The phrase Ni hao ma? may not be understood by the average American, but to more than 1 billion Chinese, it simply means “How are you?”

A growing number of U.S. students are paying careful attention to the language barrier, however, as China continues its pursuit to the top of the economic ladder, recently overtaking Britain’s No. 4 position as the largets global economy.

John Wong, associate professor of marketing, said he has seen a big surge in interest among his students in learning to speak Chinese.

“I always encourage people to expand their horizons,” Wong said.

“Learning another language helps them to appreciate and understand the differences in language and culture.”

Wong speaks English and Malay, in addition to several dialects of Chinese.

The Chinese department at Iowa State added an entry-level course this year to meet the increased demand, and plans to add another in the fall. In addition, the class sizes have been inflated to 20 students, as opposed to the recommended 12.

Edward Bulliner, junior in chemical engineering, has been taking Chinese since he was in eighth grade.

“I debated whether or not to pursue it in college, but decided it would help me in the future,” he said.

“I’ve learned a lot about the Chinese culture, but also how to understand various other cultures.”

The recent interest in foreign languages has also been provoking action at a national level. President Bush launched a proposal earlier this month called the National Security Language Initiative, which aims to “strengthen national security and prosperity in the 21st century through education, especially in developing foreign language skills.”

Chinese is one of the languages labeled as, “critical need” through this plan, which would use the requested $114 million to implement programs in classrooms as young as kindergarten in the United States.

Arabic, Russian, Hindi and Farsi languages also made the “critical need” list.

According to the Web site for the Department of Education, only about 24,000 (.00008 percent) elementary and secondary school children in the United States are studying Chinese, but more than 200 million (approximately 15 percent) Chinese children study English.

There are no Chinese classes being offered through the Ames school district, and only a business or engineering minor in Chinese studies is available to students at Iowa State.

Ames High School principal Mike McGrory said one of the biggest obstacles schools are facing right now is finding certified instructors.

Aili Mu, assistant professor of Chinese, hopes that the option for a Chinese major will come within the next few years.

“The visibility of China in all aspects of life has been a big factor in the growing cultural influence,” she said.

“[Learning Chinese] will help prepare students for the global environment of tomorrow.”