While many Chinese travel half a world to study language,
science and technology in Western countries, others have found a
place to learn the essence of exotic Asian cultures without leaving
their home country.
Nearly 500 students are learning Southeast Asian languages and
cultures at the
foreign languages department of the Guangxi Institute for
Nationalities in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region, in southern China
Students here have easy access to live radio broadcasts,
newspapers and magazines from Southeast Asian countries and often
hold discussions with their teachers, some of whom native
speakers.
"I'm here to study Lao. It's not a very popular language but
sure has great potential," said Liu Yue, an undergraduate at the
institute. "In fact, Lao speakers enjoy many job opportunities
these days."
Instead of feeling inferior to learners of more widely spoken
foreign languages such as English or French, Liu said she feels
rather "proud and useful."
"Some of our teachers were well-known statesmen in these
countries and they have helped us gain more insight into their
culture and history," she said.
The institute also teaches Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodian. The
Ministry of Education opened its foreign languages department in
2001 as a base for Southeast Asian language studies. Many of its
graduates are playing a leading role in foreign affairs,
journalism, international trade, tourism, customs and public
security.
Wei Huimin, a tour guide with a travel service based in Nanning,
said she has benefited greatly from her major in Vietnamese.
Wei has been a tour guide since she graduated from the institute
in 2001. "All the Vietnamese-speaking guides in China have a tight
schedule because so many Vietnamese are coming to China nowadays,"
she said.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is also in need of Chinese-speaking guides,
said Wei, who worked as a part-time guide when she studied at a
Vietnamese university in her junior year.
According to Ye Zongbo, an official with the school board, most
foreign language students at the institute are sent abroad in their
third year to acquire more first-hand knowledge about the language
and culture they study.
"We plan to add Indonesian, Malay and Burmese to our curriculum
and set up branches in some Southeast Asian countries to help
locals learn Chinese," said Ye.
In an effort to boost cooperation with countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China has stepped
up the training of professionals who are expected to speak their
languages and bridge the gaps in trade, economic and cultural
exchanges with these countries.
Yunnan University for the Nationalities in the southwestern
China's Yunnan Province is another base for Southeast Asian
language studies. It offers courses in Thai, Vietnamese, Burmese
and Lao.
"Such training will provide high-caliber human resources to
bolster trade, economic and cultural ties between China and the
ASEAN countries now and in the future," said Peng Hui, professor of
Cambodian with Beijing Foreign Studies University.
(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2004)