Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken native language in the world, with more than 1.4 billion speakers, and each year more foreigners join the challenge of learning the language and making their connections with China.
In Costa Rica, both the public and private sectors offer options for students to learn the language, starting from children and also for adults, for this they open spaces in schools, colleges and universities, and offer options to study in China with a scholarship.
Confucius Institute and Costa Rican-Chinese Educational Cultural Center
Both are leaders in the study of Mandarin in Costa Rica and their goal is to promote the Chinese language and culture. The Confucius Institute of the University of Costa Rica was born in 2008 and the Centro Cultural Educativo Costarricense-Chino, in 2010.
Besides language courses, which include basic, intermediate and advanced levels, the two institutions organize conferences on society and culture. China, and prepare students for the HSK exam, which is the Chinese proficiency test.
CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE
FACEBOOK: @institutoconfuciodelaUcr
PHONE: 2511-6870
WEBSITE: http://institutoconfucio.ucr.ac.cr
Chinese Government Scholarships
Every year, the Chinese government offers scholarship opportunities to Costa Rican students. With a minimum level of HSK 3, one could apply for a scholarship to study in China. The call for the Chinese Government Scholarship Program 2021-2022 already closed in January. The next one is expected to be announced by the end of the year or the beginning of the next. Stay informed through: Facebook @EmbajadaChinaCostaRica and the website of the Embassy http://cr.chineseembassy.org/esp/
Let’s talk Mandarin
The Let’s Talk Mandarin project has been in operation in Costa Rica’s public schools since 2016. Currently, schools in the Central Valley, in Curridabat and San José, in addition to the provinces of Puntarenas, Limón and Guanacaste, teach five weekly lessons to hundreds of students. Last year, schoolchildren adopted a virtual platform, which enabled new digital tools for learning Mandarin.
Chinese Bridge Contest
The richest and most profound experience of Mandarin studies is the Chinese Bridge Contest, which attracts the best international students of Mandarin to make various presentations of their national cultures and compete with each other for first place. In 2020, through a virtual modality, the contestant Graciela Barrantes Quirós managed to reach the best 6 in the Americas in the collegiate version.
