By Tebby Otieno
The Chinese films Farhiya Jibril watched on their home screens sparked her interest in learning Chinese. Her first film featured a character who frequently uttered the phrase “Hái méiyu,” which translates to “Not Yet.” She observed learning this word by heart, and it became the first word she learned in Chinese.
Jibril, born in Kenya to parents of two nationalities, her father, a Somalian, and her Ethiopian mother, later discovered that the Chinese also have fascinating cultures. One of them is their dancing, which she compares to Somali dances, and their typical attire.
So, when she finally wrote her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams and scored 364 marks, gaining admission to State House Girls High School, she happily joined the school’s club for learning foreign languages. She took the language and began learning with the teacher in charge after discovering that the school also had the Chinese language.
“I want to join medicine field so I want to learn Chinese because they are good in medicine,” says Jibril.
Currently, in Form Two Jibril has advanced to level three in her Chinese studies. Although she can understand more Chinese than she can speak or write, she says that her knowledge of the language has grown. The firstborn child in a family of six also trains her siblings to practice speaking when they are not in school. She says that because of the lessons, one of her sisters speaks Chinese as well.
“I grasp the Chinese words easily because they somehow repeat some of the words. If you compare lessons in level one and two, you’ll see some words are related. In level one we focussed more on listening than writing,” she says.
Even as students advance in their studies, the desire to learn Chinese grows. For example, Shantel Atieno, a 20-year-old University of Nairobi (UoN) student studying Quantity Surveying, realized this when she turned 18. It took the efforts of her younger sister to introduce her to Chinese films and songs, which sparked her interest in the language.
“I came to school one day and learned that they teach Chinese for free. I was so excited and I told my parents. Because I am also doing work in construction industry it also helps me when I learn Chinese because a number of the construction firms in Kenya right now are owned by Chinese,” says Shantel, the second child in a family of five.
Shantel’s interest in learning foreign languages is not limited to Chinese. She also turned to Korean language, which she attributes to the Chinese films she enjoys watching, for fun.
State House Girls School has been facilitating its students to learn Chinese voluntarily for about four years now. According to Khakame Wamocha, the school’s Deputy Principal – Academics, having students who are fluent in the language will allow for intercultural communication and the elimination of communication barriers, particularly in the business world between China and Kenya.
“If a student has Chinese, I think they would have an upper hand compared to those ones who do not have. I think it is good that we expose our students to various languages to make them more marketable as they finish university,” he told this publication.
According to Wamocha, over 50 State House Girls school students have enrolled in the Chinese language course. The subject, he says, is not examinable and lasts two hours on Saturday and Sunday when students attend classes at the University of Nairobi’s Confucius Institute. He says that the school also teaches German and French, both of which are examinable.
According to Prof. Wang Shangxue, Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, (CIUON) the ongoing online Chinese language exchange program is designed for Kenyan university and high school students. It attracts students from seven countries and many institutions. Currently, Kenya has about 90 students, the majority of whom are university students, with the remainder being high school students participating in the online exchange programme. All the participants have basic Chinese language background.
“It is very important for the students to open their mind and eyes to the globe outside Kenya. We introduced one of the provinces in China which has its own unique and exotic culture,” she says.
Quoting the adage that it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books, Prof. Shangxue believes that all the students in the program love Chinese culture very much and are also interested in what is happening in China.
“Modern technology has unlocked a lot of possibilities to do online programs. Because of COVID-19 some students cannot go to China to physically experience the culture. If they physically travel to China maybe they can only go to one destination and learn only one local culture,” she said noting that the program involves Taiyuan Normal University students in China.
The online program is offered on weekends from 2-5 pm and Monday to Friday from 5pm to 7 pm. Prof. Shangxue says the institution will launch some other programs and incorporate more institutions in China and Kenya based on the students’ needs.
The Confucius Institute was founded in 2005 as Africa’s first Confucius Institute and has since been named Confucius Institute of the Year seven times. The Confucius Institute at UoN received the pioneer Confucius Institute award in 2014. Its achievements further saw it named the Global Model Confucius Institute in 2020.
Speaking last Thursday during this year’s official opening ceremony of the Chinese Film Festival, at the Kenya Cultural Centre. Prof. Stephene Kiama, vice chancellor UoN and Kenyan Director of the CIUON at the university, stated that since its inception, the institute has allowed close to 20,000 students to learn Chinese and has this year launched various programs for the students to experience their authentic multidimensional and panoramic view of China. He described Chinese Festival movies as an appealing social art form that is used to entertain, educate, and explore important social issues.
“Films have the power to make us learn about new culture, experience a different perspective or open our eyes to a world we know nothing about,” said Prof. Kiama.
The writer can be reached on tebbyotieno62@gmail.com.
