Yilin Ye, a student from Anji, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, China, spends time abroad at the University of Zaragoza in Spain.
Ye, 25, said she first started learning Spanish after hearing about the ‘excellent reputation’. She said she feels she is adopting a slightly different person when she speaks Spanish.
“It’s really a beautiful thing, really fascinating,” she said. “When I speak Chinese, I’m calmer. When I speak English, I’m probably a little more open, and when I speak Spanish, I’m very ‘wow.’
In addition to reading cartoons by the Argentine-Spanish cartoonist Quino, you like to keep up with Spanish-language TV shows and movies, such as ‘Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo’, ‘Ocho Apellidos Vascos’, ‘Diarios de Motocicleta’ and Netflix ‘Elite’. “
A browse through DouYin, the original Chinese version of TikTok launched in 2016, shows many users who are not ashamed to show off their language skills. It features Chinese millennial lip-syncing videos and mashups in English – and shows their growing love for Spanish and Latino culture.
How popular is the world’s second most popular spoken language in China? The numbers speak for themselves.
There are about 50,000 Spanish speakers in China, which scholars say is increasing with the year. The language has become more popular as students enthusiastically share their new knowledge on social media.
“The Spanish language is making headlines in China,” Lu Jingsheng, a writer and national coordinator of Spanish for the Chinese government, said in an interview.
Lu, who teaches at Shanghai International Studies University, said the university had previously offered only English, Japanese and Russian as second languages. But that changed in 2017 with the addition of new programs and electives.
As Spanish becomes popular, many Chinese students consider it an advantage as they prepare for the Gaokao, a national university entrance exam that usually lasts two days and takes nine hours to complete. Students often choose to test the foreign language part of the test in Spanish or English.
Your enthusiasm for the language and culture is not uncommon, especially not among young people, Lu said. “We try to create an atmosphere that suits the culture of the language.”
From Zumba videos to makeup and español tutorials
Media and entertainment play a leading role in language learning for Chinese millennials. Some devoted entire DouYin channels to the Spanish language with vlogs and makeup tutorials.
For those struggling to roll the robust Spanish Rs, creators of content comically suggest gargling some water to mimic the quick movements of the tongue.
Lulu Yang, a Spanish teacher and rising DouYin star – she has more than 10 thousand followers – said that her journey began after she took her first few Spanish electives. Yang, 28, who is originally from Beijing, said her father first encouraged her to start learning.
“Nowadays, English is very common in China, and more and more people know it,” she said. “Without Spanish I feel that I would be a very ordinary person and that I would have a normal job, but because of Spanish I have been traveling a lot and I have visited many cities.”
Yang, who lives in Spain and traveled to Cuba for work, launched her DouYin account in February last year when she had more free time during the pandemic.
“I just wanted to try and did not think it would get that big,” she said. “And then I thought, ‘OK, I can go on.’ “I wanted to share my experiences. ‘
Young people in China, from Latino-inspired jewelry, such as large rings and gold cross chains, to dancing with Latin rhythms and remixes, are adopting a culture that is bold, hard and a little different from their own.
Yang said she enjoys posting Zumba-style dance videos on her personal DouYin account, adding that she enjoys listening to Shakira, Luis Fonsi and other artists. Yang, a well-known Chinese idiom, 能歌善舞 (néng gē shàn wǔ), said that those who speak Spanish are usually ‘people with many talents’.
“If you’re the type to study [a language] really hard, then you are definitely open-minded, lively and lively. “You like to get in touch with new things,” Yang said. Everything I know, every job opportunity or love story I have had, is due to my Spanish. “
Scott Xia, another creator and teacher of DouYin content, which has nearly 3 million followers on the platform, said he also had unique opportunities because of his Spanish language skills.
Xia (29) from Chengdu, Sichuan, started learning Spanish seven years ago, depending on platforms like Duolingo, Netflix and YouTube in the beginning. He uses Netflix regularly to watch some of his favorites again with Spanish subtitles and audio.
“I like ‘Dragon Ball Z,’ and since I’ve watched it before, I’ve already known a lot of the content,” Xia said. “I made the connections automatically, and I do not have to put too much effort into understanding them” in Spanish.
He said that now that he works as a teacher, the main reason why he posts educational content is that it cheers him up.
“Doing these things makes me pretty happy because I like learning languages,” Xia said. “I can take these experiences with me and share them with everyone.”
Xia also worked as a seafarer, enabling him to travel to Mexico and other places in Latin America.
“Look at a map. There are many Spanish-speaking countries. If you speak Chinese, English and also Spanish, you basically cover all your bases – there is no place you can go.”
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