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TIMEasia Magazine: Get Ahead, Learn Mandarin Get Ahead, Learn Mandarin China s economic rise means the world has a new second language—and it isn t English Is It Too Late to Try Adults have a much harder time learning a second language, studies show—but it s not impossible Essay: A Humbling Experience For TIME s Beijing correspondent, learning Mandarin is an ongoing pursuit Homework Some tools to get started The Tone s the Thing How a sound is made in Mandarin changes its meaning Italy vs. China A cautionary tale of globalization [12/05/2005] China s New Revolution The Dragon Wakes [06/27/2005] Indicates premium content E-mail your letter to the editor ILLUSTRATION FOR TIME BY BRIAN STAUFFER Get Ahead, Learn Mandarin China s economic rise means the world has a new second language—and it isn t English By Austin Ramzy Posted Monday, June 19, 2006; 20:00 HKT It s Friday night in Ikebukuro, a Tokyo entertainment district full of cheap bars and pachinko parlors. As the office workers head to their favorite watering holes, three salarymen split from the crowd and enter a decrepit building that stands between a karaoke lounge and a tavern. Ignoring the sounds of sirens, drunken crooning and breaking glass outside, Hidetoshi Seki, Takashi Kudo and Yuji Yano huddle in a tiny room just big enough for a table for four, and open their Chinese textbooks. For the next 50 minutes the trio, all from a small trading company, practice describing their favorite foods and hobbies in Mandarin. Despite their crumpled shirts and five o clock shadows, they are having a blast. The young female instructor at B-Chinese Language School indulges them as they crack jokes and make fun of each others muddled pronunciation. Their language classes are the first lessons that any of them have taken since childhood, says Yano, 39. "We sort of un...