=Timely Topic..
If my memory serves me right, in Mandarin we can all learn to say, ( in phonetics ) , How Bow How ? .Which means " how are you ? ". Literal translation is ..Good? ..Not Good?.
Todays paper has 2 articles in it..
Chinese cultural institute to open in Moncton
times transcript
A Chinese language and cultural institute, the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada, will open its doors in Moncton to help provincial businesses forge new relationships in one of the fastest-growing marketplaces in the world.
The Department of Education announced Moncton will be home to a Confucius Institute, a program created by the Chinese ministry of education to promote relationships with other countries and foster the study of the Chinese language and culture.
"We've got to find ways to improve our ability to get into that marketplace," Education Minister Kelly Lamrock said of China. "It's not an easy place to break into but there are a lot of rewards there."
The institute will teach businesses the language, cultural facts and how business deals are typically conducted in China.
Atlantic Education International Inc., an affiliate of the department of education, signed an agreement with the Office of Chinese Language Council International-Haban to establish the institute. The institute will share office space with Atlantic Education International and should be offering programs by next fall, said Alan Norman, general manager of AEI.
More than 50 New Brunswick businesses are already in the Chinese marketplace and the mayors of the province's three largest cities have each traveled to China to foster relationships, he said.
"The Chinese wouldn't expect that they would know everything about China," said Norman. "But if they went over with some of the courtesies that would enhance the businesses' exposure because (the Chinese) would be pleased that we took the time to learn a little bit about them before we went there."
As well as assisting businesses, the institute also hopes to offer language courses to high school, college and university students, and cultural festivities throughout the year.
The institute will also boost services offered to Chinese immigrants, said Norman.
"I'm sure that as time passes many of those people with younger children would like their children to have access to courses in their mother-tongue," he said.
The institute will be the third of its kind in Canada. British Columbia opened one just over a year ago and two weeks ago Quebec announced it is proceeding with one.
Confucius was a fifth-century Chinese philosopher and teacher whose thought shaped traditional and modern Asian culture.
"China has become one of the biggest sources of international students in New Brunswick and Canada as a whole," said Shi Shuyun, Counsellor of Educational Affairs for the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada.
"At the same time, more and more Canadians start to learn Chinese and want to know more about Chinese culture. The establishment of the Confucius Institute of New Brunswick will be a valuable resource in assisting people in understanding Chinese language and culture."
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Moncton students can learn to speak Mandarin
Times Transcript
Bernice MacNaughton High School is the first to benefit from the Confucius Institute's mandate to promote Chinese language and culture.
A brand new Introduction to Chinese Language course kicked off at the school yesterday.
Students from MacNaughton, Moncton High School, Harrison Trimble High School and Riverview High School are all eligible to sign up for the one-credit course, which will be taught at MacNaughton.
The course was only recently added, so required students to change their schedules to fit it in, but MacNaughton principal Gary Wilson says about 10 students have opted to take it so far.
Atlantic Education International Inc., is providing the instructor for the course, a former Chinese teacher now living in Canada who is trained in teaching Mandarin as a second language.
AEI general manager Alan Norman says the MacNaughton program is a pilot, a chance to test the program and see how well it works.
"We want to evaluate it afterwards," he says. "We wanted to at least get it out of the box, get some feedback from the kids and from the schools and then see what the potential is down the road."
One of AEI's programs brings Chinese high school students to New Brunswick for a semester to perfect their English and experience life at a Canadian school.
Nearly 70 Chinese students are arriving in New Brunswick this week for the second semester.
About 10 of them will attend MacNaughton and Norman hopes they can get the Chinese students and the students studying Chinese to work together - the Canadian students helping the Chinese students with their English-language skills and the Chinese students helping the Canadian students with their Mandarin studies.
Wilson believes this is the first time Moncton high school students have had a chance to study Mandarin. He says he'd love to see the course become part of the regular offerings at MacNaughton
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