Chinese Language Boom: From “Giving It A Try” to “Rushing To Sign Up”
April 20 marks United Nations Chinese Language Day. Many overseas Chinese-language schools celebrate the occasion with activities such as calligraphy, dumpling-making, and appreciation of Chinese animation. Recently, several international Chinese language educators said in a interview that more and more local parents are attaching importance to Chinese-language education, with demand for courses shifting from "giving it a try" to "rushing to sign up."
On April 20th, the 2026 UN Chinese Language Day and the 80th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the Chinese Translation Service were held at the United Nations headquarters in New York. (CNS)
Russian-Chinese International School is a full-time international school characterized by Chinese language and culture. On Chinese Language Day, the school organized competitions and exhibitions themed "Traveling Through China," featuring calligraphy, Go (Weiqi), tongue twisters, and tea art, etc. Principal Wu Hao noted that Chinese has been included as a foreign language subject in Russia's national unified exam. As the number of Chinese-funded enterprises grows, demand for Chinese-language education continues to rise, and school enrollment keeps increasing.
Speaking about teaching challenges, Wu said that Russian is an alphabetic language, and students are accustomed to linear spelling, making Chinese characters more difficult for them. Russian also lacks tones, so mastering the four tones of Mandarin is challenging. Teachers compare Chinese characters to building blocks, breaking them down into radicals to help students identify patterns. For pronunciation, they use hand gestures, mouth-shape demonstrations, and approximate sounds in Russian as guidance. The school has also introduced models such as "Chinese + vocational skills" and "Chinese + culture," integrating the language into traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, and culinary arts.
France was among the earlier countries to incorporate Chinese into its national education system. Luo Jian, principal of the Little Panda School in France, said that the appeal of Chinese among younger generations in France continues to grow, especially among families who have traveled to or worked in China.
Luo believes that Chinese integrates form, sound, and meaning, and emphasizes artistic conception of "leaving blank space" (Liu Bai)—qualities that resonate in some ways with the romance and subtlety of French culture. However, for beginners, speaking Chinese and understanding idioms remain challenging. The school adopts situational teaching methods: for idioms, teachers first use French to explain the core meaning, then reinforce learning through stories and images—"understand the meaning first, then learn the expression, and finally apply it."
According to Luo, the Little Panda School has grown over 13 years from 68 students to about 1500. During Chinese Language Day, the school holds activities such as Chinese animation appreciation, song performances, Chinese character challenges, and traditional handicraft experiences.
"In the United Arab Emirates, Chinese is a must-learn subject for local Chinese families, and its acceptance among non-Chinese families is also increasing year by year," said Feng Xipeng, principal of Nihao Institue in Dubai. Benefiting from a supportive educational environment and a stable Chinese community, Chinese-language education in the UAE has become a bridge for multicultural exchange.
During UN Chinese Language Day, Nihao Institue offers activities for younger children such as pictographic character puzzles, pitch-pot (touhu), paper cutting, and mask painting, while teenagers participate in writing Spring Festival couplets, writing the character "Fu(福)," making panda masks, choral singing, textbook drama performances, and food tasting—ensuring that every child can take part.
Ma Bin, principal of the China-Pak Educational Cultural Institute, said that since the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, local people have realized that knowing Chinese can lead to job opportunities in Chinese enterprises. As a result, parents' attitudes have shifted from "giving it a try" to "rushing to sign up," and student numbers have increased accordingly. During UN Chinese Language Day, the center organizes activities such as brush calligraphy, dumpling-making, and singing Chinese songs. While making dumplings, children learn words like "wrapper(皮)," "filling(馅)," "boil(煮)" and "eat(吃)" as they shape the dumplings—quickly committing them to memory. (CNS)