Mandarin,theofficiallanguageofChina,issuddenlyhotinAmericanschools.WiththerapiddevelopmentofChina’seconomyinthe21thcentury,bothpublicandprivateschoolsinAmericaarescramblingtoaddMandarintotheircurriculaofforeignlanguagesorexpandingChineselanguageprogramsalreadyinplace.Bysomeestimates,asmanyas50000childrennationwidearetakingMandarininAmericanschools.TodevelopChinese-languageprogramshasmetsomedifficulties.Ashortageofprofessionallytrainedteacherswithcertificateshasmadeitdifficultforsomeschoolstojointhecompetition.Whenschoolsneedtoemployteachers,theyoftenrecruitthemfromChinadirectly,whichisahiddentroubleforcultureclash.