With growing trade relations between Namibia and China, more Namibian
students have taken to learning the Chinese language.
“I am only in my first year at University of Namibia and I chose Chinese as a foreign language as this could broaden my horizons in the future,” says Ndapewa Shikongo, a student at a local university.
“More people in the world are doing business with China and soon, Mandarin will be the most sought-after language, so why not prepare
for it?” Shikongo adds.
Renowned Namibian academic and Namibian University of Science and
Technology Deputy, Vice Chancellor Andrew Niikondo believes Namibia
and many other African countries stand to benefit immensely from
having more students learn Chinese.
“Namibia trade relations with China are growing by the day with more
deals being signed between the two countries,” said Niikondo.
“This move is creating an opportunity for Namibian graduates to
interact more in the business world with their Chinese counterpart,”
he said.
As a result, it is imperative that more tertiary education students
and even officials learn the Chinese language as a way of bridging the
language barrier when doing business, he noted.
Niikondo reckons that China is the next frontier for both African
exports as well as a reliable business partner for most African
governments.
Niikondo added that Namibia is not the only country that sees the
relevance of incorporating Chinese languages at universities.
“The trend is now popular across the Southern Africa region. In fact,
many major universities in the continent are incorporating Mandarin in
their management courses as a way of improving the quality of
graduates who will in future have to negotiate with Chinese companies
coming to Africa”, he says.
Over the past six years, more than 3,000 Namibians have enrolled to
learn Mandarin at the Confucius Institute, The University of Namibia
(UNAM) in partnership with China University of Geo-Sciences. According to the Director of the Confucius Institute, Zhang Fan, language is serving as a smooth conveyor belt between China and Namibia relations for the future.
“Students have noted that learning Chinese offers advantages both in
the local tourism industry and in a variety of interactions on the
global stage,” he says.