ChineselanguageisbecomingincreasinglypopularamongAfricanstudentsWhilesomestruggletofindtheirpathinlife,forothers,naturealignsthingsforthem.ThisiswhathappenedtoEdwardJosephYawson,a26-year-oldteachingassistantattheChineseSectionoftheDepartmentofModernLanguages,UniversityofGhana,Legon,whotrustedhisintuitionwhenaChineselanguagecoursewasofferedtohim.
YawsontoldChinAfricathatChinesewasaddedtooneofhisuniversitycourses,andhefellinlovewiththelanguageduringhisfirstlessonin2012.
鈥淭heconductofthelecturerandsomethinginsidemejustdrewmetothelanguage,鈥漢esaid.
NowfluentinChineseandawardedmany鈥淐hineseambassadors鈥漰rizesforexcellenceduringhisstudies,heisoverjoyedatthenumerousopportunitieshisproficiencyhasaffordedhim.
Afterschool,heiscontractedtoserveasatranslatorformanyrecognizedChinesecompanies.鈥淸Becauseoflearningthelanguage],Ihavehadtheopportunitytowineanddinewithhigh-rankingChinesepersonalities,whichis[something]Ihadneverthoughtof,鈥漢esaid.
Foreignlanguagebenefits
YawsonsaidthathefeelsthedowntimeinbetweenChineseclassesaffectedhisprogressasheisabigproponentofconstantpractice.
鈥淚thinkevenamomentofrestcanrobapersonoftheworktheyhavealreadydone,鈥漢esaid.
HeovercamethechallengesofthewellknowndifficultyoflearningtheChineselanguagebybeingconfidentthathisperseverancewouldbringhimopportunitieswhichwouldbenefiteveryfacetofhislife.
Therearedifferentschoolsofthoughtonthebenefitsderivedfromstudyingvariouslanguages.AscitedbytheU.S.basedNationalEducationAssociationinitsresearchpapertheBenefitsofSecondLanguageStudy,foreignlanguagesstudyisanareawherechildrenwhoarenotaccustomedtoachievementinschoolareabletoexcel.Theresultingbenefitsofapositiveself-image,self-esteemandsatisfactionwithschoolexperiencesareenormous.
Accordingtothepaper,evidencefromseveralstudiesshowsthatlanguagestudentshaveasignificantlyhigherpositiveself-conceptthannon-languagestudents.
Thepaperaddedthatbeyondtheintellectualbenefits,knowledgeofaforeignlanguagefacilitatestravelopportunities,enhancescareeropportunities,andenablesstudentstolearnmoreaboutdifferentpeopleandcultures.Itwasalsofoundthebenefitsofforeignlanguagestudieslastedthroughoutpeople鈥檚lifetime.
Demandslowlyrising
InGhana,basedongeographicalpositioninginAfrica鈥檚Francophonezone,thestudyofFrenchhasovertheyearsbeenacompulsorysubjectinprimaryandjuniorhighschools.However,atseniorhighschoollevel,Frenchisanelectivecourse.
Inmosttertiaryinstitutionsinthecountry,Frenchisanoptionalcourse.Thatnotwithstanding,somestudentsoptforitasamaincourseinthoseinstitutionswherestructuresexistforeffectiveteachingandlearning.
RecentfiguresfromtheDepartmentofModernLanguagesattheUniversityofGhanashowthatenrollmentnumbersforChinesestudyhaveseenanincreaseinthepasttwoacademicyears,from2015/16,when58studentsenrolledonthecourse,to2017/18,when460enrolled.
WinnandKofiAzanku,thefirstcoordinator,nowretired,oftheChineseSectionundertheDepartmentofModernLanguages,UniversityofGhana,toldChinAfricathattheChineseLanguageandCulturecoursehasbeenpartofthecurriculumsince2009.
Azankusaidthepilotprojectforthecourse,whichtookplacein2008,stemmedfromChina鈥檚increasinglycloserrelationswithGhana,bothpoliticallyandeconomically,aswellasfindingawaytosupportGhana-Chinabilateralcooperation.
ThepilotprojectwassupportedbytheChineseEmbassyinGhana,XinhuaNewsAgencyandConfuciusInstituteHeadquarters,followingwhichtheBachelorofArtsinChineseLanguageandCulturewaslaunched.
鈥淢orethan100studentshavegraduatedfromthedepartment[majoringinChineseLanguageandCulture]sofarandare[nowworking]invarious[related]fields-whilesomearepursuingmaster鈥檚[degrees]invariousareasofacademiainChina.SomeothersaregainfullyemployedbynotableChinesecompanies,鈥漢esaid.
AzankusaidthedepartmentoftenreceivescallsfromvariousChineseestablishmentsseekingtoemploystudents.
鈥淭ofullymanthedepartmentandensurethatteachingandlearningmeettheappropriatestandards,somevolunteersfromthepilotprojectwereaskedtostayonsincetherewerenoindigenousGhanaianlecturersproficientinChinese,鈥漵aidAzanku.
Fullculturalexperience
Tomakethecoursesustainable,amemorandumofunderstanding(MoU)wasrecentlysignedbetweentheConfuciusInstituteHeadquartersandtheUniversityofGhanatosupporttheChineseSectionoftheDepartmentofModernLanguagesbyregularlyprovidingChineseteachers.
AccordingtoAzanku,togivestudentsanopportunitytoexperienceChinesecultureandlanguagefirsthand,thedepartmentalsorunsaYearAbroadProgram.
鈥淭heYearAbroadProgramallowsstudentstospendoneyearinChinatofullyimmersethemselvesinthelanguageandtheculture,鈥漢esaid.
Henotedthatthegovernment鈥檚inabilitytofullysupporttheYearAbroadProgramduetothegrowingnumberofenthusiasticstudentspromptedtheUniversityofGhanatosignMoUswithsomeuniversitiesinChinasuchasZhejiangUniversityofScienceandTechnology,TaiyuanUniversityandLiaochenUniversity,whohostandsupportstudentsfinancially.
ThroughrigorousassessmentbytheConfuciusInstituteintheUniversityofGhana,thequalityofChinesemajorstudentsfromthedepartmentisassured.
EnumeratingtheroleoftheConfuciusInstituteinenhancingtheteachingandlearningofChinese,AzankudetailedthattheinstitutehasconstantlybeenawardingscholarshipsdirectlyorindirectlytostudentswhoshowthedesiretofurthertheirstudiesinChineselanguageandculture.ItalsoteachesChineselanguageandculturetomembersofthepublicwhoareinterested,whereastheUniversityofGhanaoffersthelanguageasanacademiccourse.
AzankusaidheisbuoyedbythefactthatfeedbackfrompartneruniversitiesinChinaindicatesthatthestudentsfromGhanaareamongthebestinlearningChineselanguageandculture.Thisaugurswellforthesestudentswho鈥檚ChineselanguageproficiencyserveasabridgebetweenGhanaandChina,hesaid,addingthatthesestudentshavebranchedintoquasi-professionalareasthatareofimmensebenefitstoGhana鈥檚economy.
鈥淚amproudtosay,oneofmyformerstudentsisinFrance,doinganinternationaltradeprogramthatistaughtinChinese,FrenchandEnglish.HerproficiencyinalltheselanguagesandherknowledgeofinternationaltradewillmakeheranoutstandingassettoGhana[inthefuture],鈥漢esaid.
NoonedoubtsthebenefitsoflearningChinese.ForagrowingnumberofyoungGhanaianslikeEdwardYawson,foreignlanguageproficiencyiscertainlyakeytosuccessgoingforward.
ReportingfromGhana
TheYearAbroadProgramallowsstudentstospendoneyearinChinatofullyimmersethemselvesinthelanguageandtheculture.
WinnandKofiAzankuFormerCoordinatoroftheChineseSectionundertheDepartmentofModernLanguages,UniversityofGhana