Feature: Egyptian students learn Chinese in online classes after school suspension over COVID-19

Over the past two weeks, Egyptian student Yomna Hassan managed to continue improving her Chinese language without attending her regular classes at Confucius Institute of Suez Canal University in Ismailia province northeastern Egypt.

"All I needed is a smartphone, a laptop, our text book, a pen and a notebook to join Confucius online classes after suspension of all classes nationwide," said the Egyptian student.

To control the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Egyptian government temporarily suspended schools, universities and all classes, halted flights and closed museums and archeological sites nationwide.

Egypt has discovered so far 536 cases of locals and foreigners infected with COVID-19, including 30 deaths and 116 recoveries.

The cabinet has recently imposed a two-week partial curfew across Egypt from early evening to early morning as an essential part of the precautionary measures.

The procedures led Chinese teachers at Confucius Institute of Suez Canal University to hold online classes for their Egyptian students and continue their teaching mission despite the exceptional circumstances.

"The Chinese teachers have faced several challenges to give online classes to Egyptian students, including the slow local internet network," said Zhu Tingting, the Chinese dean of Confucius Institute at Suez Canal University.

"With the enthusiasm of Egyptian students, we didn't want to give up, so we held our classes in group chat on social media websites and we sent them the text material as PowerPoint files," Zhu told Xinhua.

Putting on a headset and setting in front of a computer, Guo Lingyu, a Chinese teacher at Confucius Institute, communicated with his Egyptian students during an online class, explaining to them, receiving their questions and giving them assignments.

Through exchanging recorded messages, Guo pronounced Chinese words for them, corrected their pronunciations and answered their questions instantly. The Egyptian students gradually seemed more satisfied with studying Chinese online.

"Attending Chinese online classes is comfortable, enjoyable and safe. It is a convenient way to continue learning Chinese while having to stay at home," said Ruqaya Mostafa, an Egyptian student at Confucius Institute.