ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) — Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship.
One of the joyful students who were passionately attending their first-ever Chinese language session at the Dimond Academy was Yonatan Henok, a nine-year-old third-grade student at the Dimond Academy, a private school in Addis Ababa.
“Today, we learned two Chinese language songs; one about the friendship between China and Ethiopia and another song about a famous place in the Chinese capital Beijing called Tiananmen Square,” Yonatan said.
Yonatan and his classmates received the rare opportunity organized by the school administration in partnership with the 22nd batch of the Chinese Medical Team in Ethiopia.
The rare opportunity was provided to the school children on Wednesday by He Yang, a professor of English language from China’s Henan University of Chinese Medicine, presently serving as an interpreter to the Chinese Medical Team in Ethiopia.
During the interactive lecture, He taught students about simple Mandarin words, the long-standing Ethiopia-China friendship and famous Chinese places. The lecture turned out to be captivating to the young Ethiopian students who are keen to learn Chinese culture and knowledge in the future.
Darik Yonas, is another third-grader student at Dimond Academy who spoke highly of her first-ever experience in learning Chinese.
“I am very happy today. It was a very good experience and I was lucky to be able to learn Chinese songs. I wish I’ll one day meet fellow Chinese children and make friends,” Darik said.
Yilfashewa Mengistu, a teacher at the Dimond Academy, spoke highly of the rare opportunity in terms of introducing the Chinese language to students.
“Learning the Chinese language at a young age is vital as it facilitates students’ capabilities to learn the language easily,” Mengistu said.
“Teaching these young children the language will certainly play a crucial role in boosting the already excellent relations between the two countries,” she added.
Mengistu, however, argued the need to provide Chinese language education on a regular basis if school children are able to master the language at the desired level.
“It is very good to introduce the language to these children at a young age. However, they need to get continued education. Apart from the positive impression they will develop to the Chinese language, they will not be able to grasp better Chinese language skills through limited engagements,” Mengistu argued.
Tesfaye Tetemke, Dimond Academy School Director, emphasized the need to boost language education to further strengthen the people-to-people ties among the two countries.
“These children were lucky as they were able to get a rare Chinese language education, which is not easily accessible at their age in our country,” Tetemke told Xinhua.
“Given the fact that China is a global power and a very good partner of Ethiopia, it is beneficial for our children and country to be able to learn Chinese as a priority language,” he added.
Courtesy of the ever-expanding Sino-Ethiopian ties, the interest in studying Chinese language is growing fast with newly opening institutes being operational across public universities in different parts of the East African country.
In addition to the federal Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institute, Chinese language studies are now provided in many other public universities across Ethiopia, such as Addis Ababa University (AAU) in the capital, Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia’s northwestern Amhara regional state, Mekelle University in northern Ethiopia, as well as Arsi University in Ethiopia’s largest Oromia regional state.
Tetemke argued that the Ethiopian government, with technical support and collaboration with China, should take the initiative and introduce the Mandarin language at lower primary school level.
“Learning Chinese language is very advantageous for our country. It will enable us to master Chinese technologies and developments as well as forge strong relations with China,” Tetemke added.
Despite calls to introduce Chinese language education at lower school level, the Chinese language is now available across various higher education institutions in Ethiopia. The interest in studying the Chinese language is also growing fast with newly opening institutes being operational across public universities in different parts of the East African country.
In October this year, Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa University (AAU) in partnership with the Confucius Institute at the AAU had announced that it has finalized preparations to launch the first-ever Master of Arts (MA) program in the Chinese language in Ethiopia. Enditem
Students at Dimond Academy learn to sing a Chinese song during a Chinese language session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 22, 2021. Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship. TO GO WITH “Feature: Chinese language education captivates young Ethiopian school children” (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
He Yang (L), interpreter of the Chinese medical team in Ethiopia, teaches students to sing a Chinese song during a Chinese language session at Dimond Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 22, 2021. Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship. TO GO WITH “Feature: Chinese language education captivates young Ethiopian school children” (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
Yonatan Henok, a nine-year-old third-grader, attends a Chinese language session at Dimond Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 22, 2021. Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship. TO GO WITH “Feature: Chinese language education captivates young Ethiopian school children” (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
He Yang, interpreter of the Chinese medical team in Ethiopia, teaches students to sing a Chinese song during a Chinese language session at Dimond Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 22, 2021. Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship. TO GO WITH “Feature: Chinese language education captivates young Ethiopian school children” (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
Darik Yonas, a third-grade student, learns to sing a Chinese song during a Chinese language session at Dimond Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 22, 2021. Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship. TO GO WITH “Feature: Chinese language education captivates young Ethiopian school children” (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
Darik Yonas, a third-grade student, learns to sing a Chinese song during a Chinese language session at Dimond Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 22, 2021. Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship. TO GO WITH “Feature: Chinese language education captivates young Ethiopian school children” (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
Students at Dimond Academy learn to sing a Chinese song during a Chinese language session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 22, 2021. Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship. TO GO WITH “Feature: Chinese language education captivates young Ethiopian school children” (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
He Yang, interpreter of the Chinese medical team in Ethiopia, teaches students to sing a Chinese song during a Chinese language session at Dimond Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Dec. 22, 2021. Waving Chinese and Ethiopian flags with laughter and resounded feeling, young Ethiopian school children at the Dimond Academy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa sing Chinese songs manifesting the blossoming Ethiopia-China friendship. TO GO WITH “Feature: Chinese language education captivates young Ethiopian school children” (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
