Learn Yu Wen Learn Chinese language and culture.

Photo: Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

With change comes opportunity. The NY Times has posted an article on how Chinese language learning is growing in American schools. And not just at the college level. Primary (K-12) schools are adopting Chinese teachers at increasing rates.

If you are a Chinese teacher looking for supplemental income, see our Jobs section. We're always looking for writers. If you'd like to post to our blog to gain exposure, simply signup for free and begin writing. Paid opportunities exist for qualified writers.

As children, many of us had the option of learning Spanish, Italian, or French. Times have changed in the last few decades. For one, Eastern European schoolchildren are no longer learning Russian after the fall of the Soviet Union. And while that has happened, China has emerged to be a major player worldwide. Not only are more people learning Chinese for geopolitical reasons such as bankers, investors, and businessmen, but many are learning for cultural reasons. 

Young students learning Chinese today will have a wealth of possibilities open to them when they grow up. Chinese music and movies will be exported in the future as American Hollywood has in the past.

Chinatown is a bountiful marketplace for shoppers. The smaller vendors offer many unique and one of a kind handmade items. And while they may seem expensive, don't be too shy to bargain. Bargaining is a favorite among many Chinese. Consumer Reports has a great guide to bargaining.

Upong seeing an item, point to it and say:
"Duo shao qian?"
How much? 

A typical rule may be to start anywhere from 10% to 30% of the asking price and work up from there. Don't be afraid of losing an opportunity. Some items like jewelry are handmade on a regular basis by vendors. The same styles may be sold for a number of weeks.

Gizmodo blogged today about how eBooks are shaking up the traditional print publishing industry. There are some important points of note. If you are looking to better understand the tumultuous pace of an emerging industry, read on. Ransacked by the internet and teetering on the edge of the real ebook revolution, the publishing world is understandably afraid of what's next. But their skittish plans to shoehorn digital books into the old publishing cycle are stupid. And doomed.http://gizmodo.com/5422571/books-and-the-itunes-problem

• Customers are expecting lower and lower prices for ebooks. Wallmart and price wars are contributing to this.
• There's a danger that customers will not see the value of the product, and therefore won't be willing to pay as much as they did for paper books.
• Traditional paper-based business models are being applied to the new electronic products. These old models won't work and the publishers will suffer if they don't find new business models. The music industry has made this mistake, and still is.

So in response to this, publishers of electronic media such as us have new opportunities.

• As you can see in our pricing list, electronic media can be purchased at great discounts over printed materials. This gives students a more affordable option.
• We will continue to focus intensely on the quality and value of our journals and other products. If we're not acheiving this, please let us know. Send us your comments, thoughts, and suggestions.
• Unlike traditional views on intellectual property, we're working on plans to SPREAD information, not to control it. This benefits not just our customers, but the Chinese learning community at large.

If you're a high school student, now is the time to get a scholarship to study abroad in a variety of countries.

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is a unique program that teaches languages most students do not have opportunities to learn in high school, but are rapidly becoming critical to know, especially when preparing for careers in many different fields. Sponsored by the Department of State, NSLI-Y is designed to increase American citizens' capacity to engage foreign governments and peoples through the critical languages of Arabic, Mandarin, Persian, Hindi, Korean, Russian and Turkish.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/34024798/

As always, Learn Yu Wen is your guide beyond the classroom in Chinese language and cultural studies. Consider subscribing to our monthly eBook. You'll find plenty of helpful exercises and useful tips.

Practice your Chinese with the upcoming Christmas holiday season. An upcoming sneak preview of one of our many ebooks is being given to our audience. This sneak peak is one of many helpful ways Learn Yu Wen is helping you to learn Chinese language and culture. Our Chinese language blog is another great tool to bookmark.

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