Tendency of Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language among Sri Lankan University Students

Abstract

Chinese language is the most popular language in all over the world .Chinese Language is one of the five major languages of United Nations Organization and second language of Australia and United States of America. Although, Chinese is not an official Language in Sri Lanka most of the students are learning Chinese as a foreign language. Chinese is taught as a foreign language in Schools, Universities and Confucius Institutes and also number of students are going to china to study Chinese. University of Kelaniya (UOK) offers general and special degree in Chinese and certificate courses. Sabaragamuwa university of Sri Lanka, Confucius Institute of UOK, China Radio International (CRI) Confucius classroom, Lumbini College and Bandaranaike Center for International Studies (BCIS) also conduct degree programs and certificate courses. The aim of this study was to find out the reasons for the popularity of Chinese Language among university students in Sri Lanka. Data for this study was collected from internal students who are reading B.A General and Special degree in Chinese. Data were collected from the annual reports (2011-2015) of department of Modern Languages, University of Kelaniya. Students think studying of Chinese has advantages for finding jobs in tourist industry and getting scholarships for higher education in China. These findings will be help to promote Chinese as a foreign language.