在美国，外语学习的前景大概在芝加哥的一所小学里可见一二—在这间课室里，樱桃花灯笼和熊猫灯笼在头顶上垂挂着；一条纸龙、一面美国国旗和一面中国国旗高挂墙上。
　　最近一个早上，一班三年级的学生互相鞠躬并且用汉语自我介绍，一班四年级的学生在白板上练习用汉字写数字。该学校的汉语班在今年2月开办，但比起西班牙语，现在已有更多学生选择学习汉语。
　　得到中美政府的鼓励，全美的学校正扩大它们的语言教程，把汉语包括在内—这门世界上最多人说，却又最难学的语言之一。
　　美国的汉语语言课程数目，从小学到成年课程，在近十年来增至3倍。专家估计，在美国的中小学里，约有5万名学生正在学习汉语。他们当中很多是来自拥有许多美籍华裔学生的城市，如纽约和旧金山。很多学生在放学后或周末上汉语课。
　　
　　Chinese Classes Are Growing in the US
　　by Gretchen Guethling
　　
　　The future of foreign language study in the United States might be glimpsed^[一瞥] here at an elementary school^[小学] in Chicago in a classroom where lanterns^[灯笼] with cherry^[樱桃] blossoms and pandas dangle^[悬垂] overhead; a paper dragon^[龙], an American flag and a Chinese flag hang from the wall.
　　On one recent morning, a class of third graders bowed^[鞠躬] to one another and introduced themselves in Chinese. A class of fourth graders practiced writing numbers in Chinese characters on marker boards. Chinese classes began here in February, but more students are already choosing it over Spanish.
　　With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments, schools across the US are expanding^[扩大] their language offerings^[课程] to include Chinese, the world’s most spoken tongue, but one of the most difficult languages to learn.
　　The number of Chinese language programs around the US, from elementary school through adult programs, has tripled^[增三倍] in the last ten years. Up to 50,000 students are studying Chinese in elementary and secondary schools in the US, experts estimate^[估计]. Many are in cities like New York and San Francisco that have large number of Chinese American students. Many students take lessons after school or on weekends.