Investigation On The Status Quo Of The Development Of Chinese Language Profession In Nigeria

With the continous spread of Chinese language and culture across the world and the continuous improvement of China’s international influence,Nigerians’ interest in Chinese learning and Chinese education has also increased.Nigeria is the highest populated country in Africa,and one of the countries with the best economy in Africa.The popularization of Chinese language and culture in Nigerian universities is particularly important.In recent years,Nigeria and China have continued to have good relationship in culture,education,and economy.Nigeria’s demand for Chinese language education is also gradually expanding.This study selects two universities in Nigeria,namely Nnamdi Azikiwe University in the East and University of Lagos in the West.Through the thorough investigation and analysis of the current overall situation of Chinese teaching in the two universities,this study tries to find out the characteristics,merits,and demerits of Chinese teaching in Nigerian universities and colleges and suggested recommendations for the development of Chinese teaching in Nigeria,hoping to make some contribution to the development of Chinese major and the spread of Chinese language teaching in Nigeria.Through the three research methods of observation,questionnaire,and analysis,we can understand the current situation of Chinese teaching in Colleges and universities,including course curriculum,teaching materials,teaching methods,teachers and students’ situation,classroom activities,inter school communication,etc.In this study,80 undergraduate students and 11 teachers majoring in Chinese in Nigeria were selected as the research objects.Questionnaire survey was used to investigate the basic situation of Chinese language major.After collecting the questionnaire,the author analyzes the data from the survey results and found out that although the development of Chinese major in Nigeria has made some achievements,but there are also some problems,such as insufficient class hours,insufficient language skills training,lack of scientific teaching materials,poor learning environment,and insufficient teachers,which affect the development of Chinese Major in Nigeria.Therefore,there is need to make a more in-depth analysis and discussion on these issues.In view of the problems reflected,the researcher proposed recommendations to the improvement in the quality of teachers’ training,increase in the amount of class hours of language skills courses,strengthen use of modern communicstion technologies,increase in students’ teaching practice opportunities,improvement in teachers’ academic level and scientific research ability,attach importance to the teaching and education of Chinese major,integrate Chinese into the national education system,strengthen cooperation with the Chinese government and language exchange cooperation center,and increase teachers’ salaries.Through the implementation of the above suggestions,the researcher hopes to provide future reference to the development of Chinese language major in Nigeria.