Lancang-Mekong cooperation spurs SE Asian languages learning craze

Hearing the news about the first Lan-cang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders’ Meeting, Ren Maoyang, a graduate student studying the Cambodian language at Yunnan Minzu University, was excited. His major is becoming increasingly popular as the Lancang-Mekong cooperation continues to gain momentum.

Ren still remembers that his under-graduate classmates had already been fully “reserved” by employers even before they graduated. Ren himself was offered the job of Cambodian language teacher by Yunnan Normal University, although most university teachers must have a doctoral degree. However, as top talents in Southeast Asia languages are so urgently needed due to the Lancang-Mekong co-operation, Ren still chose to pursue his master’s degree first.

Originating from the Qinghai Tang-gula Mountains, the Lancang River is known as the Mekong after exiting China. It flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, before entering the South China Sea. Since the 1990s, Lancang-Mekong regional cooperation has taken diverse forms. Currently, pertaining cooperation mechanisms include the Lancang-Mekong Subregional Economic Cooperation, the ASEAN-Mekong Development Cooperation, the Mekong Commission and more. On March 23, the first LMC Leaders’ Meeting was held in Sanya, Hainan, during which leaders of the six countries had an in-depth exchange of views on the promotion of the LMC mechanism, all-round cooperation in GMS countries and regional integration.

Professor Liu Xiaorong, who has been teaching at Yunnan Nationalities University for 37 years, believes that as the GMS regional cooperation mech-anism deepens, the demand for talents in Southeast Asian languages will grow drastically. As early as 2013, Yunnan Province set up a non-generic language education board to strengthen training in the fields of Southeast and South Asian languages.

As of the end of 2014, Yunnan has established 11 international training bases in its colleges and universities, with a total of 55,000 students enrolled in related majors. At present, these majors include Thai, Burmese, Lao, Hindi and more, and are training a large number of students of Southeast and South Asian languages every year. Employment prospects in the future look promising.

Lancang-Mekong cooperation spurs SE Asian languages learning craze

Hearing the news about the first Lan-cang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders Meeting, Ren Maoyang, a graduate student studying the Cambodian language at Yunnan Minzu University, was excited. His major is becoming increasingly popular as the Lancang-Mekong cooperation continues to gain momentum. Ren still remembers that his under-graduate classmates had already been fully reserved by employers even before they graduated. Ren himself was offered the job of Cambodian language teacher by Yunnan Normal University, although most university teachers must have a doctoral degree. However, as top talents in Southeast Asia languages are so urgently needed due to the Lancang-Mekong co-operation, Ren still chose to pursue his masters degree first. Originating from the Qinghai Tang-gula Mountains, the Lancang River is known as the Mekong after exiting China. It flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, before entering the South China Sea. Since the 1990s, Lancang-Mekong regional cooperation has taken diverse forms. Currently, pertaining cooperation mechanisms include the Lancang-Mekong Subregional Economic Cooperation, the ASEAN-Mekong Development Cooperation, the Mekong Commission and more. On March 23, the first LMC Leaders Meeting was held in Sanya, Hainan, during which leaders of the six countries had an in-depth exchange of views on the promotion of the LMC mechanism, all-round cooperation in GMS countries and regional integration. Professor Liu Xiaorong, who has been teaching at Yunnan Nationalities University for 37 years, believes that as the GMS regional cooperation mech-anism deepens, the demand for talents in Southeast Asian languages will grow drastically. As early as 2013, Yunnan Province set up a non-generic language education board to strengthen training in the fields of Southeast and South Asian languages. As of the end of 2014, Yunnan has established 11 international training bases in its colleges and universities, with a total of 55,000 students enrolled in related majors. At present, these majors include Thai, Burmese, Lao, Hindi and more, and are training a large number of students of Southeast and South Asian languages every year. Employment prospects in the future look promising.