UAE: More expats, Emiratis learning Chinese language; here’s why

UAE: More expats, Emiratis learning Chinese language; here’s why

Mandarin is considered one of the hardest languages in the world, but with consistency and dedication, students will eventually learn it

Reuters file photo used for illustrative purposes

Published: Tue 10 Jan 2023, 7:03 PM

Teachers and experts in the UAE are seeing a spike in the number of residents who are taking Chinese language lessons. While several reasons could be behind the trend, they said business is at the top of the list.

Nine-year-old Gabriel Checinski has been learning Chinese since he was 6, and as his mother Michelle encourages him to keep going, she has been picking up the lessons, too.

“I lived in Asia for nearly 10 years and I believe that it’s important for people from Western countries to learn Asian languages to foster better cultural understanding,” said Michelle, a British homemaker married to a German.

During the pandemic when classes were online, she would listen in and help Gabriel review. “I try my best to speak with him. It’s not as good as a native speaker but anything helps,” she said. Now that China has opened its borders, she said she’d like him to do some kind of language exchange.

It hasn’t always been easy, and Gabriel sometimes does complain about the