Bridging East and West through Mandarin learning

International Chinese language education has become increasingly vital to bridge the information gap and enhance cultural understanding between young people in the East and the West, experts and learners said during the World Chinese Language Conference in Beijing.

Ryan Bernard, president of Saint Mary's School in the United States, said that understanding people's language, history and values is "more important than ever" in today's globalized world.

"It promotes mutual understanding among people from different nations and helps ensure that Americans better understand the world," he said.

The Confucius Classroom at the school, established in 2008 in cooperation with Zhengzhou University in Henan province, was the first of its kind in the United States and is still operating today.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed one of the biggest challenges to cultural exchanges between China and the US, with some programs being postponed, Bernard noted at the event, which began on Friday and ended on Sunday.

"Fortunately, we recognized how debilitating the pandemic would be, so we prepared for online learning in advance of schools actually shutting down in the US," Bernard said.

In June, Bernard and US high school students participated in an exchange program with their Chinese counterparts at Zhengzhou No. 11 High School in Henan province. The foreign students studied Mandarin, stayed in the homes of their Chinese peers and experienced traditional arts and local culture.

"Some of the greatest learning about Chinese language, culture, food and daily lifestyle actually happens in those Chinese homes," he said.

Meanwhile, Chinese language education in the United Kingdom has emerged as a key avenue for fostering cultural understanding and bridging the gap between China and Britain, said Katharine Carruthers, director of the Confucius Institute at University College London.

The institute has provided a model for how educational programs can build lasting people-to-people connections while cultivating linguistic and cultural competencies, she said.

The Mandarin Excellence Program is a notable example of the UK's localization of Chinese language education. This summer, about 1,200 British secondary school students traveled to China for an 11-day visit as part of the program's intensive study course.

"That is the real people-to-people connection at the school level. They make those connections and find out what they're both interested in," Carruthers said, highlighting the transformative power of such exchanges.

"Chinese language is never taught alone; it always comes with culture," said Vicente Andreu, whose Chinese name is An Wenlong, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Valencia in Spain.

Through a wide range of activities such as Chinese New Year celebrations, the institute creates opportunities for Valencians to experience the richness of Chinese traditions.

One of the innovative activities is an annual children's drawing competition, launched eight years ago. The competition revolves around a story linking Valencia and Xi'an, two key cities on the ancient Silk Road, emphasizing historical connections between China and Spain.

Beyond cultural festivities, the institute actively promotes collaboration between Valencia and its Chinese sister cities, including Chengdu in Sichuan province, Xi'an in Shaanxi province and Guangzhou in Guangdong province.

"These sister-city partnerships have been instrumental in connecting Chinese and Valencian enterprises," Andreu said.

Italian student Iacopo Germole said he learned that there are some misconceptions about China after he traveled to the country to study Mandarin.

"Language learning is not just an academic journey, but also a bridge connecting young people in China and other countries," said Germole, who was awarded the global champion of the 12th Chinese Bridge for foreign secondary school students.

"In an era prone to prejudice, learning a foreign language, especially one as rich and profound as Chinese, empowers us to appreciate our shared humanity," he said.

Simsek Sehra, a 24-year-old graduate student at Central China Normal University in Hubei province, used to study at the Confucius Institute in her home country in Turkiye and now speaks fluent Chinese.

Sehra said grasping the Chinese language has helped her gain a more comprehensive understanding of the world.

"As more and more people came to China and started to learn Chinese, the voice of China, rather than only those from the West, has been widely heard," she said.

Furthermore, Chinese language has brought people from all over the world closer as it has gradually become a global language.

"Chinese has unknowingly become the language we commonly use and are proud of mastering," Sehra said.