Chinese Teachers Arrive in Saudi Arabia for Mandarin Program

Chinese teachers have arrived in Saudi Arabia in August to fulfill their role in an integrated Mandarin language program. Their flight landed at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Ministry of Education welcomed the teachers with flowers and Saudi coffee. According to a report by the Saudi Gazette, a total of 175 Chinese teachers traveled to the kingdom.

Connecting Saudi Arabia to the world

The language program is part of a collaboration between Saudi Arabia and China, in order to teach Mandarin in public schools. Specifically, they will teach the language in elementary and immediate schools beginning mid-August.

The education bureau held a meeting with the educators to orient them about their responsibilities for the program. Also at the introductory meeting, which lasted for a week, the Ministry of Education also conducted different workshops. During these workshops, the organizers introduced the Chinese teachers to the Saudi learning system.

On top of the introductory program, the Ministry of Education will also hold field trips for the Chinese teachers. This is to bring them to various historical sites and events to give them a better understanding of Saudi culture. Moreover, this supports the Salam for Cultural Communication initiative, which aims to connect Saudi Arabia with cultures around the world.

Chinese teachers’ pre-service training

Liu Xiaoting, a representative for the 175 teachers, remarked, “We are grateful for such a valuable training opportunity and ambitious to contribute to Chinese language education in Saudi Arabia soon.”

Before flying to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese teachers underwent pre-service training at the Tianjin Normal University from July 29 to August 2. The Chinese Ministry of Education’s Center for Language Education and Cooperation organized the training with the Saudi education ministry. A different website, jiaohanyu.com, reported that a total of 800 educators would participate in the program.

Tianjin Normal University also marks its 60^th anniversary of executing international Chinese education initiatives. In addition, 2024 also marks the 20^th anniversary of its international Chinese teacher volunteer service.

Strengthening Saudi-China ties

According to Qu Kai, an official of Tianjin Normal University, its endeavors have produced over 60,000 international students fluent in Mandarin. Such initiatives with Chinese teachers will also strengthen ties between Saudi Arabia and China, and improve Chinese services.

Moreover, the partnership underscores Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from petroleum wealth. With more Saudis learning Mandarin, they are enabling locals to become future talents in industries relevant to Saudi Arabia-China ties. In June 2024, for instance, China recognized Saudi Arabia as an approved destination status.

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