‘Why Chinese
language if i have enrolled to a course in English medium? ‘ this is probably
one of the most asked question to a student by his family, friends, or even to
his own self when he/she is planning to take up a medical course in china or
any major as a matter of fact . As of now, there is at least 6000 Indian
students currently enrolling for MBBS in China every year and the number of overall foreign students who study
in china doing various other majors is multiple times the number. So based on
our inferences and feedback's received from students and faculties alike, we would
like to share or clarify about the importance of studying Chinese language.
China is a developing nation with ever growing advancements in
various fields. China’s current status in almost all fields, be it scientific,
technological or economical, is beyond our expectations. Yet it’s quiet
shocking for a person visiting the country for the first time to know that the
overall English proficiency of the country is very low, which is the result of
the country’s long exclusion from the outside world. People with no knowledge
of Chinese language is certain to have a tough time getting through even basic
needs of the day. This also implies that students with poor knowledge of
Chinese are seldom able to use the full potential of the facilities provided to
them by universities. There’s often a communication gap between faculties and
students which acts as a barrier to better utilization of resources and
facilities by students. Therefore the sole key to solving this crisis is by
learning the language.
To help the cause, every university; though the curriculum is in
English, have Chinese as a compulsory subject included in the syllabus up to a
certain level. Students are taught the language from downright basics and
gradually the level is increased. In case of medical students, there is a
specific subject by the name ‘Medical Chinese’ which helps to minimize any
difficulties in communicating with the
local people as well as the coworkers in hospital. This being said, just the
subject being in the syllabus does not solve the real problem, learning a
language is a skill to be learnt and practiced.
To an average medical student with the obvious work load he/she
has, it might be difficult to inculcate an extra subject. Also the potential to
learn a new language differs from person to person. To overcome these
challenges, we gathered some suggestions from the present/former students:
-Try Including Chinese language in daily life; Using the language
more often when out talking to lenders, shopkeepers etc. Even having small
talks with certain localites or any other faculties will contribute towards
better learning of the language.
-Making Chinese friends, this is a very effective way to increase
your vocabulary and colloquial skills. This will also help the student to get
adapted to the life in China and be able to learn more about the Chinese
culture and take part in their festivals. In short this is a fun and effective
way to learn Chinese.
-Have a mobile dictionary and make frequent use of it, this
method also helps to increase vocabulary step by step
Yet another commonly heard complaint from students is the
difficulty in writing Chinese characters rather than speaking, but this problem
is alleviated up to a certain point by the use of ‘Pin yin’ which is is the Romanization of the Chinese characters based on their pronunciation.
In short, a little interest and
optimism is all you need to tackle the language crisis and have an all-round
better learning experience in China.
Our firm, CEECO International
Consultancy has been enrolling students to MBBS course in China since 2004; the
majority of students from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal ; witnessing
and moving hand in hand with the students in their rise and fall. This blog is
to share our suggestions and information about ‘Student life’ in China based on
our experiences to help upcoming aspirants. We will be back with more updates
and news in coming days. Stay tuned.
Admissions Team
Ceeco International Consultancy
