Beijing, China -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/10/2010 -- Americans have never shown much desire to learn foreign languages. In fact, to the rest of the world the United States is a country that seems to expect anyone crossing its borders to be immediately fluent in English. But small signs of change are now visible on the horizon.

The demand for Chinese language instruction is rising rapidly in the United States, and worldwide. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Chinese Ministry of Education predicts that over 100 million people around the world will be taking Chinese lessons by the end of this year (2010).

In order to capitalize on the demand for Chinese language training in the United States, Beijing based Athena’s Higher Learning Center, with financing provided by the American Independent Capital Group (AICG) and Sam Arnold, plans to open 8 branch schools in the USA in the next two years. The first school, in Orange County California, will open in mid-2010 and feature certified teachers of Mandarin and Chinese culture (Confucianism).

Following on the heels of the Orange County center Athena’s will open Higher Learning Centers in the states of Washington and New York, and in other cities in California.

While the Chinese government has taken an active role in promoting Chinese language instruction by establishing Confucius Institutes around the world, and supplying Chinese teachers (and paying up to half of their salaries) to schools throughout America. But many of these efforts have not been rewarded, in part because of a lack of cultural understanding. China's teaching materials do not address matters of second-language acquisition, according to the director of San Francisco State University's Confucius Institute. As for teachers from China, "they don't understand teaching and learning in the US."

This lack of understanding has created the opening for Athena’s Higher Learning Center, which employs teachers familiar with western management practices, teaching/learning methods, and culture.

In China, Athena’s Higher Learning Center prepares students for entry into degree programs at universities in the USA, Great Britain, and Australia. For the Centers in the United States, the opposite will be provided. In addition to basic Chinese language instruction, Athena’s has developed programs to assist American students wishing to study in China. A full program of language acquisition, assistance in school selection, and aid with enrolment in Chinese universities will be offered.