The Main Purpose of Learning Mandarin as Foreign Language

Children who are in school in Indonesia, usually have learned Mandarin as a foreign language since they were in elementary school. The real purpose of teaching Mandarin is so that students can get to know foreign cultures, but in reality the learning process that is carried out tends not to be focused.

We really cannot deny that learning Mandarin is quite difficult or complicated, compared to other foreign languages. Only a small proportion of Indonesians can truly master Mandarin, and even then because most of them learn directly from China.

The level of awareness of school children about Chinese should be improved, otherwise the Chinese subjects at school will just be in vain. The Chinese teacher should also be able to explain better and guide more patiently, so that students do not think Mandarin is a difficult language.

I strongly disagree that students only take Chinese language courses just to be able to pass the test in these subjects. When they have taken the course, they should take it seriously and study it until the final stage, so that this country can have more Mandarin speakers.

It is better if schools in Indonesia can emphasize the main objectives of learning Mandarin.