Manchester China Forum interview series
Posted on: April 6th 2022School News
Three Year 13 pupils were invited by Manchester China Forum to take part in a new interview series – Shared Futures. This project is co-created by MCF and Signal8 Digital, a marketing agency based in both China and the UK.
Rhys Whalley, Executive Director of Manchester China Forum, said: "We are very gateful to MGS’s Sixth Form students for participating in our Shared Future Series. It is great to hear from these inspiring young people about their own experiences of learning the language and the clear benefits that studying Mandarin has brough to them already. Their insight into the role that learning the language and visiting the country has played in deepening their cultural understanding but also in enhancing their own personal development provides an incredibly compelling case for anyone considering the pros and cons of foreign language studies. Now more than ever, it is critically important that we support students such as Yousuf, Felix and Usman to continue with their Mandarin studies and to realise the important value that this skill can play in shaping the UK’s future political, business and cultural engagement with a nation that is reshaping the world.”
This was a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to speak about their experiences and challenges when learning the language of Chinese, and how they hope to develop thier skills in the future!
Usman commented: "I was asked to answer some questions concerning Chinese, specifically the process of learning Chinese and the experience that has come from it. I think that learning Chinese has broadened my horizon, especially for introducing me to the Chinese culture. One thing that I learnt is that the Chinese community as a whole is very unified and welcoming to those who not only are interested in their culture but also to those who are learning the language".
He added: "Through the various questions that we were asked, the one question that stood out to me the most was 'What is your key advice for anyone just beginning to learn Chinese?'. This is actually one of the largest reasons why a lot of people don't consider learning Chinese, because they think it will be too hard for them. However, like this interview has taught me, as long as you keep up the hard work and earnestly push through any difficulties you face, you will find that learning Chinese is extremely rewarding."
Felix spoke about the inspiration behind the video: "This interview came about after the three of us had been talking to Mr Whalley, the Executive Director of the Manchester China Forum. We discussed our experiences of China after we had visited/lived there and how our perception of the country and its people had changed. Like with many countries in the world, the media often paint a negative perception of these countries but without visiting or fully understanding the culture you won’t gain a proper insight into that country. It was great to be able to take part in this interview and I hope that it encourages or inspires people to learn Chinese. It is such an important language in the modern world as China will be heavily involved in all of our futures. Having also helped out with the Swire Conference, it was great to see how many students are being given the opportunity to learn Mandarin".
Well done to all the pupils and we wish you the best of luck in your futures utilising the language of Chinese!