Teaching material woes at Confucius institutes
Source: Xinhua |
December 14, 2009, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CONFUCIUS institutes around the world face a shortage of teaching materials due to a lack of translators and publication channels, Xu Lin, director of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, said yesterday.
Compared with Germany-based Goethe Institute and Spain-based Cervantes Institute, Confucius Institute lags behind in providing effective Chinese teaching materials, Xu said at the closing ceremony of the 4th Confucius Institutes Conference in Beijing.
She said both the Goethe Institute and the Cervantes Institute have typical teaching materials such as "The Sorrows of Young Werther" and "Don Quixote." "But we do not have any similar material," Xu said.
"'Confucian Analects,' for example, the most famous masterpiece by Confucius, has never been translated by a Chinese expert," Xu said.
A total of 282 Confucius institutes have been set up around the world, and there are about 40 million Chinese language learners.
In addition to Confucius institutes, China has also created a radio program in 12 countries called Air Confucius Institute. Confucius Institute online was launched last year and has since attracted more than 10 million users from 149 countries.
Considered a channel for spreading Chinese culture around the world, the Confucius Institute is a demonstration of China's rising soft power, Xu said.
Compared with Germany-based Goethe Institute and Spain-based Cervantes Institute, Confucius Institute lags behind in providing effective Chinese teaching materials, Xu said at the closing ceremony of the 4th Confucius Institutes Conference in Beijing.
She said both the Goethe Institute and the Cervantes Institute have typical teaching materials such as "The Sorrows of Young Werther" and "Don Quixote." "But we do not have any similar material," Xu said.
"'Confucian Analects,' for example, the most famous masterpiece by Confucius, has never been translated by a Chinese expert," Xu said.
A total of 282 Confucius institutes have been set up around the world, and there are about 40 million Chinese language learners.
In addition to Confucius institutes, China has also created a radio program in 12 countries called Air Confucius Institute. Confucius Institute online was launched last year and has since attracted more than 10 million users from 149 countries.
Considered a channel for spreading Chinese culture around the world, the Confucius Institute is a demonstration of China's rising soft power, Xu said.
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