Mandarin classes open a world in Hub

Chinese is becoming increasingly popular in the nation’s urban schools, where educators hope the language will instill a global perspective in children whose life experiences often don’t extend beyond their city’s borders. And in many urban schools, students already speak languages at home that are traditionally the content of foreign-language programs.

Other than Chinese food and the cartoon “Ni Hao, Kai-Lan,’’ Gwen Manigault said, her son, Marcellus, and his 8-year-old sister had little exposure to other cultures before their first Chinese lessons at Boston Renaissance Charter School in Hyde Park. “There really hasn’t been an opportunity to get that’’ for them, she said in a phone interview.

She and her husband are “trying to pay for after-care and a mortgage, and that doesn’t leave much for traveling. I always thought they were going to get Spanish, but knowing the world is changing and becoming more global, I’m happy.’’

The Asia Society in New York City, which sponsors Chinese programs in 60 schools and districts nationwide, said it has seen more applications from urban and rural areas.

“We’ve definitely seen a very big shift because, let’s say 10 or more years ago, most students who were studying Chinese in the US were in one of two groups: heritage learners or students at more elite private schools,’’ said Chris Livaccari, the society’s associate director of education and Chinese language initiatives.

It’s critical that Boston schools teach non-Western languages in order for their students to compete with peers outside the district, said Yu-Lan Lin, director of the school system’s world language program. Students, she said, “really interact in their immediate environment. We want to expand their life experiences outside of Boston, and one way to do it is for them to study international cultures.’’