WhydoyoulearnChinese 　　Chinaisnotonlyoneoftheworld’soldestandrichestcontinuouscultures,over5000yearsold,butalsothemostpopulousnationintheworld,with1.28billionpeople. 　　OnefifthoftheplanetspeaksChinese.MandarinChineseisthemothertongueofover873millionpeople,makingitthemostwidelyspokenfirstlanguageintheworld. 　　InadditiontothePeople’sRepublicofChinaandTaiwan,MandarinChineseisalsospokenintheimportantandinfluentialChinesecommunitiesofIndonesia,Thailand,Malaysia,Singapore,Brunei,thePhilippines,andMongolia.ChinaisthesecondlargesteconomyintheworldandoneoflargesttradingpartnersoftheUnitedStates.ManyUScompaniesdobusinessinChinaandhavelong-terminvestmentsthere. 　　Chineseisimportantforyourcareerinthefuture!Internationalbusinessesprefertohirepeoplewhospeakmorethanonelanguage.Chinahasbecomeahugemarket,andbusinessleadersarelookingforpeoplewhocanspeakChineseandoperatesuccessfullyinaChineseculturalcontext.KnowingChinesemaygiveyouanedgewhencompetingforanimportantposition. 　　Chinawillplayamajorroleinworldaffairsinthefuture.AsChinanowhasopeneduptotheWest,thereareopportunitiesforemploymentinallareas.ChinaisawonderfulcountryinwhichtoteachEnglishwhiledevelopingyourlanguageandculturalskills.Theexperienceisgreat,andit’ssomethingyouwillneverforget.