26 The Linguist Vol/59 No/1 2020
ciol.org.uk/tl
Has the Mandarin Excellence Programme achieved its goal of
having 5,000 pupils on track to fluency by 2020, asks Jody Gee
The Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) was launched
in September 2016 with the aim of ensuring that at least
5,000 pupils would be on track to achieving fluency by
2020. So as we reach that crucial date, just how well has
this intensive programme of study fared? It began with 14
schools who were already experienced in teaching
Chinese and had a well-developed Chinese curriculum.
Since then, it has expanded considerably. In 2017 there
were 37 schools, in 2018 this grew to 65 schools and by
2019 there were 75 schools across the country.
Students on the MEP have eight hours of Mandarin
study each week, which consists of teacher-taught
classroom lessons, enrichment activities and self-study,
with intensive courses in China and the UK, both in
school and at UK universities including the UCL IOE
Confucius Institute for Schools (IOE CI). The aim is for
students to complete their GCSE, A-level and IB
Standard qualifications in the language, and eventually
reach level 5 of the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK).
The Department for Education (DfE) scheme,
delivered in partnership with the British Council, also
aims to train a sufficient number of teachers to support
it; embed effective, sustainable teaching practices that
will continue to increase the number of pupils studying
Mandarin beyond the life of the programme; and give
pupils an immersive experience of China through digital
media, UK university support and visits to China.
Mandarin is a priority for the DfE because it has been
identified as one of the most important languages for
the UK's future prosperity. As the most spoken language
in the world, it connects speakers to an exciting and
dynamic culture, as well as boosting career opportunities
and international employment prospects. Speaking
Mandarin gives students a skills set that is much sought-
after among UK businesses and held by only 1% of the
British population.
When it joined the MEP, the Anglo European School
had already been teaching Chinese for 22 years, along
with eight other languages, including Spanish, Russian
and Arabic. Unlike other students at the school, for
whom the study of two languages is compulsory to
GCSE, MEP pupils learn Chinese as a single language
Gaining excellence
VARIED ACTIVITIES
Pupils of the Anglo
European School
learn Chinese in the
classroom (main
image); and (below)
perform a traditional
fan dance as part of the
school's celebrations
for Chinese New Year
