Video PlayerClose

by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Muberra Batuhan, a 28-year-old teacher in Turkey's capital Ankara, has a tough time bustling between increasing number of in-person and online Chinese language courses.

"My days are busy. During the day, I give in-person Mandarin lessons at two universities and a private college, while in the evening, I am generally in front of my computer for online lessons for my students across Turkey," she told Xinhua.

This young and high-spirited full-time teacher, one of many in Turkey's big cities, said that in recent years, people's interest in learning Chinese language and culture has grown exponentially in Turkey.

Batuhan got a Chinese language and literature degree from a university in Chinese city of Xi'an, where she studied for over four years.

"Thanks to an increasing economic, cultural and political cooperation between Turkey and China during past few years, Turkish people are more and more interested in everything related to China, especially the language," she said.

Her students, between the ages of 6 and 50, have very different backgrounds and motives to learn the language of China, which locates geographically distant from Turkey.

According to Batuhan, Turkish students have started to realize that learning Mandarin is becoming an inevitable part of the business life, as China's influence is expanding globally.

"In today's fast developing business world, English, as a secondary language, is not enough anymore," she said.

"Some of my university students are very keen to pursue a career in China, where many opportunities are for them to grab, while others want to learn Chinese in order to work for companies trading with China," Batuhan added.

In Ankara, many private schools and language courses offer Chinese lessons.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a high demand for Chinese lessons. Batuhan said that she needed to pick those who were serious in learning the language.

"China's great capabilities and the opportunities that it offers is like a magnet for a lot of Turks who want to do business with Chinese companies," Batuhan remarked.

The young teacher noted that online lessons have been effective and she received good feedback from her students scattered around many Turkish cities. Enditem