Common language solves math problem

Language struggle

However, his path to academic success was not easy. Though a top student at high school, Altantsan found university difficult, as all classes were taught in Mandarin. "It was natural for me to learn Mandarin the moment I encountered the problem. The reason was obvious. If I'm good at Mandarin, I will have more opportunities," he said.

Altantsan also taught his students the benefits of learning a new language.

"Children from ethnic groups can better show themselves and better sustain their cultures," he said.

"Besides, all ethnic groups belong to one big family, so it's important to boost communications by popularizing the country's common language."

As a teacher, he has supervised 18 doctoral students, most of whom were from ethnic groups. In 2018, his team of Mongolian-Mandarin bilingual math teachers was listed as one of the national-level high-quality innovative teaching groups.

Erdenebukh, 44, a professor at Hohhot Minzu College, is a former postdoctoral student of Altantsan. He said his former mentor is fluent in Mongolian, Mandarin and English, which played an important role in both his work and study.

"One time, our team invited an expert from the UK and Altantsan hosted the meeting in English. We were able to see the functional benefits of another language," he said.

"It's like a bridge, which not only links people together but also knowledge," he said, adding that learning a language can also play a significant role in personal development.

Wu Deyu, 43, said the use of Mandarin in his hometown in Horqin Left Wing Middle Banner, Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, was minimal, even though all the residents started learning Mandarin in grade three.

In 1995, Wu, along with 19 other Mongolian-speaking students, began to study applied mathematics at Inner Mongolia University. Altantsan, who had returned to his alma mater after completing his doctorate in Dalian, was one of the bilingual teachers at the university.

"He is very attentive to young people. When I was a student and then became a teacher, he gave me a lot of good advice," Wu said. "He always tells us that the mother tongue is like a house, and other languages are like windows－the more languages you can speak, the more of the world's beautiful scenery opens to you."

Wu, who now works at the Inner Mongolia University, was the first Mongolian doctoral adviser taught by Altantsan.

As for Altantsan, he says the Inner Mongolia Normal University is playing a major role training middle and high school teachers in the region. The university also cultivates Mongolian language teachers for other provinces such as Heilongjiang, Jilin, Gansu, Qinghai and Liaoning, he said.

"The country attaches great importance to the education of teachers and ethnic groups. If we can cultivate more good teachers, there will be more outstanding professionals," he said.