Mandarin stories: Nishat Ali, language learner

5

I started learning Mandarin at secondary school in the UK.

It was something that I found that I enjoyed.

My teachers were fantastic at bringing it

to life in the classroom.

And that really captured my imagination

and really made me want to carry on learning the language.

It is a challenging language.

The fact that there are more than 50,000 characters

really means that you do have to push

yourself to learn the language.

But once you start mastering it, the rewards are enormous.

It means that if I can do that, I

can do pretty much any other language in the world.

What I love about living here in China

is that I'm able to really see history before my eyes.

Being able to see things like the Great Wall

and knowing how significant it is

and being able to have that in your backyard I think

Working here has been one of the most amazing opportunities

I've ever had to really immerse myself in the culture.

[MANDARIN SPEECH]

It really broadens your horizon and gets you

to grips with the language very quickly as well.

[MANDARIN SPEECH]

People are really friendly here.

And just being able to show you speak a little Mandarin

goes a long way.

The world is a very big place and China's place

in it is increasingly getting bigger and bigger.

There's more Chinese companies who are investing abroad,

not just in the UK but all over the place like America,

in Africa, across East Asia, Southeast Asia.

So even though you might be learning Mandarin

and you might be using it in the UK

or you might be using it in China,

there's an abundance of opportunities

elsewhere around the world where the language

will come in handy.

Because that's where there's a lot of Chinese investment

happening.

So yeah, I see the future being one

where more engagement with China is

going to be happening across the globe.