24 février 2013
The global language of influence
By Anne Corbett. When asked in 1898 what was the most decisive event in modern history, German statesman Otto von Bismarck is reputed to have said: The fact that North Americans speak English. Recently Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard effectively answered the same question for the global age. She has brought to fruition a strategy that her Mandarin-speaking predecessor, Kevin Rudd, advocated back in 1994. This is to give all Australian students access to at least one ‘priority’ Asian language: Mandarin, Hindi, Japanese or Bahasa Indonesian, throughout their years of schooling. The aim is that a third of all Australian civil servants and directors of leading public companies should have a ‘deep knowledge’ of Asia by 2025.. Read more...
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