New forms of learning Chinese have emerged in recent years. Advanced internet technology has brought many Chinese learners online, learning from social media platforms and smartphone apps.

In a Chinese learning group on Facebook with more than 57,000 members, many talk about their learning progress, and some seek learning partners including native speakers to form a mutual study group.

Proprietors of language learning apps such as Duolingo have also ridden this wave of enthusiasm. Duolingo started its Chinese learning courses in 2017, and now more than 5.5 million users worldwide are learning Chinese using the apps.

Last year, amid the pandemic, more than 30 million people were said to have started learning a language on Duolingo, Chinese being one of those growing fastest in popularity.

Traditional face-to-face teaching institutions have also moved their classes online.

James Yang's Really Language Institute is one of them. Yang has been involved in international Chinese education for 20 years. He co-founded the Chinese teaching company in Tianjin in 2010, and in 2017 its online courses became available to people worldwide.

Of the many thousands of people doing online courses, Yang says, most are from countries participating in the BRI, especially in Southeast Asia.

Yang and other teachers in the company have integrated Chinese culture into the syllabus just as many others do. Interestingly, he says, despite Chinese traditions, foreigners are sometimes more attracted by China's "new four inventions", namely, e-commerce, mobile payment, bicycle-sharing and high-speed rail.

"When we talk about Chinese culture we always focus on the traditional part, but in fact they are also interested in online shopping and online payments because China is doing so well in these fields. I think we should introduce modern China and its culture to them too."

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