way to go, Mr. Yang

Yes, I like that Chinese guys know how to speak and write English because if they don’t the communication will be hard!!

Very cool story, never too old to learn.

Isn’t it ironic how all these Chinese people living in China are so eager to learn English and how literally millions of Spanish-speakers living right here in the U.S. refuse to learn English while living in an English-speaking country? Don’t believe me? Spend some time in Arizona, California, and soon to be … your state as well.

congratulations to this old man. Age is never a barrier. If there is a will, there is always a way. He proved it, right?

If only more people were willing to learn more languages. I’m surprise that schools are still teaching French and German. How can we be globally competitive if we don’t learn Chinese or Japanese?

Isn’t it ironic how Chinese people are so eager to learn English and help others, yet millions of people living in Arizona and California right on the current border of a spanish speaking country in an area that once WAS part of Mexico are not willing to learn spanish or any other language? It’s time Amricans grew up and realised that learning other languages would benefit them as well as others. (Yes, I’m an American, born here with no spanish blood whatsoever.) Quit making others a scape goat for your own chosen ignorance.

I wonder how many Americans will learn some Chinese if we get the bid for the next Summer Olympics in Chicago.

I travelled a lot to China for business over the past decade. And I have been involved in negotiation with many Chinese parties on many occasions. The stories that I heard over the years are truly inspiring. I once negotiated against a Chinese official who taught himself English while working as a bus conductor. He missed his chance of education during the Cultural Revolution and was assigned to work as a bus conductor. He had an English dictionary with him while working on the bus. Whenever he got the time, he would learn one word or two from the dictionary. Story likes this put many people in the so called developed world to sham…

jk2000 – Many high schools ARE teaching Madarin as a language now. There are also many Chinese schools held in evenings and weekends teaching it as well. Both of my kids (10 and 6), my wife and I attend.

Mr. Yang:
I admired your learning spirit. Excellent role model.

Chinese is being taught to all First Graders at Shaker Heights Elementary Schools at Shaker Heights, OH. USA

Preach it, Brandi!

It is sad but not surprising that at least one commenter took an article celebrating individuals who are eager to learn another language and took it as a rallying cry for English-only ignorance and hate.

Cultural pluralism is the way of the future, Travis, and Spanish was being spoken in Arizona and California long before non-Hispanic whites planted their flags there.

We can either embrace new combinations and other modes of living or be reduced to imponent whining on the internet and talk radio.

Mr. Yang’s attitude and zeal toward life should indeed be a great example for us all…..

I just have to echo what Travis said… The Hispanic population as
we see them, just refuse to learn English, and we are even denied
some jobs because we cannot speak Spanish … I still believe the
immigrant thing would be less of a problem if they were REQUIRED
to learn English to get a job and a driver’s license!!

Yes, many people in China (and many many other countries) want to learn English. Isn’t it ironic that many people in the U.S. cannot speak proper English (”I don’t know nothing”), or as many others have said, immigrants – illegal and legal – in states bordering Mexico, do not bother to try to learn English. I know that many of these immigrants are busy working and time is scare, but if you really want to learn English, you will make the effort.

Glad that Mandarin is being taught in the States. I’m reminded of somebody that was taking Mandarin was asked “Why?” The reply was “Why not?”

Throughout my travels throughout Eastern Europe, China, and other Asian countries, young and old alike many times want to ‘practice’ their English with me! Great for them!

This is one of the positive outcomes of Beijing Olympics – the voluntering spirit.

Isn’t it ironic how liberals can find an excuse to express self-loathing in every situation ?

I always wanted to learn Russian, Japanese, and Mandarin but my only options in school were French, Spanish, or German. I did end up studying Spanish for four years (paying off a little bit now) but would have preferred Chinese.

Travis and Paul Anthony Maglaya: Do you guys know why the Chinese are learning English like crazy?

When 98% of the population in Arizona and California become Spanish speaking (in less than 50 years), English speakers from America can come to China to live. Or, welcome to India (where English is already the official language).

does the gold medals are actual gold? or they are just “gold colored”?

because Chinese want to communicate to the world and show our culture to all over the world. we wanna peace and understanding each other to avoid misunderstanding.

a lovely volunteer, a normal Chinese old man with great passion to welcome all the foreign friends, like his smileee, that’s harmony, our world needs harmony, peaceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Food Shortage:

Do you know why the world is learning Chinese like crazy?

China is learning English like crazy as during the last years of its feudal society and many of the first years of its establishment, the doors to anywhere outside the country was closed. The country was ravaged by opium and war, and general hostilities towards the west were rampant. These conditions brought China to almost a halt in development. Which was a strong contrast to older eras in feudal China, when the Chinese have always been a prominent power in the world, whether ruled by Mongolian, Manchurian, or Han emperors. When the Chinese did open the borders again, the language of the dominating players on the global level was English. China, at that moment in time, with less resources and assets in comparsion with the English speaking nations, had to learn the language to be able to trade and partner with the world.

Now, however, as China steadily rises to power, many foreigners see Chinese as the new essential language to learn as they do want to be partners with and have trades within China.

It’s all about power. The language spoken by the people with the most assets, resources, and promise is the language that people will learn. At this moment in time, that language is Chinese.

Of course, there are still the individuals who just have a passion for languages, and for those individuals, I truely envy your scholarly spirit.

Hey Travis, do let us all know how your Lakota Sioux or other Native American language skills are.

Keith, Lakota Sioux speaks English. Therefore, Travis speaks Lakota Sioux. He can tell you they are the same thing. If the Tibet is free, Americans are going to speak Tibetan and Dalai Lama is already speak English, way ahead of the rest of China.

Marshies,

Yes, economic and commercial weight, and the political, cultural and military power of a country can inspire others to want to learn that country’s language. And on the whole, I’d say it’s a good thing that more people outside China are learning Chinese. One out of every six people in the world is Chinese, and China is indeed regaining its historical role as a major power in the world. Moreover, this time China seems less inclined or less able to be isolationist, which it often was in the past.

That said, the Chinese are also right to want to learn English. Aside from being the primary language of the world’s largest economic power, it is the lingua franca of large parts of the world, in particular of India. This situation is unlikely to change anytime soon, although it could change over the very long term. In the end, though English has one major advantage over Chinese. English is easier to learn – having an alphabet means you only have to learn 26 characters to be able to read and become literate in English. To be literate even in basic Chinese one has to be able to recognize on sight something like 2000 pictogram characters, many of which are not readily distinguishable from others. The language would be much more readily learned if they switch to an alphabetic system, but doing so could be seen as a repudiation of China’s own cultural legacy.

Food Shortage:

English is not “the” official language of India. It is one of fourteen or fifteen official languages in a country that is extremely polyglot. Since Indian independence, the official policy of the national government has been to promote Hindi as the national language, and to gradually move away from English until it was no longer necessary. It has not worked out that way for practical and political reasons. On the political level, although Hindi is the largest siingle language in India by number of speakers, people who speak other languages in India do not like the idea of yielding cultural/political supremacy to Hindi. English is less objectionable because the English are no longer the rulers in India, and the English language is seen as being relatively neutral ground among the competing linguistic groups in India. The practical side is that among India’s elite and the rising middle class, English is seen as the language of economic necessity and success. Therefore they send their children to English language schools, or find other ways to ensure that they learn English. This tends to be a self-reinforcing trend.

I do agree with Travis and El Dragon that people live here should speak English, no matter how they got into this country. English should be the only official language for States. Otherwise there could be a lot problems late on. Think over the Quebec for Canadian.

Which one of the 2008 olympic competitors speaks the most languages?