in the world? Hint: It’s the same country that has bought $1 trillion of American debt and boasts a trade surplus of hundreds of billions of dollars with us year after year. Yes, China!

While America confronts record national debt and trade deficits, a too thinly stretched military, a battered middle class and plummeting world prestige, China enjoys an exploding economy, a modernizing military, a burgeoning middle class and growing world prestige.

"[At] no time in the history of Chinese international schools has there been such a dynamic and explosive growth

of international schools as what’s happening here in China right now," Frerking said.Students enrolled in these facilities receive educations equivalent to elite private schools in the United States and Europe in part because they are modeled on predominately British and American curriculums, offering both International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) programs. Students also generally come from affluent families who emphasize the importance of education.

International schools in Asia mostly began as small facilities intended for the children of diplomats or missionaries. However, as economic expansion attracted multinational businesses to Asia, the number of students in international schools rose dramatically. These facilities have now evolved into centers for expatriate communities and are vital tools for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

Confucius classrooms a success for Chinese children

Exec Director, Tsutsui, said learning about China gives children an advantage.

“Parents realize now that to prepare their students for the future, Chinese is a really great thing to have and it sets them apart, it gives them a little leg up that they need,” he said.

..it is just as likely to be Scottish children taking part in the Chinese classes...

City youngsters learn the future's language

The undulating, rhythmic sound of children's voices belting out unfamiliar words and a distinctly oriental tune resonates through the classrooms and down the corridors of an otherwise deserted secondary school.

It is Saturday, and most of the rooms at Drummond Community High School are closed for the weekend. But nearly 200 students – mostly Chinese, but a surprising number of them native Scots – are there to learn one of the trickiest yet most widely spoken languages in the world.

For while the Edinburgh Chinese School has traditionally been a seat of learning for the children of Chinese families in the city, now it is just as likely to be Scottish children taking part in the classes, getting to grips with the complex tones and structure of Mandarin and Cantonese.

"In the past five years there has been a rising number of Scottish people coming to the school," confirms Edinburgh Chinese School headteacher, Kathy Miller.

"Most of them are simply interested in China and its culture. However, there are also many who want to study the languages for business purposes, and there are a number of parents who are very keen for their children to learn the language, because they are aware that China's future is blooming."