More Russians are interested in learning Chinese
發佈日期: 2025-05-20 20:45
TVB News
Amid stronger Sino-Russian ties, there is a growing demand in Russia for Chinese language lessons.
Co-founded by universities from China and Russia, a private institution is set to start operations in September, offering courses in Chinese, English and Russian.
History meets the future in this Friendship school in Russia this September. The five-storey building used to be a Soviet vocational school in the 1950s.
Original features including chandeliers in the auditorium, wooden benches and the sun mural have all been preserved.
Co-founded by the Central China Normal University in Wuhan, the Moscow University of Finance and Law and the school's sponsoring body, the institution offers full-time schooling to a maximum of 800 students.
Students here tackle a unique trio of languages -- Chinese, Russian and English, with Chinese teachers flown in from mainland China.
The education institute's person in charge, Mr. Yin, hopes to groom students with the Chinese mindset and a global perspective so that they can get into the world's top universities.
Russian authorities have developed Chinese textbooks for primary schools, where students in Grades 1 and 2 focus solely on pinyin.
The Friendship school supplements this with additional training, ensuring students aged six to seven can write at least 150 Chinese characters.
Following the Russian education system, the school spans 11 grades, with 20 students in each class.
The institute also has a unique feature of vocational emphasis. All boys are required to attend woodworking classes, while girls learn sewing and cooking.
The school's founder noted that deepening ties between China and Russia have spurred demand for formal Chinese education, not only among Chinese expatriates working in Russia, but also locals and families from other countries.
Yin shared that a Finnish parent called from Finland, saying he hopes to enrol his two children in the school in September.
He believes allowing Russian and Chinese kids to learn and understand each other's language and culture could solidify the foundation for ties between the two countries.
Chinese has been included in Russia's national unified foreign language exams since 2019.
According to local statistics, approximately 110,000 people are learning Chinese nationwide, with over 140 universities and 220 primary and secondary schools offering Chinese courses.
