Why learning Chinese improves cultural understanding and opens new career opportunities

Language Centre student Alexander Parini shares his experience of learning Chinese (Mandarin) at SOAS and how he hopes to use it in his future career in international relations. 

Having previously spent 3-years studying Mandarin, I signed up for classes at the SOAS Language Centre as I felt it would be the natural place to continue my language development, as enhancing my communication skills is an ongoing priority for me. 

In 2019, having developed a passion for travel, I started my blog, My Asia Connections, where I enjoy sharing my intercultural experiences and help people learn more about Asian cultures and societies. Learning Chinese has been a key instrument for gaining cultural insight while abroad, and has helped me to understand and appreciate the challenges and joy associated with cross-cultural communication.

Learning Chinese has been a key instrument for gaining cultural insight while abroad and has helped me to understand and appreciate the challenges and joy associated with cross-cultural communication.

At SOAS, I was looking for an opportunity to practice my language skills in a real-world, conversational setting, which these Chinese language classes provided through a focus on speaking and listening with the instructor and other students. It also provided me with the opportunity to connect with other students and enhance my cultural understanding through sharing our lived experiences. My fellow students came from across the world, including the United States and continental Europe, and it was interesting to learn from the perspectives of classmates who had diverse experiences travelling, studying, and working in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Having completed the course, I’m proud that I can now communicate more fluently and am excited to take my language learning to the next level. I’ve enrolled in subsequent courses to enhance my Chinese language ability further and plan to move on to studying vocabulary related to labour rights in China.

I am currently studying MSc Research for International Development at SOAS, and my plan for the future is to use these language skills to secure a job in international relations, as communicating in Chinese opens up many opportunities in global affairs.

What Mandarin word or phrase would you teach a friend?

The Mandarin word that I would teach a friend is 改革开放 (gǎigé kāifàng) which means Opening Up and Reform. It is the name of mainland China’s market-oriented reforms which began under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership in the late 1970s.

The reform period began a new era for China as it created opportunities for foreign companies from across the world to invest in the mainland’s economy.