MIPT students staged a riot against the Chinese language: the administration promised a “constructive dialogue”

The teaching of the Chinese language has been actively introduced since the last academic year in many educational institutions of the Russian Federation. “Chinese is the future,” they inspire today’s youth. However, not everyone is ready to exchange European languages ​​for “Chinese writing”. So, at MIPT, students staged a local protest.

Previously, the university had five languages: English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. But now German and French have been removed, and after learning English, all third-year students have decided to be automatically sent to study Chinese. As a result, the MIPT Student Council posted a petition “against the compulsory study of the Chinese language and for a high-quality foreign language”, inviting future engineers to sign it.

The accompanying petition says that student council activists “tried to negotiate with the leadership of the department of foreign languages, but they reached a dead end.” And in the comments, students also insist that the return of French and German should be sought. “The administration will understand that the students do not like this whole situation, which has been going on for about a year, and it will have to at least make concessions,” said one of the university students. “A year ago, we specifically explained to the head of the department of foreign languages ​​that German and French are needed, but they didn’t listen to us.”

“MK” contacted the chairman of the MIPT Student Council to understand the essence of the requirements of the guys.

“When the leadership of our department of foreign languages ​​changed a year ago, we first welcomed their reforms: for example, they announced an increase in the level of teaching English,” Ilya Zakharov, leader of the MIPT Student Council, told MK (he, by the way, is in his fourth year and is studying English) . “But then something strange began to happen. German and French have been removed from this academic year. They explained that it was necessary to concentrate on three languages: Spanish, Chinese and English. That is, we started teaching Chinese since September. Most of the students did not support this, but it was nevertheless possible to work with this position. However, after a semester in the department, we were told that the student must first study English to level B2, and then everyone is automatically sent to Chinese in the third year. The problem is that students have been deprived of a choice. Completely removed the Spanish language. (However, with the proviso that those who studied Spanish will be able to complete their studies). We are not against Chinese – we are against forced learning of Chinese. In addition, we have questions about his teaching. Now it is taught by our Chinese graduate students who have no pedagogical skills. We believe that teaching should be methodically better developed. In summary, we are in favor of choosing between languages ​​and preserving the diversity of English: for business, science, etc. We are for providing more opportunities for students.

– How do you feel about learning Chinese?

– Even before entering the 1st year of MIPT, I had a high level of English and experience of participating in several international conferences, so I initially wanted to learn another language, but then freshmen did not have such an opportunity. The Chinese language, and Chinese culture in general, is really interesting, maybe I would have chosen it, but then there was no choice. And now it’s too late to start studying it in senior years, I just won’t have time before graduation.

– How are the negotiations with the administration of the university going, do you expect them to meet halfway?

– Now we are closely interacting with the administration, and the administration, as he says, is ready to work constructively with our proposals, supported by students. As Student Council President, I have a meeting scheduled with the Principal on this topic this week, possibly Friday. I think there will be some concrete changes next week. I am sure that together we will come to a sound decision.

The administration of the Phystech “MK” presented their weighty arguments in favor of focusing on Chinese:

– The fact is that up to 27% of all scientific articles in MIPT’s core areas are currently written in Chinese, and according to researchers’ forecasts, by 2030 up to half of all technical and engineering documentation will be published in Chinese. And so that our graduates can rely on the latest scientific publications and read technical documentation in their scientific and research work, we are now discussing the formats and volumes of introducing Chinese as a second compulsory language into the educational program. Our teaching of Chinese is aimed at mastering technical translation. The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology is now preparing the first in Russia educational and methodological manual on the Chinese language for students of technical universities.

– How do you feel about the wishes of students about Chinese?

– At present, a constructive dialogue is being held between the administration of the university and the student community. But we want to remind you that our main goal is to train in-demand and professional students, and the role of China in the high-tech market is growing.

And here is fresh confirmation of the growing role of Chinese in our country: according to hh on March 29, employers and universities in Russia have stepped up their search for workers with knowledge of Chinese. The demand for such employees increased by 40% from January to March. Several universities announced the expansion of Chinese study groups at the request of students, who will be trained (for the first time) in such specialties as engineers, environmentalists, IT specialists and tour guides.