{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog","title":"Should Your Child Be Learning Mandarin?","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Qt0FrGtvlC\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/should-your-child-be-learning-mandarin\/\">Should Your Child Be Learning Mandarin?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/should-your-child-be-learning-mandarin\/embed\/#?secret=Qt0FrGtvlC\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Should Your Child Be Learning Mandarin?&#8221; &#8212; Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" data-secret=\"Qt0FrGtvlC\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";var e=!1,o=!1;if(l.querySelector)if(d.addEventListener)e=!0;if(d.wp=d.wp||{},!d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var r,a,i,s=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),n=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),c=0;c<n.length;c++)n[c].style.display=\"none\";for(c=0;c<s.length;c++)if(r=s[c],e.source===r.contentWindow){if(r.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message){if(1e3<(i=parseInt(t.value,10)))i=1e3;else if(~~i<200)i=200;r.height=i}if(\"link\"===t.message)if(a=l.createElement(\"a\"),i=l.createElement(\"a\"),a.href=r.getAttribute(\"src\"),i.href=t.value,o.test(i.protocol))if(i.host===a.host)if(l.activeElement===r)d.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",t,!1),d.addEventListener(\"load\",t,!1);function t(){if(!o){o=!0;for(var e,t,r,a=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf(\"MSIE 10\"),i=!!navigator.userAgent.match(\/Trident.*rv:11\\.\/),s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),n=0;n<s.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=s[n]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+=\"#?secret=\"+r,t.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",r);if(a||i)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute(\"security\"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:r},\"*\")}}}}(window,document);\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/ptb-fb-profpic2-1.jpg","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"description":"Reports in the NY Times and elsewhere point to the rise of Chinese language instruction in our schools, against the backdrop of the demise of language learning in general. People justify this rush to Chinese by referring to the growth of the Chinese economy. The US government has declared Chinese a \"critical language.\" How realistic is this Chinese boom, and will it last? Here is a reality check. While there are around 40 - 50 million Spanish speakers in the US, there are only 2 million Chinese speakers. However, most of these Chinese speakers speak Cantonese, so students studying Mandarin would not have many native speakers to practice with, even assuming that some would learn to speak."}