Chicago Students to Receive Free Chinese Classes

TRENDING: Tech Brief (Nov. 3): Nexperia Halts Wafer Supply to Its China Plant; Nexperia Halts Wafer Supply to Chinese Unit Amid Deepening Spat

LATEST: Nexperia Halts Wafer Supply to Chinese Unit Amid Deepening Spat; Tech Brief (Nov. 3): Nexperia Halts Wafer Supply to Its China Plant; Tech Brief (Oct. 31): China Launches $7.2 Billion Fund for Strategic Industries; GPT Weekly: OpenAI Completes Restructuring; Tech Brief (Oct. 30): Nvidia Becomes First Tech Firm to Top $5 Trillion Market Cap; Former China Unicom Executive Gets 12 Years for Taking $3.8 Million in Bribes; Tech Brief (Oct. 29): China Unveils Five-Year Plan to Foster Emerging, Future Industries; Huawei’s Bold AI Bet Aims to Fill Nvidia’s Void in China; China’s STAR Market Embraces Unprofitable Tech With $14.6 Billion ESWIN Debut; China Mobile Names China Unicom Chief as New Chairman; MiniMax Unveils M2 Model to Compete on Speed and Cost; Pony AI, WeRide Seek to Raise Combined $1.3 Billion in Hong Kong; Tech Brief (Oct. 28): Meituan Releases Open-Source Video Generation Model; Tech Brief (Oct. 27): Huawei EV Partner Seres Unveils Hong Kong IPO Plan; Tech Brief (Oct. 24): China Vows to Accelerate Tech Self-Reliance; Tech Brief (Oct. 23): China Cracks Down on Smart Devices Over Data Violations; Chinese Firms Urged to Fortify Online Brands as Cybersquatting Costs Mount; Tech Brief (Oct. 16): China’s Tech Minister Meets With Apple CEO; China Debuts Ultrafast Oscilloscope in Drive to Break Tech Barriers; Tech Brief (Oct. 15): Google to Invest $15 Billion in India for AI Hub

By Noelle Mateer / Dec 17, 2018 10:47 AM / Society & Culture

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said VIPKid will offer Chicago public school students free Chinese courses. Photo: VCG

Kids at Chicago Public Schools are about to get a lot better at Mandarin.

Beijing-based online education giant VIPKid will offer public school students in Chicago free online courses as well as a “virtual pen pal program with students in China,” Chicago’s Office of the Mayor announced Thursday.

VIPKid, whose backers include basketball star Kobe Bryant, has had success among teachers in the U.S. who use the online platform to remotely tutor Chinese students in English. Now they’re flipping the script with their Mandarin-learning platform, called Lingo Bus.

More than 10,000 students at public schools in Chicago currently study Mandarin, the statement said.

Share this article

Open WeChat and scan the QR code