Mandarin Chinese is the second most spoken language in the world, but currently, less than 1% of US children under the age of 17 are learning it. LingoAce, a leading Mandarin Chinese language learning platform, takes an innovative approach to create a fun, engaging educational experience for students with gamified lessons taught 1-on-1 by certified teachers.
In November 2021, LingoAce reached out to 5,000 American parents of children under 18 to understand the state of foreign language learning, specifically, how children are learning and the key drivers for learning Mandarin Chinese.
The Market
In the US today, there are 73 million children under the age of 18¹, but only 20% of them are learning a world language.² Furthermore, LingoAce estimates that only 3.5% of these children are learning Chinese (approximately 420K total). Based on results from the survey, their parents spend just under $1 billion on after-school Chinese language learning per year.
Rising Popularity
Over the past ten years, interest in learning Mandarin Chinese has been on the rise. This is evident from the growing number of US-based Mandarin immersion programs and the increasing prevalence of non-heritage learners. Non-heritage learners are those who do not have Chinese ancestry. However, this growth has not been equitable across the country. 10 states represent nearly 95% of all Mandarin immersion schools- Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
The survey found that many non-heritage parents are interested in fostering cross-cultural education and acknowledge that Chinese is a global language that will open career prospects for children.
The number of US-based Mandarin Chinese immersion programs since the 2009-2010 school year 3 has grown 16% annually.
Of those aged 3-17 learning Mandarin, 55% identify as heritage and 45% identify as non-heritage. The leading reasons for wanting a child to learn Mandarin Chinese are:
prevalence of Chinese as a global language
better career prospects
staying close to heritage/culture
Online v. Offline The COVID-19 pandemic has driven increased adoption of online learning solutions. Learning a language online is a more affordable, convenient, and flexible solution for learners and parents.
Nearly 2/3rds of children learning Chinese are leveraging an online solution, with online adoption significantly higher among non-heritage learners.
About LingoAce
LingoAce is a leading Mandarin Chinese language learning platform that takes an innovative approach to create a fun, engaging educational experience for students. LingoAce features gamified lessons taught 1-on-1 by certified teachers.
Sources:
1: US Census (2019 ACS 1-Year Estimates)
2: American Councils for International Education
3: Mandarin Immersion Parents Council
