Later that year, she found her avenue into Mandarin through a Taiwanese programme called the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship.

Hale might have got in just under the deadline, as geopolitical tensions and the Covid-19 pandemic make learning Mandarin more onerous.

For new learners, moving to mainland China is not a reasonable option in 2021 due to the immense hurdles of Covid-19 prevention measures. Places like Confucius Institutes, which promote Chinese culture abroad, have been closing in the West amid allegations of espionage and propaganda distribution.

In China, the number of international students, which totalled over 490,000 before the pandemic, according to official data, has dropped significantly.

For example, Peking University, one of the top destinations for international students, enrolled over 1,500 new students from abroad this autumn, but only 280 people made it to the campus. The rest were stuck studying online from home, according to the university’s Office of International Relations website.

Additionally, programmes targeting professionals have either closed or moved online.

Hanbridge Education, a Shanghai-based Chinese language training organisation for foreigners, has shifted resources away from language learning and now offers study abroad services for domestic students instead.

“In the past, we mainly served foreigners working in the Chinese offices for multinational companies. But now there aren’t many foreigners, and it’s not just us, it’s truly the entire industry,” said Eric Yang, a staff member of the company.

Mandarin Garden, a company for anyone who wants to learn Chinese as a second language, said it had moved its Mandarin courses online, and student numbers remained high. Most of the online learners are from Europe and America, said a staff member who declined to be named.

As Confucius Institutes close worldwide, a Chinese government-backed online study site called Global Chinese Learning Platform has filled the gap, attracting over 2 million users from 170 regions across the world as of 2020, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Education in June.

Besides people who are learning the language for career development, children from a Chinese background make up the bulk of Mandarin learners.

Belinda Dello-Iacovo, who runs an after-hours Chinese programme for children in the southern Australian city of Adelaide, said most such programmes in the city are aimed at native speakers or students with some Chinese language background.

She said they are learning Chinese for a range of reasons, including intellectual development, connecting to their Chinese heritage or a general interest in Chinese culture.

“Our numbers dropped significantly in 2020, mostly due to lockdowns and restrictions, I believe. The numbers have been improving, and recently there has been an increase in enquiries for beginners classes,” she said.

Sherry Liu, a Chinese national who has lived in the western US city of Seattle for the past six years, said she knew of many ethnically Chinese families who sent their children to Mandarin classes, but not anyone else otherwise.

“Usually, one parent is not Chinese and the other is of Chinese descent but may only be able to speak the language but not read or write. They send their children to classes in the hope that they keep the ability to understand Chinese,” she said.

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Hong Kong-mainland border reopening hopes grow as Chinese experts review city’s Covid-19 measures

Hong Kong-mainland border reopening hopes grow as Chinese experts review city’s Covid-19 measures

Despite growing suspicion about academic partnerships with Chinese institutions in the Western world, Dello-Iacovo believes Chinese language learning is an educational issue that is not affected much by politics.

“In fact, from a more long-term perspective, I think the importance and relevance of the Asian region, in general, is becoming more and more obvious,” she said.

In this landscape, Taiwan has become a viable option for people seeking an immersive Mandarin experience.

Despite the island maintaining strict Covid-19 containment controls, Taiwan did reopen the border for international students in August. In mid-November, Taiwan Minister of Education Pan Wen-Chung said officials are considering allowing 5,000 additional Mandarin-language learners to study there by March.

Harvard University is moving its summer Chinese programme from Beijing to Taipei next year due to a perceived lack of friendliness from the host institution in mainland China, its organiser said last month.

An initiative named the US-Taiwan Education Initiativeaims to expand “access to Chinese and English language instruction, while safeguarding academic and intellectual freedom”. It was launched late last year by the American Institute of Taiwan.

For Hale, the American student in Taiwan, her endeavour in the self-ruled island has not been smooth, highlighted by a visa renewal process that became extremely complicated amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

But, she said Taiwan has embraced her as much as she has worked to embrace it.

“Something I would say about Taiwan that is interesting is it is very encouraging to learn Chinese because I think there is a better opportunity for foreigners to integrate here, to find meaningful Chinese friends,” she said.

And while Mandarin is proving more taxing to learn during Covid-19, it’s no less important on a global scale, illuminated by Hale’s classmates that come from countries as diverse as Honduras, Vietnam and Japan.

“I think that Chinese is still very useful, even if you’re not in the mainland. It’s one of the languages of Asia now.”