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Chinese language study takes off
全世界都在学中国话！
When Faith Wanjiku graduated from the Technical University of Kenya last year, she immediately enrolled at the Confucius Institute in Kenyatta University. She wanted to learn Chinese, as she believed that it would help her land a good job.
费思·万吉库去年从肯尼亚工业大学毕业后不久，便很快前往了肯雅塔大学孔子学院学习。她想学习中文，因为她认为这能让她找到一份好工作。
She has just completed the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) 3 exam. HSK is a test of Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers, organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters.
她刚刚通过了汉语水平三级考试。由孔子学院总部组织的汉语水平考试（HSK）是一项为测试母语非汉语者的汉语水平而设立的考试。
However, this level isn't enough for Wanjiku, who plans to pass HSK 6. "I want to increase my level of understanding and improve my spoken Mandarin," she told China Daily.
但对于计划通过HSK六级考试的万吉库而言，三级的水平还远远不够。“我想提升自己的（中文）理解能力，提高普通话口语，”她在接受《中国日报》采访时如此表示。
And Wanjiku isn't alone. The number of people taking the HSK reached 6.8 million in 2018, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Education said on May 31.
与万吉库有同样想法的不止一人。5月31日，教育部表示，2018年各类汉语考生达到680万人次，人数比上年增长了4.6%。
Chinese is becoming an increasingly popular choice of language to study around the world. Currently, middle school students in Russia can take Chinese as an elective language test in the country's national college entrance exam, Sputnik News reported.
中文正成为全球语言学习的一大热门选择。目前，俄罗斯的中学生在俄罗斯“高考”中，可以将中文作为一门选考语言，俄罗斯卫星通讯社报道称。
In May, Zambia became the fourth country in Africa – after Kenya, Uganda and South Africa – to introduce Chinese language to its schools.
5月，继肯尼亚、乌干达、南非之后，赞比亚成为非洲大陆第四个在学校中引入汉语教学的国家。
And many English-speaking countries have shown an interest in allowing their students to learn Chinese. The US government announced the launch of "1 Million Strong" in 2015, a plan that aims to bring the total number of learners of Chinese to 1 million by 2020.
许多英语国家也表现出让学生学习中文的兴趣。2015年，美国政府宣布发起“百万强”项目，计划到2020年将全美学习中文的人数提高到100万人。
A 2017 survey by the British Council, the UK's international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities, showed that Chinese has become the language that British parents most want their children to learn.
英国文化协会是英国提供教育机会与促进文化交流的国际机构，其于2017年发布的一项调查显示，中文已成为英国家长们最希望孩子学习的一门语言。
Behind the growing popularity of Chinese language learning is the international community's positive attitude toward China's future development, as well as the people's longing to learn about Chinese civilization and culture, according to People's Daily.
“汉语热”体现了外界对中国未来发展普遍看好的内在逻辑，以及人们对于深入了解中华文化的渴望，《人民日报》报道称。
"I am fascinated with China's history, culture and language as well as its economic development, and I think that studying in China could provide me with some great job opportunities, as I see growing investment and collaboration between the two countries," Patcharamai Sawanaporn, 26, a graduate student at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics from Thailand, told China Daily.
“我对中国的历史、文化、语言以及经济发展特别着迷，我认为在中国学习能够为我带来很棒的工作机会，因为我看到两国的投资与合作在不断增加，”对外经贸大学26岁的泰国研究生帕查拉麦·斯瓦纳波恩在接受《中国日报》采访时如此表示。
Indeed, it's as the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela put it, "if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."
的确，正如南非前总统纳尔逊·曼德拉所言：“如果你用一个人听得懂的语言与他交流，他会记在脑子里；如果你用他自己的语言与他交流，他会记在心里。”
