Expats attending a Chinese class at Nanshan International Cultural Exchange & Service Center. Xu Jiaojiao
Nanshan International Cultural Exchange & Service Center (NSIC) organized a session for a dozen of foreigners to learn Chinese and exchange with other Chinese learners Wednesday, which was Chinese Language Day set by the United Nations, Shenzhen Evening News reported.
In order to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the organization, the United Nations set up Language Days. The date was selected from Guyu (“Rain of Millet”). In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around April 20, according to the U.N.’s official website.
“My Chinese classes were suspended due to the recent wave of the pandemic. So, I decided to learn on my own at home. Language learning needs practices. So, when the classes started again, I immediately joined,” an American identified as Raj was quoted as saying.
Raj has been learning Chinese for roughly four years. “I tried classes and private teachers but I am too busy at work, so I didn’t achieve evident progress. You have to be really focused when learning Chinese,” Raj said.
Attracted by Shenzhen’s entrepreneurship spirit and development opportunities, Raj, who grew up in Silicon Valley in the U.S., came to Shenzhen in 2019 and started his own company in 2021 for educational practice.
“For me, learning Chinese is not only for my job but also for experiencing the city like a real local person, forming deep connections with people so as to better engaged with the local culture and living environment,” Raj said.
From Raj’s perspective, the most difficult but also the most interesting part of the language is about intonation. “A small change in intonation might bring out a totally different meaning,” Raj said.
A Russian teacher identified as Julia said that she used to practice once a week, so progress came slowly. “However, in the last two to three months, I have more time at home due to the pandemic, so I require myself to spend time each day practicing Chinese. Now, I am able to talk in simple Chinese,” Julia said.
Despite it was the first time for Julia to attend a Chinese class, she could almost answer all questions the teacher raised.
Julia told the News that she now has a sense of achievement whenever she recognizes a Chinese word in public, adding that she wants to challenge herself with the Chinese language.
“My husband, who is also Russian, speaks fluent Chinese as he had studied in China for many years. I used to seek help from him when I needed to translate something. This year marks the fourth year of my coming to China. I hope I could handle life difficulties independently,” Julia said.
Julia’s son went to a local kindergarten where teachers and children all speak Chinese. “We will make progress together,” Julia said.
Nanshan’s Zhaoshang Subdistrict where NSIC is located is home to 6,547 expats form over 100 countries and regions. NSIC has launched over 80 Chinese lessons, attended by over 1,400 expats since 2019 when the center was established, according to the report.
A Chinese teacher from the center, identified as Linda whose students include senior executives from multinational companies such as Walmart, Amazon, Siemens and Panasonic, observed that nowadays an increasing number of expats learn Chinese out of personal interest, dreams or for challenging themselves.
“I was told by my students that their understanding of the Chinese culture has been enhanced after studying the language,” she said.