The Mandarin Aspirations Project

The aim of the BCI’s Mandarin Aspirations Project is to encourage and celebrate the learning of Chinese by sharing the motivations (why study Chinese), study experiences (challenges and rewards) and study outcomes (employability, confidence and intercultural skills) of Chinese language learners.

This video shows some highlights from guest lectures and interviews covering these three themes. On this page you can find lots more blog posts and video clips to browse!

This project provides a platform for Chinese language learners, from beginners to old hands, to share their Mandarin learning journey through different media, such as short videos, profiles or stories.

We hope that these Mandarin Aspirations stories will encourage those of you already studying Chinese, and inspire new learners to join a growing and supportive community of Chinese language enthusiasts in the UK.

Look out for updates in our emails, on Twitter and Facebook, and here on our website.

Making Mandarin skills work for you in your career

Babette Radclyffe-Thomas studied Chinese at the University of Leeds, graduating in 2012.  She is now an award-winning freelance journalist.

Read Babette's story
Babette Radclyffe-Thomas, Fashion Journalist and Chinese graduate
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An 8-week investment to connect with students

Professor Gary Chambers took the BCI level 1 course to learn some basic Mandarin phrases to use with his Chinese students.

Read Gary's story
Gary wearing a suit and tie, with speech bubbles saying "I teach lots of students from China", "I just wanted to be able to say hello and a few more words and phrases", "learning Mandarin is an investment".
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From painter and decorator to HSK 6 and beyond

Richard went from a student lacking confidence in his abilities to a fluent Mandarin speaker who has completed all the HSK exams and now teaches Chinese at Harrogate Grammar School.

Read Richard's story
Illustration of Richard, a young white man with a beard, and quotes saying "I have passed all the HSK exams", "Learning Chinese has been good for my mental health", and "I learned a lot from the cleaners at my workplace in China"
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Meet Mandarin Aspirations Project Assistant Grace Valks

Grace, a third year Chinese student at the University of Leeds, shares her Mandarin Aspirations story.

Read Grace's story
Quotes from the article
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Mandarin Aspirations Case Studies

Visit the blog

The Slow Chinese Newsletter and making progress as an advanced learner

The Slow Chinese Newsletter and making progress as an advanced learner

Andrew Methven, CEO of the British advisory firm Hampton Group, first picked up Chinese when backpacking around China. After a...

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Emma Cayley’s passion for language and experience of China and Chinese

Emma Cayley’s passion for language and experience of China and Chinese

Professor Emma Cayley, Head of the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (LCS) at the University of Leeds, has always...

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A passion for Mandarin that led to a career into publishing

A passion for Mandarin that led to a career into publishing

Whilst studying for a BTEC in journalism, Nathan Krout discovered a passion for Chinese language and culture that changed the...

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Four case studies for prospective students to read

Four case studies for prospective students to read

With our next 8-week Chinese courses beginning in May we had a look back at the Mandarin Aspirations stories we...

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Mandarin Aspirations Guest Lectures

My China Career

My China Career

Watch this talk to learn about the successful career of Leeds alumnus Guy Dru Drury MBE, Chief Representative in China for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
Watch the recording
20 Years in China: From Corporate Lawyer to Bar-owning Entrepreneur

20 Years in China: From Corporate Lawyer to Bar-owning Entrepreneur

Learn about living and working in China from long term resident, highly regarded lawyer and successful entrepreneur Jeremy Sargent OBE.
Watch the recording
What Mandarin Means to Me

What Mandarin Means to Me

In this talk, Leeds alumnus Andrew Disbury explained how learning to speak Chinese has shaped his life, career and global outlook. Watch the recording on our Facebook page.
Watch the recording
Learning, Teaching, and Making Chinese Characters Stick

Learning, Teaching, and Making Chinese Characters Stick

Jake Gill, CEO of @Skritter, Jake drew from his background in Mandarin learning and teaching to provide tips and tricks to help you learn Chinese effectively in the digital age – with a particular focus on Chinese characters.
Watch the recording
From learner to teacher: Kay McLeod on promoting Mandarin in schools

From learner to teacher: Kay McLeod on promoting Mandarin in schools

Mandarin Excellence Programme Coordinator Kay McLeod shared her journey from achieving an MA in Chinese Studies to teaching and promoting Chinese in schools.
Watch clips from the talk
Building a successful Mandarin learning platform: The Chairman’s Bao

Building a successful Mandarin learning platform: The Chairman’s Bao

Leeds alumni Sean McGibney and Oliver Leach shared the story behind The Chairman’s Bao, the most comprehensive online news-based graded reader for students of Chinese.
Find out more about The Chairman's Bao

“Gary Izunwa found that the fact he'd been to China "served as an interesting platform to build relationships with p… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…”

2 days ago

“What is Chinese traditional opera and what can it tell us about contemporary China?
Join BCI teacher Xunnan on 3 Au… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…”

3 days ago

“Did you miss our previous talk with Gary Izunwa about China, employability and widening participation?
Read our blo… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…”

4 days ago