Kingsford Confucius Classroom: Current News

Ms Teresa Zhu attended on behalf of the LCI, along with the representatives from the British Council and the Chinese Embassy. Eltham College Junior School is the first school in the UK to introduce Mandarin as the core foreign language learnt by all pupils. Junior school pupils aged seven and eight demonstrated their knowledge and skills with the newly-acquired language and everyone was able to participate in workshops including tai-chi, lion dancing, Chinese calligraphy, mask painting and Chinese acrobatics.

As the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games approach, to provide a stage for youth learning Chinese to display their Chinese proficiency and create a platform for study and exchange, with the purpose of stimulating their enthusiasm and interest for learning Chinese while at the same time increasing their understanding of Chinese language and culture.

The China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and U.S.-based Yale University signed here Thursday a memorandum of understanding to compile and publish Chinese teaching materials and promote the Chinese language around the world.

NEW YORK—A five-year plan to collaborate on a new Chinese Language and Culture Initiative was announced  by China's National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (Hanban) and the College Board. A Chinese education delegation, led by Minister of Education Zhou Ji of the People's Republic of China, attended the signing of an agreement for the first year of the partnership at the College Board's New York Office. College Board President Gaston Caperton and Hanban Director-General Xu Lin signed the agreement on behalf of both parties in a ceremony also attended by representatives from the Chinese Consulate in New York City.

Delhi --- To enhance people-to-people contacts,   fourteen eleventh standard school children of The Sri Ram School, Aravali (Gurgaon), with the very well-regarded Kunming No. 1 Middle School paid an exchange visit to China.

The students are now looking forward to the return visit of their Chinese friends in 2008.

On April29th, Ambassador Fu Ying attended a luncheon hosted by KPMG UK. About 14 people from the senior management of British financial, energy, engineering, medical companies and a Chinese representative from International Accounting Standards Board attended and Mr. Griffith-Jones, Chairman of the KPMG UK hosted the luncheon.

Chen made the remarks at the qualification certificate award ceremony for 88 practitioners at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has included 518 items in 10 categories, such as folk literature, folk music and dance, traditional opera, ballad singing, cross-talk, acrobatics, folk arts, traditional crafts, traditional medicine and folk customs, as intangible cultural heritage.

On March 11, Chen Laiping, Consul & Head of Post paid a visit to Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, inspecting local Filipino Chinese community and Vigan Nan Chong School. Chen was warmly welcomed by the Fil-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, 1st District of Ilocos Sur.

Mayor Xu Zongheng stated Shenzhen's aim of becoming the pioneering city in China in terms of realizing sustainable growth, during an interview with six journalists from BBC World Service on Thursday."I'm deeply concerned with my city, and hope that your report will help more people around the world to better understand Shenzhen," the mayor said at the start of the interview, which lasted more than an hour。

Jamaican track and field officials were quick Saturday to scotch any rumours that their star Olympic medalling athletes were doped, saying that more than half of the team had been tested in Beijing.

In the face of a misfiring US team, Jamaica has made merry at the National Stadium in the Chinese capital, winning all four sprint titles and the men's 4x100m relay. There have also medalled in the women's 400m flat and hurdles.

"I think this is the best Olympic Games I have ever participated, and other members of the delegation have the same feeling." Michal Shahaf, the spokesperson for the Olympic Committee of Israel (OCI) told Xinhua Monday in a telephone interview.

Britain's athletes have won four more gold medals in Beijing as their remarkable success over the weekend is hailed as the "greatest in British Olympics history".

At Barnard, students spend about 40 minutes a day learning the language and culture through calligraphy, music, drama, festivals and physical education, according to school officials.

Mandarin courses on offer for the Academic Year 2008-09: ... who might have learned some basic phrases and script at home or at Chinese Saturday school. ...