THERE’S little doubt that learning a second or third language is an increasingly valuable skill to have.

But as the world changes and new markets emerge it would seem that the traditional European languages such as French, German or Spanish are no longer enough.

Instead, schools are having to look further afield for languages such as Mandarin to give their pupils an edge in life.

But finding Mandarin language teachers in the UK is not always so easy, which is why one Worcester company has come up with an online computer programme to teach children, teachers and businesses the language that is becoming so important to the worldwide economy today.

But one language school in Worcester may have the answer and has invited a city company that specialises in online teaching of the language a chance to showcase the site it runs and give pupils a taster of the language.

Launched in June last year, the website link-global.com, led by Irene Leung of Friar Street, Worcester, allows people to see and hear video and sound clips presenting both words and phrases, as well as animation clips that demonstrate how to write Chinese characters.

In the last few months the company has developed the site so people can not only find out about the Chinese culture, but schools can also benefit from a series of lessons.

Ms Leung’s business partner Ian Morris, a retired judge, said: “Most schools at the moment are offering just the modern foreign languages, such as French, German, Italian and Spanish. But we believe they have to look more broadly and take on board the need for pupils to learn Mandarin.”

Mr Morris said state schools often did not have the funding to employ a teacher, which was why the new programme could be the answer.

Ms Leung said: “Since we set up last year with the website, we have helped lots of people start speaking a bit of Mandarin.

“But now we have also developed a series of lessons. Our asset language breakthrough level lessons lead to an OCR qualification, which is the equivalent to key stage two in the national curriculum.”

The lessons have an audio and video section, which has an interactive tool developed by link-global to help people with listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

“Everything is there in the system, and these are the skills they will need to learn the language,” said Ms Leung.

In schools, the tool can be used within a lesson, with teachers being given the chance to learn themselves before they teach the children. The company also offers support, such as introductory visits to the school to ensure the system is running smoothly, or can even provide a direct link to the classroom via the internet to give initial guidance to teachers and their pupils.

At the Christopher Whitehead Language College in St John’s, Worcester, a classroom of 14 and 15-year-olds gave the system a try with the help of Ms Leung, who is herself Hong Kong Chinese, and their Mandarin coordinator Lizzy Chu. Ms Leung said: “The advantage of our system is that as it is online, children and teachers can learn in the classroom, then once they are home, they are able to go online again and then go over the day’s lessons. So they can go home and practise it as much as they like, perhaps do about 10 to 15 minutes in an evening.”

In just an hour at the Worcester school, Miss Chu was able to teach the children how to write in simple Chinese characters, as well as say who they were, their age and a selection of phrases.

She said: “It is great to see children pick it up so quickly and easily and it just shows that with a bit of guidance they can do it.”

Juliet Farmer, lead teacher of modern languages at the school, said they were considering running the course as an extra-curricular activity at the school, and the pupils had really enjoyed the taster lesson.

“I think it’s a really great system and it would be great as a teaching aid. They learnt the language really quickly today and this is just another way of learning. It is a good way for them to learn another language,” she said.

Robert Wootton, aged 14, said: “I think it is a really good idea and it’s been really helpful for our learning and it is nice to be able to say some words in Mandarin which we didn’t know before.”

Link-global is hoping that there is more take-up of the new course from schools around Worcestershire.

“What we are very happy to do is take a trial to a school to show them how well it works and how the lesson can be fitted into the school day. The problem has been that there aren’t enough teachers of Mandarin.

“But with linkage between the school and Miss Chu via the webcam, we can provide the vital first introductory steps for schools to learn Mandarin,” Mr Morris said.

For a course of nine lessons plus a free pronunciation lesson, interactive tests for reading and writing together with 18 practice lessons – all of which you can directly access to for 12 months – costs £26.99. For more information, visit link-global.com or e-mail reception@link-global.com