Mandarin is spoken by roughly 1 billion people. Most Americans only speak English. Learning a second language, especially one spoken by that many people can only be a good thing. That said, while I certainly feel that any efforts to get Americans to learn languages in addition to English are a good thing, I can't help but being suspicious of the agent and financial backer of the program that facilitates these teachers: the Chinese government.

Put it this way, can you imagine the Chinese government being receptive if the US State Department offered to send over several hundred English-language teachers and pay part of their salaries?