After finding it common to learn English as the only foreign language, there is something new in town: Chinese language that keeps attracting youth as well as old people in their quest to increase knowledge.
Chinese language lessons are becoming increasingly popular in the Northern Zone as various people seek to tap opportunities in tourism and business. The lessons are being conducted at Majengo Secondary School, Tanzania Police School and Moshi Co-operative University. Chinese language teacher, Ms Monica Long Guizhen is heartened by public response in learning the language.
“With the increasing number of students, more volunteers are expected to come here in the future. Chinese short-term course has six levels altogether and each level lasts for about three months,” Guizhen said.
So far, there are 50 students at the Cooperative University, 24 at the Tanzania Police School and 60 at Majengo Secondary School. On Sunday, February 21, the HSK level 1 Test will be held at the Cooperative University for the first time.
Eighteen students have registered for the test. There was much enthusiasm at the university’s Nyerere Hall on February 5, this year, where the Chinese New Year celebrations were held, and attended by more than 300 people.
The lessons are run under the Confucius Institute that was established in 2004. Currently, 500 Confucius Institutes have been established aimed at teaching Chinese and cultural exchange in 134 countries. Guizhen says teaching Chinese in Kilimanjaro Region will help boost the tourism industry by attracting Chinese tourists.
“More and more Chinese companies and businessmen come here, the demand of Chinese language teaching is increasing. A manager of one Chinese companies in Moshi once told me that if graduates can speak Chinese, he would pay them competitive salaries,” she said. She initiated the classes in December 2015, at the Cooperative University.
“It’s imperative for Tanzanians to enroll in such classes because they can interact with Chinese in that country if they go for business or other activities. “This is official, there is Chinese Proficiency Test, this is an international standardized examination organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters in China, a certificate is also issued by it.
After that students can apply for many kinds of scholarship for studying in China,” she noted. Chinese language has many dialects, but what is taught at Moshi is Mandarin, the common speech or standard Chinese. “Chinese language is different from English and Kiswahili, difficult but worth to learn,” Guizhen adds. “I also learn Kiswahili. I try my best to do that.
I also like Kiswahili, and what is more, it’s more convenient to communicate with students and local people, and that helps me to know more about Tanzanian culture.” Why the festival?
Chinese Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and it brings together family members like Christmas in the West. The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st Lunar Month. Many customs accompany the Spring Festival that has a long history of more than 4,000 years in China.
Moshi Cooperative University Vice-Chancellor, Prof Faustine Bee, says his institution would continue to collaborate with the Confucius Centre and build good global citizens.
He says that in future the university would establish a degree course in tourism and invite students from within and outside the country, and that will see many tourists coming from China as well. He is of the view that it is easy to prosper economically by learning Chinese as one could easily access the Chinese market.
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