Learning online adds to appeal of Chinese

According to HolonIQ's 2023 report, the Chinese language learning market is valued at $7.4 billion and is projected to double in the next five years.

Ministry of Education statistics from 2021 underscored this trend, revealing that over 25 million individuals overseas were engaged in learning Chinese at the time. Notably, Duolingo had over 12.9 million users dedicated to mastering the language last year, marking an annual growth rate of 31 percent.

Duolingo's latest language report for 2023 sheds light on data about Chinese learners for the first time. Compared to the global average, a whopping 76 percent of foreign users studying Chinese are under 30.

This report analyzes language trends and user behavior from millions of Duolingo learners worldwide. Chinese ranks ninth in popularity among the app's courses and is the second most popular language in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Among the fastest-growing countries for Chinese learners are Bangladesh, Mongolia and Myanmar, with growth rates exceeding 100 percent annually.

Bangladesh experienced a 180 percent increase in Chinese learners last year. Their motivations include communication, educational support, using their time more efficiently and career advancement.

In November 2017, Duolingo introduced a course for learning Chinese through English, initially created with the help of volunteers teaching Chinese to English speakers. As the course gained popularity, Duolingo improved it over time. They also launched courses for learning Chinese through Japanese and Vietnamese, according to Tan Xiuting, Duolingo's course designer.

"We realized there's a large audience of Chinese learners from different language backgrounds worldwide. So, we're developing a Chinese course tailored to them," Tan says.

To tackle the challenge of tones, they introduced a pinyin practice section and added exercises for writing Chinese characters.