News > Confucius Classroom at The College of The Bahamas
Anticipation Builds For Confucius Classroom at The College of The Bahamas Earnest collaboration is continuing regarding the establishment of a Confucius Classroom at The College of The Bahamas where Mandarin Chinese will continue to be taught to persons eager to learn the language and culture of a country whose economy is surging and where there is enormous interest in trade, investment and culture. The classroom is the anticipated result of a strategic partnership between The College and the Nanjing University of Science, Information and Technology [NUIST] in China. NUIST President Li and Professor Wang Suchun, Director of International Education, actively negotiated with the Confucius Institute Headquarters for approval. This summer, they hosted Dr. Irene Moss, the Director of The College's International Languages and Cultures Institute [ILCI], on a visit to China. The Chinese Embassy in Nassau, the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bahamas-China Friendship Association were also instrumental in the negotiation process.  While here, they inspected the site that will be converted into a Confucius Classroom and visited the new Performing Arts Centre [PAC]. The visit came ahead of the imminent official visit of His Excellency Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, September 3-6. According to President Hodder, many people are interested in learning Mandarin Chinese and The College is firmly committed to providing opportunities for international exposure. "There is a large appetite for Mandarin Chinese and we want to receive exchange students as well. A university education must have an international component," she said while meeting with the Chinese delegation and explaining the developmental strides that The College has made in its transition to university status. Cao Weizhou, Vice Secretary General, Standing Committee of the People's National Congress of the Republic of China said, "I think education is something to depend on for national development and prosperity. The College of The Bahamas has [graduated] excellent young people who have made contributions to the development of the country." Named after the legendary philosopher whose teachings have deeply influenced Chinese life, Confucius Institutes are being developed around the world and are considered centres of excellence in the teaching of the Chinese language and culture. It is estimated that 30 million people worldwide are learning to speak Chinese, many of them at the 300-plus Confucius Institutes around the world. There are about a dozen Confucius Classrooms worldwide which will eventually become institutes and that is the evolution that will happen with the classroom at The College. Both the University of Havana in Cuba and the University of the West Indies in Jamaica have Confucius Institutes, pioneers in the Caribbean. The College is especially interested in this partnership making a substantial national impact on the teaching of foreign languages and culture and increasing opportunities for student and faculty exchanges. Mandarin Chinese is one of the standard languages taught at the ILCI along with Spanish, French, German, Haitian Creole and English as a Second Language. The institute has also been catering to local businesspersons who want to learn another language or become more fluent in a foreign language for business communication purposes.
Office of Communication |