Two magnet schools in Montgomery will share a three-year grant from the U.S. State Department's Foreign Language Assistance Program to expand foreign language instruction at their schools, according to the school system.

Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School and Baldwin Arts and Academics Magnet received $212,574 to begin offering students Mandarin Chinese, said Montgomery Public Schools spokeswoman Mona Davis.

The grants will fund a teacher position, textbooks, teaching resources and a summer immersion trip to Taiwan for 10 students, she said.

LAMP was able to partner with Alabama State University to write the grant, Principal Liz Norman in a statement.

"Last school year, we explored new courses we wanted to offer students and one of those courses was Chinese," Norman said. "We also gave students choice forms to complete and there was a strong indication that many were interested in learning Mandarin Chinese."

According to school officials, Baldwin students will also benefit from the grant since it serves as Loveless' feeder school. Both schools will share the same teacher and instructional resources. Plans are under way to offer the course at both schools next semester, Davis said.

According to Vistawide.com, more than 1 billion people worldwide speak Mandarin Chinese, which is the most widely spoken form of Chinese, Davis said. It is the official language of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and is spoken by more people than Hindi, Spanish, English, Arabic and German combined, she added.

The grant will be a tremendous benefit to students, MPS Superintendent Barbara Thompson said in a statement. Thompson recently visited China as part of an economic development trip with the city of Montgomery.

"It's imperative that we provide students opportunities that will prepare them to compete on a global stage," Thompson said. "The educational and cultural benefits are important, but so are the applications for current and future international business. I am pleased that our schools are making an extra effort to offer students meaning learning experiences."