Why Indonesian People Learn Chinese

Do you know what the most famous language besides English is? Yes, that is Chinese! Difficult Chinese characters and complicated tones are the causes why it is claimed as the most difficult language to learn. However, why are the number of people who learn Chinese in Indonesia increasing? The highest number of native speakers, the interest of Chinese people to expand more companies in Indonesia, and better education in China are the main reasons why many people here are becoming more interested in learning this language.

China is a country with more than one billion inhabitants, and Chinese people are living everywhere in every part of the world, which make this language becomes the world’s most spoken one. From the 19th century to 1949, Chinese people immigrated to other countries in order to have a better life. They left China since there were wars, starvation, invasion from various foreign countries, as well as the problems resulting from political corruption there. Then, they did not return to mainland China because they have settled down in their new countries, so now they can be easily found in every country. If someone masters Chinese, that would be good for him/her, because there are many Chinese people in this world.

Another reason is that China is becoming more interested in expanding business in Indonesia. It is because of the economic stability in Indonesia and also good relationship between China and Indonesia. The relations between these countries have been commenced since centuries ago, and officially recognize in 1950. Also, since the ancient times, Indonesian culture began to absorb many aspects of Chinese elements, such as Chinese origin loanwords in Indonesian, cuisine, art, and crafts, so China had influenced Indonesia in many ways. That is why many people in Indonesia want to learn Chinese, because if they master this language, they will get opportunity to work in good companies, especially China’s ones, more than people who do not have any abilities to speak Chinese.

Educational system in China is also way better that educational system in Indonesia. That is the reason why many Indonesian students want to study in China. Besides better educational system, tuition fees in China’s schools are also cheaper than in other countries in Asia, like Singapore, and also there are many universities with good quality there. Unfortunately, unlike in many countries in Europe, subjects at schools in China are not taught in English, but in Chinese. So, if someone wants to study in china, he/she will have to master Chinese first before applying.

Many people in Indonesia are becoming more interested in learning Chinese. The reasons are that Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world, China’s interest to do business here, and good quality of Chinese educational system. All in all, for many Indonesian people, learning Chinese today is as important as learning English.

Winda Andriani Rachmawaty
Penerima Beasiswa Unggulan
Sekolah Tinggi Bahasa Asing (STBA) LIA Jakarta
Angkatan 2013