Kiwis just aren’t on fire for learning Chinese. Why?
The Asia New Zealand Foundation has just released a report on school leavers’ engagement with Asia. It makes for dismaying reading: just 34% of those in their final two years of high school are studying an Asian language. Five years ago, that figure was 39%.
But it’s not for want of opportunity, though access is easier if you’re in Auckland. There are plenty of opportunities to learn Chinese here or in China — but Kiwis aren’t taking them up.
Last year, for a report I wrote with the Committee for Auckland, a think tank, we looked at how many Kiwis were learning Chinese in our school system. 50 early childhood centres offer Chinese immersion. 87 schools offer the language at high school. Only 657 were studying Chinese in year 13 last year, or about half the number that started in Year 9 in 2012. That may be because New Zealanders just don’t like learning foreign languages: Chinese was the third most popular language in Year 13 after French, which had almost 900 students, and Japanese, which had just over 700. But China is our largest trading partner, and it’s concerning that so few young New Zealanders are learning the language that will let us do business there.
There’s support for learning Chinese. The Confucius Institute, a not-for-profit established by Auckland University, Fudan University of Shanghai and the Office of Chinese Language Council International, places Mandarin language assistants in schools from Whangarei to Taupo, with the majority in Auckland. It also facilitates an annual delegation to China for principals and deputy principals, with all expenses covered, and provides professional development for teachers of Chinese.
China is fast becoming an education destination in its own right, and aims to attract 500,000 international students by 2020. But only a few New Zealanders take up opportunities to study there. Awarded twice a year, the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia were set up in 2013 to support New Zealanders travelling to Asia for between six weeks and two years for a purpose that is “demonstrably linked to New Zealand’s trade or economic agenda in Asia”. The scholarships are generous, covering flights, tuition fees, medical and visa fees and a contribution towards living costs. And they’re flexible: available for six weeks to two years, they can be taken up for study, internships or research. In June 2017, 202 New Zealanders received scholarships.
There are other attractive opportunities available for New Zealanders wanting to study in China. For Aucklanders, the Zhejiang Sister Province Scholarships offer year-long scholarships for undergraduate, masters or doctoral study at a university in Zhejiang. In addition, the givMe grant and scholarship database, readily accessible at public libraries, lists more than 100 scholarships for academic study that could be taken up by an Aucklander interested in studying in China. The database also lists a large number of grants for which Aucklanders seeking professional development opportunities in China could be eligible.
For some reason, New Zealanders just aren’t on fire for learning Chinese. But we should be — and we could be. The Asia NZ Foundation’s report shows that school leavers are behind the 8-ball when it comes to knowledge of Asia. But we need to take up opportunities to get out in front.
