"Classmates, do you know what Chinese Valentine's Day is?" A standard and beautiful Mandarin voice can be heard in a classroom in the capital of Myanmar, Naypyidaw. On the podium, Lu Rui from Yunnan Normal University is teaching Chinese to over 30 civil servants of the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce. In recent years, with the rapid development of China Myanmar relations, the exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in areas such as economy, trade, tourism, and culture have become increasingly close. In many government departments in Myanmar, understanding Chinese has become a necessary skill for work, so learning Chinese is becoming increasingly popular among local civil servants.
Lurui wrote down today's topic on the whiteboard with a black pen: "What does your ideal boyfriend and girlfriend look like?" The students in the classroom began to discuss in a low voice, and then under Lurui's guidance, they answered one by one. "I hope my future boyfriend is tall, has big eyes, and is also passionate about playing football," replied a female student named "Happy". Although she speaks at a slow pace, her Mandarin pronunciation is very accurate. "I am already married, and my wife has long hair, big and round eyes, and a humorous personality. Unfortunately, she is not good at cooking," replied the male student named "Yansheng," which drew bursts of laughter from her classmates. This classroom is the teaching site of Confucius Classroom in Naypyidaw, the Oriental Language and Business Center of Myanmar. The average age of the students is around 30, and they have been learning Chinese for 1 to 3 years. Many of them have received short-term Chinese training at Yunnan Normal University.
Tun Mintun, the head of training at the Trade Department of the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce, said that since 2017, the Ministry of Commerce has organized civil servants to learn Chinese, with about 60 people participating every year. With the increasing frequency of trade between Myanmar and China, the need for civil servants to use Chinese is becoming increasingly important, which is of great help to the work of the Ministry of Commerce. Yansheng works in the trade department and is 25 years old. He has been studying Chinese for 3 years.
In preparation for the interview, he wrote a whole page outline in neat Chinese and also marked some words with pinyin next to them. He said that there are many conferences and activities related to trade between Myanmar and China, but there are no Chinese translators or experts in the unit, so he encountered language barriers in his work, so he decided to learn Chinese on his own. He also wants to apply for scholarships provided by the Chinese government to continue his studies at universities in Yunnan, Sichuan, or Shanghai.
The person in charge of the teaching site, Shi Ying, introduced that the teaching site in Naypyidaw has held many training courses for the Myanmar government in recent years, and more than 1300 people have participated in the learning from 2016 to 2019. These students come from multiple departments including the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Construction. More than 230 people have passed the Chinese proficiency exams at different levels.
She also stated that many students have developed a strong interest in Chinese culture after learning Chinese, and they enjoy watching TV dramas such as "Bao Qingtian" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Young students especially enjoy watching newer TV dramas such as "Langya Bang" and "Chen Qing Ling", and are familiar with the characters and actors in them. "These students worked very hard, initially learning Chinese for the convenience of work, but over time, they gradually fell in love with Chinese," said Shi Ying.
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