New Zealand launches language week to promote Chinese study

From Sept 12 to 18, varies of Chinese cultural activities will be held in the country. The culture week is aimed at encouraging more Kiwis to try speaking Chinese in an attempt to bridge the cultural and linguistic knowledge gap between China and New Zealand.[Photo/Xinhua]

Adam Lam, director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Canterbury, told Xinhua that when the institute was established in 2009, only 100 students were studying Chinese at five schools in the South Island.

However, there are one Confucius Institute and eight affiliated Confucius Classrooms involving 67 local schools in the South Island. The number of schools which has Chinese curriculum increased to more than 90.

Four local occupational education institutes in South Island cities, in collaboration the Confucius Institute, also provide students opportunities to learn the Chinese language.

People started to learn Chinese for different reasons. Lam and his colleagues help people in local healthcare agencies to learn Chinese language and traditional Chinese medicine culture, through which local doctors can understand the expectation of local Chinese patients better.