Italian students show off Chinese skills

PISA, Italy — In the small foyer of the Lumiere Theater on Monday, several students kept walking up and down, murmuring Chinese words.

It was time for them to prove how hard they had worked in the last months, and how good they were now in mastering a complex yet fascinating language.

The Italian finals of the 11th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students saw 36 boys and girls from 16 high schools in the country competing.

The winners will represent Italy this summer in the final stage of the international language contest, which is promoted by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) annually.

In the all-day event in Italy, they were asked to take part in a written test, to give a twominute oral presentation and show Chinese art pieces.

Michelle Montuschi, 16, from Malpighi secondary school of Bologna started learning Chinese four years ago.

“One reason why I am so fascinated by the Chinese language is that I find their culture engaging,” she said.

Giovanni Montefoschi, 17, had already spent a year at a high school in Shijiazhuang, a city in northern China, thanks to a scholarship.

Despite that, he said he was still not proficient in Chinese as some of his Italian schoolmates. “I will keep learning it, though, even if I am planning to study engineering at university.”

During his oral presentation on stage, he spoke about himself in Chinese, assisted by his teacher, and — as many Italians do — accompanying his words with wide hand gestures.

Italian secondary school pupils showed better proficiency in Chinese compared to university students, according to teachers with Italy’s Confucius Institutes.

“Italian students are usually a little slow in their pronunciation studies, because here they attend large classes, and cannot work in small groups,” Zhang Hong, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at Sapienza University in Rome, said.

“When they have the chance to spend a sojourn in China practicing conversation and pronunciation, however, they really improve a lot.”

The Italian education system is unique, according to the teacher.

“Here students learn a lot in terms of Chinese culture and literature, they gather much more knowledge compared (to) other foreign students engaged with Chinese,” Zhang explained.

She stressed this approach — if combined with a strong practice experience in China — could produce very good results for the students.

Beyond the fascination of a distant language, another crucial factor that helps to attract Italian students is linked to the idea of the development of China, for them more than for older generation.

“In today’s China, I see a reality that is more forward than ours from some points of view,” Giovanni Stoppoloni from Rome Convitto Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II said.

The student lived and studied in Shanghai from September to January, after learning Chinese at school in Italy for four years.

“In Shanghai, for instance, I got used to doing everything with my mobile phone, as many Chinese do ... payments, bookings, work and food deliveries. It is not yet the same in Italy, and when I came back, I missed it,” he said.

“Beyond this small example, I think China will keep providing models of development in many sectors in the future, and also for us in Italy,” he added.

In today’s China, I see a reality that is more forward than ours from some points of view.”

Giovanni Stoppoloni,