As China's influence grows, many students in the US are working hard to learn Chinese. Parents and education experts   in the US think Chinese speakers may have greater chances. The number of schools that teach Chinese has grown. Ten years ago, only about 300 schools in the US had Chinese lessons. Today, about 1,600 schools teach Chinese. Lomond Elementary School   in Ohio is one of them. Each week, all students in grades one through five have a one-hour Chinese class. They learn the language through songs, games and lots of talking. "We're trying to make students interested in the language," teacher James told Times for Kids. "We think it's really important that all children receive these lessons," he says. "We'd like to do even more." "Schools are looking to the future," says Nancy, a US education expert. "China is becoming a really powerful country. Young people should not only know the language but understand the culture." Students may not be thinking about the future, but they think learning Chinese language and culture is fun. "We wish we could go to China one day." said Karl and his classmate, Walt, from Miami. More than 40 million foreigners around the world are studying Chinese. About 50,000 people in the US are learning the language. Chinese has become the second most spoken foreign language in the US after Spanish. _  is an American education expert.
James Nancy Karl Walt