why Chinese attract foreigners so much?

Imme Warneke is in her last year of studies at the University of Applied Sciences Konstanz, majoring in Asian Studies and Management. She has been learning Mandarin in Germany and China for approximately 5 years now. Imme has an education background from Germany, Canada and China as well as work experience in Germany and Hong Kong. She gave me her opinion on why she is chose to focus on Mandarin to her already international resume.

“I have discovered people have different motives to study Chinese:

1. Many choose to study Chinese due to China’s economic influence, so you see a lot of business students studying Mandarin.

2. Others want to learn an exotic language (so not just French or Spanish like everyone in Europe is doing) and who are drawn to China because of its economic success. These students either learn Chinese in Germany or go to China directly and combine some business studies with Chinese.

3. Some study Chinese because they are interested in the history and culture and think that the language is fascinating since it is so different from Romanic languages. And off course to explore a foreign culture it is crucial to learn the language.

4. Lastly, some just want to travel to China and are not students anymore, or who are interested in China, because of family relations. China has a major media influence in Germany and some people may study it due to pure fascination.”

Imme is now working on passing the HSK 5 test and she has given some useful tips on learning Mandarin as a native German:

“It is useful to follow some Chinese TV shows (teachers can often recommend something that is not too difficult, maybe even children’s show). Find books with CD recordings of the vocabulary and tests. Lastly, it is very useful to find a native speaker in your city to practise with.”

According to the German professional association for Chinese, there are approximately 10,000 students learning Mandarin in Germany. There are 15 established Confucius Institute in across Germany. The German government has also founded different scholarship programs, which support students for one or two semesters or an internship abroad in China.

Students from the U.S., Australia, and Germany shared their Chinese learning journey. There are various places and ways to start:

1. Universities offered classes, some are purely focused on the language while others combine Chinese studies (language and culture) with a business programme, but there are also more historical focused programs, which focus on ancient literature （古文古诗） and history.

2. High schools offer extracurricular activities with Chinese: either more culture focused or even some Chinese classes (many governments are supporting these efforts)

3. Chat groups where you meet up where you can meet native speakers to practise with or meet other students and share your study tips.

4. Study in China (with a scholarship) often universities have their own scholarships and partner programs, since a lot of Chinese students also want to come to Germany

5. Technology. From more well-known programs like Rosetta Stone to newer local Mandarin local portal Mandarin Minds, as well as online help developed by the Beijing Language and Culture University. However almost every student had the smartphone App Pleco (Chinese- English and English- Chinese all-in-one” dictionary) downloaded for the ease of digital flashcards and instant translation.

As China’s economy grows, the importance for non-Chinese to understand the culture, and language is becoming more and more imperative. Therefore many from elementary students to influential politicians to billionaire entrepreneurs are taking Chinese Mandarin lessons. Although Chinese is widely known as a very difficult language and often people quit before even starting due to this prejudice, some students actually said that Chinese has a relatively uncomplicated grammar. Unlike French, German or English, Chinese has no verb conjugation and no noun declension therefore once you build your base level of vocabulary, you can excel faster than other languages in comparison.

But it is learning the first few thousands of characters and the pronunciation that is the hardest for non- native speakers. With growing ties between China and the West, especially massive trading dependencies between China- U.S., China-Australia and China-Germany, the individuals learning this language are gaining a competitive advantage to their degree, differentiating themselves from peers, learning a new communication skill as well as increasing their global business acumen. With the asset of Chinese, they are not only helping themselves in the workforce but also closing gaps between the East and the West as a true citizen of the world. With this all said, what’s stopping you?