Reflections on Mandarin Teaching in the Brazilian Context

Abstract

In recent years, Mandarin Chinese has gained visibility in Brazil, accompanied by the expansion of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms as key instruments of China’s cultural diplomacy. This article offers a research-based reflection on Mandarin teaching in the Brazilian context. After outlining the historical processes of standardizing Putonghua and promoting Chinese internationally, the text presents two Brazilian institutional cases. The analysis shows how global language-planning strategies are reinterpreted in local academic partnerships and classroom practices, highlighting both opportunities and tensions regarding cultural representation, linguistic diversity, and the risk of exoticizing “Chinese culture.”