Room 12's class of excited nine-year-olds at Parnell District School are jostling for the chance to stand up and speak in another language.

They are enthusiastic, engaged and articulate - and could be laying an important foundation for their futures.

It's the weekly Mandarin lesson at this Parnell primary school and these children are taking turns to recount their own and then each other's family relationships. There is good natured teasing when the word for "older sister" is confused for "older brother" by one boy but mostly the pupils are focused and quick learners.

Their teacher allows them to slip into some English when they get confused but she mostly instructs in Mandarin and they respond.

Parnell is a pioneer in the teaching of a second language at primary level. They have offered Mandarin for 10 years and currently all Year 3-8 children have a 45-minute lesson each week from two New Zealand-trained Chinese teachers.

Principal Gary Cain says the initiative has always been welcomed at the decile-10 school.

"Our parents are aware of the wider world; (they) respect the importance of the Mandarin language for their children's future."

A substantial injection of funding for a Confucius Classroom* will allow the school to expand its current programme and an excited Mr Cain says the funding will "add the wow factor" to the already popular classes through resources like interactive whiteboards, which he observed in use during Mandarin lessons on a recent Principals' trip to China.

He says the school has an ongoing commitment to Mandarin teaching which they consider an asset for their central Auckland school.

These primary school lessons focus on culture as well as language and songs with hand actions are incorporated as a learning tool which keeps the children's interest levels up.

They are focusing on mastering tones and phrases to provide a foundation of Mandarin that their school hopes they will take through to tertiary level and beyond when New Zealand's future will be increasingly engaged with Asia and particularly China.

Gillian Eadie, Director of the Confucius Institute based at the University of Auckland, has been instrumental in bringing Confucius Classrooms to New Zealand.

She says: "Mandarin is acknowledged as a language in growing demand. Our children's future prosperity, career prospects and professional relationships will become increasingly tied to the region, and the children whose schools have taken up this opportunity through the generosity of the Chinese government will have an important language platform for a truly global future."