QUINCY, ILL. -- An adjunct professor at John Wood Community College in Quincy says more then 16,000 U.S. businesses have some sort of interest in mainland China.
Because of that interest, the community college has decided to offer an elementary Mandarin Chinese language course that will start during the fall semester.
Cindy Wu Williams grew up in Taiwan and has lived in the Tri-State area for the last 20 years. Now Williams is going back to her roots as she will teach the elementary Mandarin Chinese language course.
"Just like taking any foreign language, it requires hard work from both the instructor and students. I would be really honored of the students could think of me as their GPS during class time," said Williams.
She said she's going to take the class through the basics of learning a new language. Everything from the new alphabet, to speaking, to listening and even learning more about Chinese etiquette and culture. It will all be included in the class.
Williams feels with so many companies wanting to do business with their China counterparts, learning basic Mandarin Chinese will only enable them to compete globally and enhance their professional career.
"In this class, we will focus on listening, reading, writing and speaking. But the majority of the focus will be on speaking skills," Williams said.
And during the second semester, a follow-up class will be offered teaching more Chinese language and little more in depth.
For more information on this class, you can contact John Wood or visit their website at www.jwcc.edu.
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