Confucius Institutes Refocus on Chinese Language
China’s Confucius Institutes, which have become the backbone of the country’s worldwide soft power strategy, are being rebranded in the face of widespread criticism. The institutes, launched in 2004, are public educational partnerships between...
‘No Barrier’ to Chinese Becoming ‘Global Language’
Australian author and professor Dr. Jeffrey Gil, of Flinders University in Adelaide, claims there is “no barrier” stopping Chinese becoming a “global language” like English, as universal literacy is not required for a global...
Singaporeans Urged to Renew Mandarin Learning
Singapore has to acknowledge that it is losing its bilingual competitive edge and put in more effort to speak Mandarin at home, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, speaking last month at the...
Digital Mandarin Classes for All
China’s Ministry of Education has announced plans to train teachers and improve infrastructure for digital education in the poorer areas of the country, including the distribution of a million specially designed mobile phones preloaded...
Chinese for All Saudi Arabian Schools
During a recent trip to China by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman (MbS), the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced that the kingdom had
committed to implementing
Chinese language programs in schools across the kingdom, hours
after MbS met...
Deal to Promote Chinese in Georgia
Last month, the education and science minister Giorgi Batiashvili of Georgia signed an agreement with China to promote the learning of Chinese in Georgian high schools. Chinese lessons will now be offered to students...
Chinese Writing ‘Robot’ Stirs Debate
The story of a Chinese schoolgirl and her character-copying machine has sparked a debate about how the Chinese language should be taught in this age of automation.
According to the Qianjiang Evening News, a mother...
Russian, Ruslan Ustinov, Crosses Chinese Bridge First
Russian student Ruslan Ustinov won the 17th Chinese Bridge Chinese Language Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students last month in Changsha, in central China’s Hunan Province.
Over 150 students from 118 countries took part in...
Emirates Embrace Chinese
Last month’s visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) not only strengthened bilateral relations between the two nations, but also provided a huge boost to the learning of Mandarin...
ABC Airs Half-Chinese Sitcom
Last month, an episode of ABC’s primetime sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, called “Ride the Tiger,” broke ground by being about 50% spoken in Mandarin.
Writer Jeff Chiang explained the rationale behind it to the...