American teenager Thomas Cheatham had planned to study Latin during his sophomore year at Hebron High School in Texas. But when he learned that the school district was going to offer a Mandarin class, he quickly changed his mind. "I thought it (Mandarin) would be more beneficial than Latin," said Cheatham, who is now in his second year of studying the language. He speaks Mandarin to order food at Chinese restaurants and can read Face book posts from his Chinese-speaking friends. While it'a difficult language to master, the high school junior, who plans to study computer engineering, thinks it will be a valuable thing in his career. "Chinese is a good language to know, especially with China becoming a growing power," he said. Many experts agree that proficiency in a language spoken by a billion people worldwide will give American students an edge in the global economy. "People are looking at China as our next economic competitor, and interest in Mandarin is growing,'' said Marty Abbott, executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of  Foreign Languages. ''We're seeing it in all parts of the country." The number of students studying Mandarin in public schools nationwide in grades 7 through 12 grew from 20,000 in 2004-2005 to 60,000 three years later, according to the council's most recent survey. Abbott estimates that as many as 100,000 students are now studying Mandarin, in public and private schools, throughout the nation. She said the US government has considered Mandarin to be an "important needs" language and provides professional development programs for teachers. "Our government wants to increase our language ability for national security and economic competitiveness," Abbott said. At the same time, the Chinese government is spreading knowledge of the Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes established in many states. The Confucius Institute at the University of Texas in Dallas, founded in 2007, opens Confucius Classrooms at 11 local public and private schools where more than 700 students are learning Mandarin. Why does Mandarin become so popular in America?
Because Mandarin is more interesting than Latin. Because there are many good teachers in the Confucius Institutes. Because Mandarin is very helpful in the global economy. Because the Chinese government has tried his best.