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When Linda Chiu started conducting Chinese language classes for children in Indonesia 11 years ago, she had four students in her class. Now, enrollment at her two Chinese language centers in Jakarta is reaching 1,000, reflecting a surge in interest in learning Mandarin.

From independent language centers to national schools to universities, Indonesians are flocking to learn a language once banned by the Suharto regime. But even though most are of Chinese descent, their motivation for learning Mandarin is more pragmatic than sentimental.

"China is a close neighbor and we cannot deny its greater significance to Indonesia both as an economic power and strategic partner," said Natalia Soebagjo, who chairs the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Indonesia. "And I'm happy to say that this interest has gone beyond the ethnic Chinese community."

Ethnic Chinese make up about two per cent of Indonesia's 238 million population. During President Suharto's three-decade rule, which ended in 1998, public displays of Chinese culture and language were banned in the name of assimilation.

The options to learn Mandarin then were limited. Among the few schools offering it was the University of Indonesia's Chinese Studies program.

Anthropologist Johanes Herlijanto, an alumnus, says that interest in learning Mandarin began to increase in the 1990s as China's economy grew.

Now, Mandarin is taught at a growing number of primary and secondary schools, universities and private language centers.

National schools offer it as an extra-curricular program. In national-plus schools - where English instead of Indonesian is the predominant medium of instruction - Mandarin is taught as a subject.

In Jakarta alone, about 100 or so language centers offer Mandarin lessons, while more national and private universities are offering Chinese Studies.

In a 2007 academic paper, University of Indonesia communications professor Aimee Dawis highlighted a language school with 1,400 students in Bandung, West Java.

They included non-Chinese who traveled an hour south from Purwakarta to attend the school, which is partially funded by the Fuqing Association in Jakarta.

Last year, Indonesia's seventh Confucius Institute was launched at the Islamic Al-Azhar University in south Jakarta, allowing students to major in Islamic jurisprudence and learn Mandarin at the same time.

Ms Sri Haryanti, 37, who teaches Mandarin at the Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta, says the 300 or so students in the Chinese Studies program have a variety of reasons for wanting to master the language.

"Some want to help their families do business with China and others want to study Chinese history and culture. But they are united in their belief that they must understand China, a powerful economy whose products can be found in every country."

She adds that serious Mandarin students face one challenge: the lack of opportunities to practice their skills.

Her student, Indrawati Hasan, 23, agrees. She says she grew up speaking simple Mandarin in Palembang.

"But when I started learning Mandarin properly, I realized how difficult it was and how little I knew," said the aspiring Mandarin teacher who is applying for a postgraduate scholarship to Xiamen University in China.

At Chiu's Children Learning Chinese centers, children ranging from tots to teenagers attend classes twice or three times a week. Their parents fork out between 1.5 million rupiah (S$220) to 3 million rupiah every 10 weeks. Classes are taught by a team of 35 teachers from Taiwan, China and Singapore.

"I always tell the kids how useful and important it is to learn the language.

"Each time I go away on holiday, even to countries like Australia, I hear Mandarin spoken in different places," Ms Chiu said. "That just gives you an idea of how far it has spread."

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055