Chinese lessons in Chennai

Updated on: Monday, June 21, 2010

With increasing people-to-people contact between India and China, and growing interest in Chinese culture, more and more people are now learning Chinese.

Chinese language education in Chennai is seeing a mini boom. “Enquiries for our Chinese language courses have doubled since our inception last year,” says Sudha Mythili, Business Development Executive of the Chinese Institute of Chennai.

The first and only language institute in the city to specialise in Chinese language education, the Chinese Institute of Chennai offers two courses, a basic-level spoken Chinese course, and an advanced-level Chinese character writing course. Taught by Indian instructors who have been trained in China, the basic course costs Rs. 8000 and runs over 30 hours. Students who have enrolled in the basic course are mainly working professionals in their 30s, but exceptions include an 8th standard boy and a 76-year old man. In time to come, the institute intends to expand its service offerings to include business consulting for Indian enterprises interested in tapping the China market.

The director of the institute, N. Balakrishnan, says he “saw a commercial opportunity in providing Chinese language training when China overtook the USA as India's largest trading partner.” As a result of globalisation and economic liberalisation, people-to-people contact between the two countries have increased. S.P. Venkata Nagarajan, 49, attests to this.

The entrepreneur enrolled in a basic course at the institute after his interest in China was piqued by his son, who is pursuing undergraduate studies at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Commenting on the new economic world order, Mr. Nagarajan says, “The two economies (of India and China) will grow in a big way, and my son, with his Chinese contacts and his understanding of the Chinese culture and language, will have a good role to play.”

China's rise as an economic power, as well as greater interest in Chinese culture, is prompting increasing interest in learning the Chinese language. Indeed, as Liu Nan, press attache of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, notes, the number of Indian students in China has risen steadily, from roughly 1,000 in 2006, to slightly under 7,000 in 2008, and to 11,000 this year.

He attributes the increasing trend to a series of agreements and MoUs inked between the two countries in 2005, which eased the visa process for Indian students. Other reasons include the relative affordability of a Chinese tertiary education and the increasing number of English-medium courses offered by Chinese universities. For more information about the Chinese Institute of Chennai, contact 044-43335552 / 24717876.

Chinese lessons in Chennai

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