China’s Confucius Institute has been around for a while, but it is still gaining popularity especially now that Chinese is becoming more globally spoken. The Institute was created to teach people more about the language and culture of China, and it has done this through Chinese translation and language programs as well as through theater and the arts.
In 2006, the United States opened its universities to the Confucius Institute, allowing classes and programs to be taught inside already existing schools.
Learning Chinese Can be Important for Business Students
The Institutes all around the world have given students the opportunity to learn Chinese languages and Chinese culture. Chinese business translation and legal translation has been a rising job market, and many students are trying to ensure that they have a profitable career ahead of them out of college.
Australia is the first country that has made learning an Asian language mandatory, but many other countries have also started to seriously consider the benefits of learning Chinese and other Asian languages.
Nearly a week ago, the presidents from colleges and universities around the world met in Beijing to discuss the plans for developing the Confucius Institutes that are already established and also the ones yet to be established.
Their plans were to discuss financial issues as well as how to more effectively teach the Chinese language and spread awareness of Chinese culture. The institute has already produced many professional translators and the number is likely to increase as the Institute grows.
Concerns about the Institute
Despite its popularity and growth, the Institute has also had some issues, one of which is being short staffed. Another issue that some countries have a problem with is that the Confucius Institute is funded by the Chinese Communist Party, and on some level, they use the institutions to spread propaganda and exercise some measure of control over what the institutions do.
However, there is no denying the effectiveness of the Institute, and their passion for teaching the language and culture of China is admirable.
Right now, the main problem with the Institute is finding full-time teachers. The classes are mainly taught by half-time volunteers, but in the institutions located on different continents, half-time teachers are not enough to keep the schools running.
Some say that highly trained teachers avoid teaching in the Institutes, and others are wary about letting schools with communist ties into their countries. The meeting last week was held in part to discuss these issues so that some resolution could be found.