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Chinese Language Education (Mandarin Language)

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This course targets anyone interested in learning the Chinese language as a short course. Mandarin is the official spoken Chinese in this context, speaking mandarin is akin to speaking the Chinese Language. Students will be taught Mandarin grammar and simplified Chinese characters.

Rationale

For a long time, the Department of Languages and Literature at Bishop Stuart University has been training students of English, French, Runyakitara and Kiswahili. However, the Chinese Language (Mandarin) is one of the languages that cannot be avoided given the speed at which Chinese influence is being exerted on the African continent.

It has been realised that there is a need for Chinese Language (Mandarin) to be taught as a short course and later at the Undergraduate level since the Language is going to be increasingly required for one to work in the Chinese companies that are being established in Uganda at a high rate. These will need translators and other workers who can speak and write the Chinese language.

In addition, Chinese is going to be examinable at both levels of secondary education in the near future as most established secondary schools are introducing the language and others will soon follow suit. (Chinese language would be a great opportunity both academically in regard to the exchange of culture as well as a great deal in the creation of employment opportunities for today’s youth).

The Chinese language was officially introduced in secondary schools at the beginning of 2019. Much as the process is still in its initial stages, there seems to be some noticeable achievements in regard to readiness and willingness for the students and other bodies according to their full support to see this process pull through. We believe the numbers will continue to grow as more schools start to teach this language. However, there are few qualified teachers at the moment to teach this language in secondary schools. There are a few who are already teaching however due to the small numbers they are not enough to teach this subject that is increasingly becoming famous in Ugandan schools and Universities. Therefore, there is a dire need to train teachers to take on the teaching of this language.

Since the Department of Languages and Literature has spearheaded the training of teachers to teach both indigenous and foreign languages, the Chinese Language (Mandarin) is hereby recommended to be added to the languages taught in the Language Center to train the much-needed Chinese Language (Mandarin) communicators. Bishop Stuart University is further backed by the fact that the first cohort of secondary school students studying the Chinese language will sit the pioneer UNEB examination in 2022.