The business of learning Mandarin is receiving a lot of attention globally with some arguing that it will become the language of the future. More than a billion people currently speak it and China's development continues at breakneck pace.

 

Statistics from the Ministry of Education indicate that more than 30 million people worldwide are learning Chinese and more than 2,500 universities in 100 countries and regions are offering Mandarin courses.

 

With the complexities of its pronunciation and characters, Mandarin is universally recognized as one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn.

 

Now, however, learners' concerns are switching from simple daily use to business language and the Han Yu Shui Ping Kao Shi (SHK) Mandarin exam.

 

According to Li Xinyan, an experienced Mandarin teacher in Miracle Mandarin, one of the institutions specializing in Chinese language courses for foreigners, expats' demand for business Mandarin courses has soared since the beginning of this year.

 

"A growing number of expats working in local companies are seeking Mandarin courses in our institutions this year. More than half of them will take the SKH exam."

 

However, there appears to be little interest in Chinese culture among the same "laowai" -- foreigners.

 

According to Li, Miracle Mandarin has launched many cultural courses such as Chinese cuisine, etiquette, culture and history, but these have prompted very little interest among the expats.

 

"Culture and language cannot be separated," says Li, "it is the teacher's mission to stimulate the students with the unfamiliar Chinese culture and involve them during the class and let it become a strong motive for them when learning Mandarin."

 

This concept is popular among the more than 20 local Mandarin teaching institutions.

 

In Mandarin House's Jing'an campus, classrooms are named after places in China: Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tibet.

 

While some schools, especially some universities, take the conventional route and organize regular lectures and courses with relatively old textbook, others adopt more innovative methods.

 

Mandarin House conducts cultural events regularly, and hopes to bring Chinese art and life closer to its students through regular gatherings and communicating with the teachers.

 

However, many foreigners believe that Mandarin is simply too difficult to learn.

 

Weila, from Switzerland, was left with a deep impression after her studies on a Fudan University Mandarin course.

 

During the first semester, the number of students dropped from 25 to three. "Most of my classmates were losing interest due to the boring classes and the complexity of the grammar. We needed more interaction and communication," she added.

 

"In this case, choosing a qualified and suitable school that can serve your purposes is the key factor," said Li from Miracle Mandarin.

 

According to Xiong Yanyan, a campus supervisor at Mandarin House, there is a big difference between teaching Asian and Western students.

 

She pointed out that while Japanese students may be familiar with the Chinese characters and have natural ability with the brush, other foreign students may have better command of the pronunciation.

 

Statistics show that Shanghai has more than 200,000 expats and the figure for Chinese learners among them is increasing.

 

"While recognizing the increasing number of foreigners studying Chinese in the city, we have also found a lack of qualified teachers who can teach Chinese as a second language," said Li.

 

However, with the time spent studying in the school or language institutions inevitably passing too quickly, expats are also seizing the time out of class to practice more.

 

"We encourage foreigners to adopt a diverse approach when practicing Mandarin," said Xiong from Mandarin House, continuing: "I always ask our students to get actively involved in Chinese people's daily lives through taking public transport and speaking more with local people."

 

As such, Chinese attitudes towards foreigners speaking Mandarin is another important point.

 

Sandy Weiner, a businessman from Germany, has been learning Mandarin for eight months. He complains that he has problems interacting with local people because they always try to communicate with him in English.

 

"People are hospitable towards laowai, every time I speak a little Mandarin they will flatter me saying 'how clever you are,"' he noted. "Nevertheless, virtually all the people quite willingly continue the conversation in English, because they don't believe I can handle it."

 

Andrea Kim, a Korean student at Shanghai University, has also encountered this problem.

 

"People are hostile to me speaking Chinese, they ignore it or consistently don't understand me. I'm sure it affects my attitude and my studies negatively.

 

"It is encouraging when I have a successful interaction and this makes me feel like I am progressing toward my goal to be fluent in Chinese," she added.

  

(Shanghai Daily November 22, 2006)