Above: St Kitts (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Mandarin Chinese is now being taught in high schools in St Kitts, the government announced this week.

The language is being taught in afternoon sessions at the Washington Archibald High and the Basseterre High School.

Lesley Wang, who taught English to students in Taiwan, along with Mandarin Chinese to foreign graduate students, said she will be teaching local students the basics of the language.

“I hope to give the students another way to understand this world,” she said. “I think it’s going pretty well. I like my students here. They are very enthusiastic and very interested in the lessons. Overall, I think they are doing great.”

She said that with the rise of China, Mandarin will become another common language used around the world. Also, with the number of St Kitts and Nevis students heading to Taiwan to study, it will come in handy in the future.

“I think it’s good for them to have some basic knowledge of the language before they go to Taiwan to study,” she said.

St Kitts and Nevis has diplomatic relations and a strong working relationship with Taiwan.