With one quarter of Western Australia's economic activity dependent on the trading relationship with China, it is little wonder schools are choosing to teach Mandarin over other languages.
That is exactly what Lakelands Primary School is doing, using an innovative approach to connect classrooms with native-speaking teachers in China.
The school is part of a language and culture program, My Chinese Teacher (MCT), running live lessons with year 3 and 4 classes weekly.
Lakelands Primary School assistant principal L'ticia Howes oversees the program.
"Technology is a massive engagement tool for students when used correctly and taking them beyond the four walls of the classroom really gives them a global perspective," she said.
"We wanted our students to embrace a language and one that could open opportunities for the future. Chinese is the obvious choice, especially here in WA."
MCT co-founder Tom Shugg said they are teaching over 25,000 students weekly and believes it will only continue.
"With the Chinese middle class growing at unprecedented levels and technology becoming more and more accessible, we think the appetite for schools to learn more about China will only grow," he said.
"A key focus for us is to engage students and make learning a language interesting and fun, something that's been lacking from language programs for decades across the country."
With over 40 teachers based in China, My Education Group also teaches at schools in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand.
