Internet Celebrity "Uploader" Teaching Chinese Language in Comoros, an African Island

As an African island country located in the Indian Ocean, Comoros consists of Grande Comore (Ngazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani), Mohéli (Mwali) and Mayotte. In 2019, Lu Weiyi came to the University of Comoros as a volunteer Chinese language teacher, starting her overseas Chinese teaching career. In 2021, she was promoted from a volunteer to an international Chinese language teacher and stayed to teach in Comoros, where she is deeply loved by local students. She records and shares her overseas teaching experience through videos on social media as an internet celebrity "uploader" who teaches the Chinese language. She impresses netizens with the customs and traditions of another country and shows them the significance of the spread of Chinese language.

Set Sail with Original Intention

When Lu Weiyi first arrived, the strange environment, different language and culture, and uneven Chinese proficiency among students overwhelmed her. "My thoughts shifted between 'there are always more difficulties than solutions' and 'there are always more solutions than difficulties', but confidence remains there," as Lu Weiyi recalled.

To stimulate students' interest in learning Chinese and improve their learning effectiveness, she has tried many methods. She modified the over-difficult textbook based on the specific abilities of the students, and repeatedly read aloud to students suffering from poor listening ability. In addition, she cleverly gave examples and conducted exercises with surrounding scenes to deepen their understanding of the new content.

Teaching practice deepens Lu Weiyi’s understanding of the textbooks. "I didn't expect those complex and difficult teaching methods in textbooks to fit in classroom scenes so well in practice."

Teaching students could improve oneself. To better give each class has driven her preparation. "When preparing for classes, I have to search for much information, which deepens my understanding of Chinese language, characters, and culture, and increases my sense of pride and mission."

In Lu Weiyi's opinion, the relationship between her and her students is not a hierarchical one in the traditional sense. In class, everyone can freely make a statement and have discussion, and they could communicate and talk like friends after class. This has won her the love of many students, who call her their "favorite Chinese language teacher".

Record Life with Video

Lu Weiyi has the hobby of sharing interesting videos on social media. In Comoros, she had the idea of filming daily life and Chinese language classes. The local official languages include Comorian, Arabic, and French. Therefore, local people have little understanding of the Chinese language, and her Chinese friends almost know nothing about the country.

Lu Weiyi's first video about international Chinese language teachers was released in June 2021, receiving 76,000 likes and 648 bullet comments. To her surprise, the Vlog about local daily teaching that she casually filmed with the trial-and-error attitude has achieved good effect, and received much positive feedback from young like-minded people. Among them, the Vlog "One Day as an HSK Test Administrator" has nearly 300,000 views, providing her with unique new ideas for innovating Chinese language teaching methods. Now she has become an accredited well-known uploader on "Bilibili", the video sharing website, with over 200,000 followers.

Her videos record trifles of living in Africa, such as shopping at supermarkets, tasting local snacks, people and events encountered, as well as teaching, examining, and interacting with students as a Chinese language teacher. They visualize the overseas teaching life of an international Chinese language teacher.

Lu Weiyi was surprised to see so much feedback to her videos. "Many Chinese language teachers sent me private messages to share their overseas teaching experiences. Many friends who have trained with me were inspired and started to record and share their own lives."

What moved Lu Weiyi most was that some juniors engaged in international Chinese language education praised her videos as demonstrating the overseas work and life status of the teachers, which encouraged them to move forward. "I have a sense of achievements to see so many young guys could understand and join us." Lu Weiyi was very happy about this.

Love Based on Chinese Language

In June 2022, Lu Weiyi and her colleagues were invited by a Chinese company to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of a China-aided road on Mohéli Island in Comoros. At the island, Lu learned that the locals knew very little about Chinese language and even had no idea of Chinese major in Comoros. 

So, she voluntarily stayed for Chinese language promotion and enrollment. During that period, she visited more than ten middle schools in four cities, where the students showed great interest in Chinese.

During the summer vacation, Lu Weiyi went to Mohéli alone to start a one-month summer Chinese language class. It was the first time that an international Chinese language teacher opened a Chinese language Classroom there, which attracted numerous students and media reporters.

The class came to a conclusion at the Mid-Autumn Festival of China, and Lu Weiyi curated and launched the "Mohéli Chinese Language Class Graduation Ceremony" and "Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival" activities, so as to promote Chinese language curriculum and festivals and make the Chinese language stand out locally. When the school started in October, the Chinese language class she taught attracted many new students from Mohéli, which pleased her so much.

"As an international Chinese language teacher, I prioritize effective communication among teacher and students, rather than simple knowledge imparting," said Lu Weiyi. It is her sincerity and love for Chinese language education that has attracted Comorian's attention to China, who start learning Chinese later. 

"I am honored to provide a window for more people to understand international Chinese language education via video. In the future, I will continue to improve my teaching ability, and record my life with video. I hope to attract more young people to the team to spread Chinese culture," said Lu Weiyi.