Ukrainian Chinese Language lovers continue Mandarin Learning in Latvia
Among the Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, there is a group of people who fled their homeland due to the war. They wipe away their tears and try to smile at life. They are also lovers of the Chinese language, and they continue their Mandarin learning in a foreign country.
Oleksandra Kolivanova is a 12-year-old girl. She started learning Chinese when her mother opened a language school in Ukraine. It was not until the Russian-Ukrainian War that it was forced to stop. In October 2022, she came to Ventspils and resumed Chinese learning at the Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, a teaching site under the Confucius Institute at the University of Latvia. Her Chinese teacher is Xu Shen. The twice-weekly classes quickly awakened her Chinese memory, and after reviewing the knowledge of HSK1 and 2, she entered the study of HSK3. During the 2022-2023 school year, she passed the HSK2 and HSKK Primary Level exams with high scores, and won the first prize in the children’s intermediate group of the 2023 “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Competition in Latvia. On July 25, 2023, the Chinese ambassador to Latvia and his delegation visited Ventspils. When meeting with Chinese learners of Ventspils University, Oleksandra was able to answer questions fluently, which left a deep impression on the ambassador. In an interview with local media, she said, ‘I like learning Chinese, I like my Chinese teacher, I like Chinese culture, and I want to go to China to see giant pandas, touch them, and feed them bamboo.’
Yuliia Horbachova went to Shenzhen to learn Chinese from 2017 to 2020 when she was in Ukraine. During the three years in China, she has made rapid progress in Chinese by practicing oral English in the target language environment. As she learned more about China, her interest in Chinese became stronger and stronger. In March 2022, shortly after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War, she came to Latvia and worked as an English teacher in a primary school in Valmiera. With her love for Chinese language and culture, she contacted Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, a teaching site under the Confucius Institute in Latvia, expressing her desire to continue learning Chinese and take the HSK 4 test. Yuliia’s Chinese foundation is very good. She can communicate with her teacher Zhu Yu in Chinese, can recognize many Chinese characters, and can write Chinese characters according to the correct stroke order. In Chinese class, she always thinks carefully, asks questions, and writes down new words in her notebook. The folk customs, humanities, history and other aspects of Chinese culture in the textbooks also deeply attract her. Yuliia said, ‘Learning Chinese can enrich my knowledge. I want to improve my Chinese and become a Chinese teacher!’
在拉脱维亚的乌克兰难民中有一群人，他们因战争逃离祖国身处异处，他们擦干眼泪积极努力笑对生活。他们同时也是汉语爱好者，在异国他乡用心续写着属于自己的中文梦。
万沙白（Oleksandra Kolivanova）是个12岁的小姑娘，母亲在乌克兰开办语言学校时便开始接触、学习中文，直到俄乌战争才被迫中断。2022年10月，她来到文茨皮尔斯，并在拉脱维亚大学孔子学院下设教学点文茨皮尔斯应用科技大学恢复中文学习，中文老师为徐申。一周两次的课程迅速唤醒了她的中文记忆，回顾完HSK1和HSK2的知识，便进入了HSK3的学习。2022-2023学年期间，她高分通过HSK2和HSKK初级考试，并在2023“汉语桥”中文大赛拉脱维亚赛区少儿中级组的比拼中一举夺魁，流畅的口语表达、新颖的才艺表演让评委、嘉宾和现场观众连连称赞。2023年7月25日，中国驻拉脱维亚大使一行访问文茨皮尔斯，在和文茨皮尔斯大学中文学习者见面时，万沙白面对提问对答如流，给大使留下了深刻的印象。接受当地媒体采访时，万沙白说：“我喜欢学习中文，我喜欢我的中文老师，我喜欢中国文化，我想去中国看看大熊猫，摸摸它们，喂它们吃竹子。”
聪亮（Yuliia Horbachova）在乌克兰的时候，曾于2017至2020年亲赴深圳学习汉语。她通过在目的语环境中练习口语，中文飞速进步。随着对中国的了解越来越多，她对汉语的兴趣也越来越浓。2022年3月俄乌战争爆发不久来到拉脱维亚，在瓦尔米耶拉市做小学英语老师。她凭着对汉语和中国文化的热爱，主动联系了拉脱维亚孔子学院下设教学点维泽梅大学，表示想继续学习汉语、参加HSK4级考试。聪亮的汉语基础很不错，能够和朱瑜老师用汉语交流，能够识别很多汉字，并能够按照正确的笔顺书写汉字。上汉语课时，遇到生词她总是认真思考、提出问题，并在笔记本上记下；课本里的民俗、人文、历史等不同方面的中国文化也深深吸引着她。Yulianna 说，“学习汉语，可以丰富我的知识。我想提高汉语水平，成为一名中文老师！”
