Confucius Classroom

1. What is Confucius Classroom?

The Confucius Classroom is a non-profit educational organization. The council of the Confucius Classroom consisted of executive bodies of both the Chinese and foreign parties of the Classroom, administrates the Confucius Classroom.

The Confucius Classroom’s activities are as follows:

• Develop Chinese teaching and cultural activities and other competitions relevant to Chinese language and culture;
• Provide local primary and middle school teachers with training programs;
• Organize Summer (Winter) Camp Programs in China for local primary and middle school students;
• Compile Chinese language and cultural teaching materials;

2. How many Confucius Classrooms in Alberta?

There are 16 Confucius Classrooms supported by Confucius Institute in Edmonton, including 5 elementary schools (Caernarvon School, Dovercourt School, Kildare School, Meadowlark School, Meyonohk School), 5 junior high schools (Londonderry School, Parkview School, Rosslyn School, Ottewell School, Edith Rogers School), and 6 high schools (Lillian Osborne School, McNally School, M.E. LaZerte School, Ross Sheppard School, Queen Elizabeth School, Centre High Campus).

3. What supports does Confucius Institute in Edmonton provide for all of its associated Confucius Classrooms?

• Specialized professional development for Chinese teaching staff
• Provision of new resources to support Chinese language instruction
• Twinning with a partner school in Shandong Province
• Support for joint projects between the school and its partner
• Support for HSK language assessment
• Staff access to scholarship study in China
• Student access to scholarships for summer study in China

4. How to apply to become a Confucius Classroom?

Chinese partner schools should meet the following basic requirements:

• A wealth of experience in international exchange and suitable conditions for foreign visitors;
• Capacity for sending a number of qualified Chinese teachers or volunteers;
• A location in municipality-level or prefecture-level cities or above.

The requisites for a foreign partner institution’s establishing of a Confucius classroom are as follows:

• An educational institution recognized and accredited by its country’s government;
• A demand from local citizens and students for learning Chinese language and culture in the locality of the institute;
• Capacity for providing the Confucius Classroom an appropriate working space, as well as personnel and support in funding.

Application materials prepared by the foreign applicant will include:

• An application letter signed by the principal or president (both Chinese and English copies);
• An application plan (both in Chinese and English), including: a. An introduction to the applicant institution; b. Draft programs for Chinese teaching and cultural promotion; c. A floor plan for the required instructional space, and lists of the relevant equipment and facilities available for the proposed Confucius Classroom; d. A projection of management structure; and e. A statement detailing the source, regulation, and management of funding for the proposed Confucius Classroom.

Please contact us for more details.

Courses and Programs

1. Why learn Chinese in Alberta?

• Chinese, after English, is the most widely spoken language on the earth. Today more people are learning Chinese than are learning French, German and Spanish combined.
• Alberta government, business and post secondary leaders recognize that proficiency in Chinese will be a significant employment asset in the future.
• China is the world’s fastest growing economy and will soon be the world’s biggest market. Many economic and industrial projects are already co-invested between Albertan and Chinese interests. “Canadians need to understand that if they wish to be part of the biggest economy in the world, the need to understand the culture and the ability to speak and read Mandarin will be essential.” Mr. Bill Smith, Businessman and former mayor of Edmonton
• Leaning Chinese develops a knowledge and appreciation of a vibrant and captivating culture, and opens a door to international understanding.
• Research shows that children who learn Chinese at an early age develop superior English language skill.

Children of all backgrounds can enter Chinese language programs and successfully learn the language. In Edmonton Public Schools all students taking Chinese sit for the international Chinese certification (HSK), at one of six levels of proficiency, with a very high rate of success. many students enter the k-12 Chinese Bilingual program, most of whom remain in the program through the high school International Baccalaureate certification. Other students may start at grade 7 or grade 10 in the Language and Culture courses. Similar programs are available in Calgary. For a listing of Bilingual schools in Edmonton see: http://www.ecbea.org/schools.php

2. Does the Confucius Institute in Edmonton offer courses to the public?

The Confucius Institute in Edmonton offers courses in Chinese language and Chinese cultural arts, including Chinese Language for Adults, Chinese Mandarin for Cantonese Speakers, Traditional Chinese Painting, Calligraphy, Traditional Dough Art, Chinese Paper Cutting, Chinese Knots, Tai Chi, Traditional Chinese Dance, Er Hu, Yang Qin, Guzheng, Di Zi (Chinese Flute).

3. What programs does the Confucius Institute in Edmonton provide for EPSB schools?

The Confucius Institute in Edmonton provides free Chinese language and cultural support to EPSB schools. Available programs include Tai Chi, Traditional Chinese Painting, Dough Art, Calligraphy, Traditional Chinese Paper Cutting & Knots, Mandarin Language for Beginners, Developing Oral Mandarin.

All programs are available at no cost to district schools.

4. Does the Confucius Institute in Edmonton provide private lessons?

The Confucius Institute in Edmonton provides private Chinese language tutoring for children and adults.

Library

1. Is the Confucius Institute in Edmonton Library open to the public?

The Library is a full public access library, with over 50 000 print and electronic volumes about China, its language, history, culture, etc.

Please go to http://confuciusedmonton.ca/library-2/library/ for more information.

2. Is the Confucius Institute in Edmonton Library free for EPSB teachers?

The Library provides free services for all of EPSB teachers.