Sweden eyes Chinese lessons in schools

Andrew Ward:

Sweden could become the first country in Europe to offer Chinese lessons to all schoolchildren under plans floated by the Swedish education minister.

Jan Björklund said giving future generations access to Chinese language tuition was crucial to national competitiveness.

"Chinese will be much more important, from an economic perspective, than French or Spanish," he told the Dagens Industri newspaper.

Other western countries have also started introducing Chinese to school curriculums in recognition of China's growing global role, but Mr Björklund's plan aims to put Sweden ahead of the pack.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 9, 2011 4:08 AM
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