International students at Tongji University take part in a Chinese language competition. Photo: Courtesy of the International School at Tongji University

The new academic year has begun and thousands of foreign students are heading to universities in the city to study. Most are optimistic and look forward to their studies. But for many one subject will cause them stress and heartbreak - Chinese.

Most of the foreign students coming to China to study at universities are studying Chinese. Many foreigners say that Chinese is the most difficult language in the world to learn. Some education experts query the teaching methods used in China's universities and elite institutions. For the students it means grueling schedules and a constantly burgeoning workload.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Education Committee, in 2011 some 47,731 foreign students from 180 countries and regions came to study in Shanghai, a 10 percent increase on the number for the previous year. Eighty percent of these students listed Chinese as their major subject.

Most foreign students fall into three categories: students who have won scholarships, exchange students from partner universities, and self-funded students. In Shanghai in 2011, most of the foreign students studying Chinese enrolled in 33 universities and two institutes.

Hanban, the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing, is the institution attached to the Chinese Ministry of Education which organizes the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), the Chinese proficiency test. Every year the HSK is administered in 322 exam rooms overseas and 166 in China. By the end of 2011 more than 2 million non-Chinese had passed the HSK.

Ishemezwe Steve is a 25-year-old student from Burundi who won a scholarship to study here. He arrived in Shanghai in 2010 just as the World Expo was closing. All of his education and living expenses are being paid for by the Chinese government.

"Everyone in my country talks about China. And I was curious about the country. So I came here, but I never expected studying would be so tough," he told the Global Times.

Expanding horizons

Born in the strife-torn and impoverished Burundi in eastern Africa, Steve went to high school in Rwanda. In 2010 with scholarships offered by the Chinese government, Steve and 20 countrymen came to China to study and expand their horizons.

The Chinese Government Scholarship Program was launched in 2008 to provide scholarships to international students and scholars. It's managed by the China Scholarship Council which is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. Most of the students in the program come from developing countries.

Steve wanted to study civil engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University but first he had to complete a one-year preparatory course at Tongji University before he could begin his engineering studies.

Tongji University is the largest of the seven designated universities in the country which offer preparatory courses for overseas scholarship students.

According to Chen Qiang, the director of the International School at Tongji University, the school has accepted some 700 foreign students from the national scholarship program over the past three years. The preparatory course involves learning Chinese and basic sciences.

After the year's course, students are expected to know the equivalent amount of Chinese, mathematics, physics and chemistry as Chinese high school graduates. Then they move to different universities to continue their studies for their majors, usually in medicine, science or engineering.

Xu Juan, the director of the Education Department at the International School of Tongji University, told the Global Times that most foreign students like Steve who came for the preparatory course had no knowledge of the Chinese language at all.

Even though Steve had been successfully enrolled at Jiao Tong University, that first year was one of the toughest of his life. "It was really hard for me in the beginning, everything was difficult. If you saw me then I was skinny. I lost about five kilograms in the first semester," Steve laughed. In Burundi, Steve only spoke Kirundi, a Burundi dialect, and French and he now also knows a little English.

"Most students know nothing about Chinese when they get here. We have to start from zero. It's a huge challenge," Xu said.

Xu said the foreign students are taught Chinese beginning with pinyin and basic words. Later they learn to write and read characters, and study grammar and vocabulary.

It's a tough regime. Students have to learn 44 new words every day, for a year. In the second semester, students study some basic science subjects.

Before they can go on to study their chosen majors the students have to pass level four of the HSK which means they will be able to understand, read, write and speak nearly 3,000 words by the end of the year. "But that didn't help me understand what the teachers were saying during my first year at university," said Steve.

For most foreign students, Chinese is a difficult language to understand. Everything about it is completely different from their own tongues.

"For me, Chinese words are like paintings. Sometimes I can recognize a word but then I forget how to pronounce it. There's no order or logic like Western languages," Steve said.

Earlier this year Tongji University teacher Xu Juan visited 83 of her former students who are now scattered around different universities throughout the country. She said that the students had different difficulties as they pursued their studies.

"Two-thirds of these students said that they would succeed but the rest may have difficulties obtaining degrees."

Steve is now in his second year of civil engineering at Jiao Tong University. He is struggling. Jiao Tong University does not have an advanced Chinese language course and all of his lectures are in Chinese which he has difficulty understanding. He has had trouble making Chinese friends to help him practice using the language.

"I think we should continue Chinese lessons. The HSK test results don't guarantee that I can really speak and understand Chinese. One year of studying Chinese is far from enough. Without further study, I can barely understand what the lecturers are telling me in class now," Steve said.

Steve once tried to translate his textbooks into French which he understood well. But he gave that plan up quickly. "It was a mission impossible," he said. "But if I fail too many exams, I probably will be kicked out."

Almost impossible

Steve's not on his own in finding the course requirements a problem. Japanese students Yuta Yoshikawa and Yoshiyuki Osaki spent their summer holidays in Fudan University this year at a two-month Chinese refresher course. They also found it almost impossible to keep up with the schedule. "I can't remember this many words especially without a chance to practice them," Yoshiyuki said.

For Yoshiyuki's classmate Kristine Larsen from Norway, Chinese is the hardest language she has ever encountered. "As well none of the teachers speak any English or any other languages and they left me feeling helpless in the lessons."

Senior lecturer Li Mao has taught Chinese to foreign students for decades in Fudan University. He said it was very understandable that foreigners found Chinese hard to learn.

"For most foreigners familiar with their alphabet, Chinese characters are totally different. Unlike English or any other Western language where the words are constructed with individual letters, Chinese characters are pictographic and this makes it very hard for foreign students," Li said.

Added to this is the fact that the way Chinese words are pronounced does not always correspond with the way they are written, which makes it more difficult for students to remember new words.

Dai Xia teaches Chinese at Fudan and said it was relatively easier for Asian students to learn to read and write Chinese. Students from the West found speaking and understanding spoken Chinese easier.

"Working out how to use a dictionary to find a Chinese word is in itself a difficult task for students. Not to mention the use of traditional Chinese which is a 'mission impossible' even for most Chinese people," Li said.

Improvements needed

Professor Zhang Xiaopeng from the Higher Education Research Institute at Fudan University told the Global Times that with more foreigners coming to China to study Chinese, teaching methods and concepts need to be improved quickly.

"With China's increasing global influence and more Chinese companies buying up foreign businesses, many more foreigners are coming to China for opportunities. And Chinese has become a vital tool for them," Zhang said.

But he felt that not only did the teaching methods need overhauling but that education authorities should consider opening up Chinese language education. "We have to understand how difficult it is for foreigners to learn Chinese and improve the way we teach it. At present we are obviously not doing enough," he said.