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Via WOMEN'S FEATURE SERVICE
India - New Delhi
China
- Multilingual Chinese Women Find Opportunities as Olympics
By Ajitha Menon
Beijing (Women's Feature Service) - "In my English language class 90 per
cent students were women. I believe that women are naturally inclined towards
languages," says Amy Wang, 28, a diplomat from Kobe near Beijing. More
people - mostly women - have shown that they are game to learn a universal
language, ever since China was announced as the host of the XXIX Olympic Games.
In fact, as per a report of the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE), the number
of people taking its English proficiency test, Test for English Majors (TEM),
has risen by 10 per cent annually since 2004 when China bagged the 2008
Olympics. Over 900 colleges offer English major and currently, 800,000 students
are majoring in English alone.
"I majored in English from Yunnan University. Most of us who studied
English ended up as civil servants or diplomats. But with the Olympics,
thousands of job opportunities as translators, interpreters, volunteers have
opened up. Women have always played a pivotal role in entrepreneurship in China
and we are capitalising on this chance now," says Lee Chindiang, 25, a
civil servant working for the Yunnan Administration in south-west China.
With Beijing expecting over 500,000 foreign visitors during the sporting
extravaganza, hotels, local businesses, police, hospitals, and bus and train
services are all looking towards hiring staff or volunteers who speak foreign
languages. For example, the Beijing Emergency Medical Centre has been
advertising for multi-lingual people to receive emergency medical calls. The
Olympics Volunteer Programme has enrolled over 400,000 English-speaking
recruits to combat the influx of foreigners. About 65 per cent of the recruits
are women.
"My aunt and sister, who have done courses in English and French respectively,
have found jobs as hotel staff in Beijing," reveals Annie Yang, 27, a tour
guide from Dali, on way to Beijing herself. Annie, who is fluent in English and
French, has completed a crash course in sports translation to prepare herself
for work in the capital. Official figures say 10,000 sports translators would
be needed during the Olympics. China has about 300,000 professional translators
and interpreters, one-fourth of whom are in Beijing. Most of them specialise in
English, French, Russian, Korean and Japanese. The Olympics related translation
business is expected to touch US$ 92.2 billion (700 billion Yuan).
Most Chinese women prefer to take up English and French as they can easily find
jobs as teachers. "Many of my friends have also gone abroad to work as
nurses, teachers or au pairs after learning English or French," says Li
Xiang, 22, who is fluent in English and Korean. She has joined a tour and
travel company in Beijing, as a guide and interpreter during the Olympics.
For the first time in Olympic history a private company - Beijing Yuanpei
Century Translation Co. Ltd. - has been contracted for official translation and
interpretation services. With linguistic resources from Peking University, a
team of 600 professional translators of the company would be working
round-the-clock during the games. At least half the team comprises women
drawing annual remunerations between RMB 200,000 to RMB 300,000 (US$1=6.8 Yuan)
annually.
Age is no bar in language studies as proven by the residents of Beijing's
Dongsi Olympic Community. About 100 citizens, over 50 years of age, are
attending classes three times a week to brush up on English etiquette and
phrases. "The elderly Chinese speak mandarin. It's difficult for them to
learn a foreign language. But, the Olympics seem to have rejuvenated one and
all. Our courses, too, have several students over the age of 40 now," says
Anais Ravet, Responsible Administrative, Alliance Francaise, Beijing. Over
27,000 students are enrolled to learn French in more than 12 cities across
China. In fact, French is so popular that Alliance Francaise has its fifth
biggest network in the world in China.
Today, 50 million people in China, most of them women, are learning a foreign
language at schools and institutes in China, which in turn are offering courses
in over 60 foreign languages.
Various universities such as the Beijing Foreign Studies University, Peking
University, Yunnan University and Xi'an International Studies University, and
institutes like the Nanjing Foreign Language School, Hangzhou Foreign Language
School, Shanghai Foreign Language School, Tianjin Foreign Language School,
Summit Foreign Language School and Einsun Education Corportion in Kunming,
cater to students who want to learn languages such as Arabic, German, Korean,
Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Italian.
"I consciously opted for Spanish as I was determined to become a diplomat.
With Spanish, I was sure of a foreign posting," says Gao Lina, 25, on
holiday in Lijiang, Yunnan, from her posting in Africa. "Two of my
classmates Li Liming and Li Xiaoyu, who took French are currently working in
other countries in Africa," she discloses, adding with a smile, "A
diplomat's job is viewed in China with great prestige. Most girls aspire for
it. The salary is good and social standing improves tremendously. Husbands,
too, are easy to find, often within the diplomatic circles."
One can wonder what would happen to this huge talent pool once the Olympics are
over. However, for the Chinese, it's just a beginning. As Liu Wen, 11, proudly
explains in English, "We are learning English at the primary level in
schools now. Our teacher tells us to select an English name in school, mine is
Lily. She told us foreigners find it difficult to pronounce our Chinese names.
We want to talk to foreigners. So we need to learn English. We get many foreign
visitors in Dali now and I am happy to talk to them in English."
China is gradually opening up to the outside world. The economy is growing and
tourism is being avidly promoted. So, the number of foreign visitors is
increasing. Some 70,000 foreigners already live and work in Beijing.
Many women are working with corporations and business houses in Beijing and
Shanghai as secretaries-cum-interpreters. According to Paul Lemetti, President
Lemetti, Inc., currently, setting up a pharmaceutical complex in Kunming,
"My life became easier when I hired an English speaking secretary who acts
as interpreter when I talk to the scientists from Yunnan University. Women
assistants also explain local customs and culture with great care and it goes a
long way in improving our etiquette during business dealings."
There are several wholesale markets for women's apparel, jewellery and
electronic goods in business zones like Guangzhou, where women find employment
on the strength of knowing one or more foreign language. "We get customers
from Korea and Japan regularly. I speak Korean and a smattering of Japanese and
my boss finds me indispensable while dealing with customers," says Wendy
Chang Wen, 34, working as a business assistant with a jewellery house.
The next influx of foreign visitors is expected in 2010 for the Shanghai World
Expo (where china will showcase its industrial and technological progress).
Afterwards, many foreign language experts hope to extend their services to
organisers of the London Olympics to be held in 2012! Women are very much in
the forefront in China in this growing sector. From teaching American children
Mandarin in the Silicon Valley, Chicago or New Jersey to explaining the intricacies
of drinking tea in Italian to visitors from Rome in Lijiang, Yunnan, Chinese
women are willing to do everything to make themselves global citizens - making
their country more cosmopolitan in the process.
Courtesy: Women's Feature Service
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