英国家长：让自家娃学汉语最有竞争力！

Mandarin Chinese is the most useful non-European language for children to learn, UK parents believe.

英国的家长们认为中国的普通话对于自己的孩子们来说最实用的非欧洲语言。

It will boost their child's career prospects, according to 51%of parents, while 56% felt it would open their children's minds to an "exciting and dynamic" culture.

51%的英国家长认为学习汉语能够拓宽孩子的就业前景，而56%的英国家长认为学习汉语能够打开孩子们对于充满活力的中国文化的思路。

Arabic and Japanese, which both picked by 14% of parents, were the other key non-European languages.

只有14%的家长们选择了阿拉伯语和日语作为孩子学习的非欧洲语言。

The figures were gained after 1,138 UK adults with children aged under 18 were questioned in a Populus survey commissioned by the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP).

这些数据来自于对1138位孩子尚未成年的家长的问卷调查——该调查由“优秀普通话计划”制定。

French, Spanish and German were the top choices overall for young people in the UK to learn after being picked by 57%, 54% and 40% of parents respectively.

法语、西班牙语和德语是英国年轻家长们的首选，分别占57%、54%和40%。

Mark Herbert, of the British Council, said: "With the global economy becoming more interconnected and the drive to boost exports, language skills are increasingly vital for work and life.

英国文化委员会的马克·赫伯特说：“随着全球经济的连接日益紧密以及为了刺激出口，语言技能对于工作和生活来说都正变得越来越重要。”

"Mandarin Chinese is one of the languages that matter most to the UK's future prosperity.

“汉语是对于英国未来繁荣来说最为重要的语言之一。”

"If the UK is to remain competitive on the world stage, we need far more of our young people leaving school with a good grasp of Mandarin in order to successfully work abroad or for businesses here in the UK.

“如果英国想要在世界舞台上保持自己的竞争力，那么我们需要更多的年轻人在学校内学习并掌握汉语后，以此来适应在国外工作或在国内做生意。”

"Learning Mandarin is also a fascinating process that brings a valuable understanding of Chinese culture."

“学习汉语同样也是一个了解中国文化价值的有趣过程。”

The MEP aims to help at least 5,000 young people in England to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese by 2020.

“普通话优秀计划”计划在2020年之前帮助至少5000名英国学生流利使用普通话。