Sino-African economic tie boosts Chinese language education in Nigeria

The study of the Chinese language has become increasingly popular among young students in Lagos, Nigeria. As the West African nation continues to foster economic relations with China, students say learning the language makes them more competitive in the job markets in the East and at home.

在尼日利亚的拉各斯的年轻学生中已掀起一股日益高涨的中文学习热潮。随着西非国家与中国的经济关系加强，学生们都表示学习这门语言让他们在本国以及东方的人才市场更具竞争力。

The demand for learning Chinese has increased all over the world as the country is seen as a major player in economics, healthcare and politics. Many students in the West caught on to this trend about a decade ago. In 2008, Asia Society, a New York-based Asia-focused educational organization, reported that enrollment in Chinese programs among K-12 level students grew 200 percent over a four-year period from 2004-2008.

随着中国在_经济、_医疗和_政治领域被视为重要参与者，中文学习需求便在全球日益激增。十年前，西方的学生最先嗅到了这个趋势。2008年，聚焦亚洲教育的纽约组织——亚洲协会指出参与中文课程的基础教育学生在2004至2008这四年间增长了200%。

In Nigeria, and other African nations, learning Chinese as a way to be more competitive in the job market is still relatively new. Upon graduating in 2014 with a degree in microbiology from Lagos State University, Jolade Oshodi, after being exposed to Chinese pop culture, decided to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Lagos’ Confucius Institute.

在尼日利亚以及其他非洲国家，把学习中文作为在人才市场中更具竞争力的途径相对而言还是件新鲜的事。朱雷德·奥邵迪，2014年在拉各斯大学获得微生物专业学位后毕业，由于受中国流行文化影响，决定在拉各斯大学的孔子学院攻读研究生学位。

“I graduated from LASU in 2014 and thought of what next to do, but nothing came to my mind until I started watching Chinese movies, and that was when something said to me that I should give it a try,” Oshodi said.

奥邵迪说，“2014年我从拉各斯大学毕业后就想着接下来要做什么，但是什么都想不到，直到我看了中国电影，那时便萌生了放手一搏的想法。”

Though Chinese is often regarded as one of the most difficult languages to learn, Oshodi says her hard work is already reaping benefits. Odoshi has been busy at her job where she serves as a translator between various Chinese-owned companies in Lagos and Nigerian officials and business people. Later in the year she will embark on a one-year scholarship study program at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

尽管中文经常被视为最难学习的语言之一，但是奥邵迪表示她的努力付出已经有所收获了。奥邵迪现在作为翻译常常在不同的拉各斯的华资企业、尼日利亚官员以及商人之间忙得不可开交。今年下半年，她将开始在北京理工大学展开为期一年的奖学金留学项目。

Earlier Zimbabwe proposed mandatory Chinese lessons in the curriculum at state-run schools. The Herald reported that, if adopted, Chinese was the latest addition to a list of mandatory subjects, including French, Portuguese and Swahili.

早些时候，津巴布韦提议州立学校开设中文必修课程。先驱报指出，如果该提议通过，中文将成为继法语、葡萄牙语和斯瓦西里语后又一个必修课。