Editor's Note: This guest column was written by Benjamin Yazza and translated into Chinese by Peng Yu. This is part of our project to help connect the Daily Lobo audience to more members of our community.
In New Mexico, Spanish is a popular second language usually followed by French and German. My advisor told me this was due to its comparison to English.
There is a small portion of students at the University learning the Chinese language. Some are going into international business communication while others are embracing their native tongue. I myself took an introductory Chinese course with Professor He. We were taught the history of China through literature and film. The following semester I enrolled in Professor Yu’s language course, which applied a stronger understanding of culture.
Many of the students seeking to learn Chinese have already mastered dual languages, either it being English-Spanish or Japanese-English. We practice Chinese during breaks from class but mainly end up chit chatting about our thoughts on the lessons we have been taught in class.
In the minor program, we are told to take three years of language studies, plus a literature course, a film course and a history course. Each of the instructors offer a distinct understanding by sharing stories of their own past. They instruct their students to share their own personal heritage as New Mexicans.
Chinese is a difficult language, but it’s enjoyable if we only understand that we are learning it to communicate with someone new. New Mexico is a place of remarkable beauty filled with enough culture to share with the rest of the world. We simply need to learn how to communicate it.
Benjamin Yazza is a guest columnist for the Daily Lobo and journalism major, who is currently taking intermediate-level Chinese language class. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
Peng Yu is a lecturer of Chinese in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. He can be contacted at pyu@unm.edu or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
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编者按：这篇专栏由袁杰明撰写，并由于鹏翻译为中文。该项目是为了加强Lobo日报读者与社区成员之间的联系。
在新墨西哥州，西班牙语是很流行的第二语言，继而是法语和德语。我的辅导老师告诉我这是因为这些语言跟英语很接近。
在新墨西哥大学只有很少一部分学生学习中文。这些学生当中，有的计划在未来国际商务交流中使用中文，有的是为了学习自己父母的语言。我自己则是从何教授的中国入门课开始接触中文。在那门课上，我们通过学习中国文学和中国电影了解了中国的历史。接下来一个学期，我注册了于教授的中文语言课，使我更加了解了中国的文化。
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很多来学习中文的学生已经掌握了两种语言，一些人会说英语和西班牙语，一些人会说日语和英语，等等。上课的时候我们常常会练习说中文，不过，在练习的间歇很多同学也会讨论我们所学的内容、交流彼此的想法。
如果你打算辅修中文的话，那你要上三年的中文语言课，再加上一门中国文学课、一门中国电影课和一门中国历史课。每一位任课教师都会分享他们自己的经历，给学生们提供独特的理解视角。他们也鼓励学生分享自己作为新墨西哥人的文化传承。
中文是一门比较难学的语言，但是学习的过程是非常愉快的，如果你明白我们学习这门语言的目的是为了跟新朋友交流。新墨西哥是一方壮美之地，有丰富的文化可以与世界分享。我们仅仅是要学习如何用语言去沟通、交流。
袁杰明是Lobo日报的客座专栏作者，他是一名新闻专业的本科生，目前正在修中级中文课。他的联系方式是news@dailylobo.com或者Twitter @DailyLobo.
于鹏是外国语言文学系中文讲师。他的联系方式是pyu@unm.edu或者Twitter @DailyLobo.
