Arabic majors embracing new horizons

A rapid rise in the number of students of the language has created a generation of graduates that will have to look beyond government ministries and embassy postings to find work commensurate with their skills, as Zhao Xinying reports.

When Han Haifen chose to study Arabic as her college major in 2008, she didn't expect to work in the field for long.

"I wasn't interested in the language or cultures of the Arab states, and unlike a couple of my classmates whose families were doing business with Arab people, I didn't have a motive for studying the major."