Utah parents see future opportunities in learning Chinese

Utah's Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program now serves nearly 12,000 students in grades 1 through 12 across 98 schools. Many parents believe that learning Chinese will give their children an advantage and open up more opportunities in the future.

Launched in 2009, the program followed state legislation passed a year earlier to provide financial support for bilingual education. Stacy Lyon, director of the Utah Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program, said more local parents are recognizing the value of learning Chinese as they prepare their children for the future.