Modern Languages Blog

The first probationer teachers expected to achieve full registration in Chinese Mandarin were celebrated at an event hosted by the General Teaching Council for Scotland on 19 June.

China has the third largest economy in the world and Scotland’s pupils are being encouraged to learn Chinese Mandarin so they can compete in the rapidly changing business world. The language is one of the top three spoken around the globe and the teaching of it in schools is becoming increasingly popular.

The Scotsman: Milestone as Scotland gets first teachers of Chinese

GTCS article: Congratulations - award for first teachers registered to teach Mandarin 

In association with the Confucius Institute and other bodies, the Scottish Centre for Chinese studies is presenting a lecture on Chinese literature.
Below is some information about the lecture:

Date: Tuesday 28 April
Time: 5.15 - 6.30 pm
Location: Lecture Theatre, Hugh Robson Building 10-15, George Square, Edinburgh

Speaker: HAN Dong, Chinese poet and novelist
Topic: New Words, New Roads: Chinese Literature in the World Followed by panel discussion with translators of contemporary Chinese literature.

Download more information PDF file: Han Dong talk

This lecture is FREE. You are very welcome to attend should you be interested in China, literature or translation studies.

The Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is looking for advice from teachers about how Chinese language, history and culture can be more widely taught to children and young people in the UK.
To share your views please complete the following survey:

https://surveycenter.pwc.com/se.ashx?s=1A7312042DDA0B32

The TESS reports: Online may be the way ahead to assess pupils’ learning in Mandarin, says Christine Pollock, executive director of learning and leisure at North Lanarkshire Council.

Read the full article online at http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6009436?

Hillhead High School has been chosen as the location of Glasgow’s first Confucius Classroom, part of a network of similar units at secondaries across Scotland.

The Confucius Classroom will give pupils lessons in Chinese language and culture and will also be used to organise trips to China and develop links with Chinese people living in Scotland. Although Hillhead High is the location of the new hub, the intention is to provide a facility that other schools and communities in Glasgow will be able to use.

The initiative is being delivered as a partnership between Glasgow City Council, Learning and Teaching Scotland and the Hanban - the organisation in China with responsibility for the promotion of Chinese language and culture.

www.LTScotland.org.uk/news/2009/educational/february/news_tcm4535374.asp?strReferringChannel=ltscotland

The Scottish Government has announced that a group of Scottish pupils will undergo a Chinese immersion course this summer on a two and half week visit to China. A total of 51 pupils and nine teachers will have the chance to learn Chinese and gain first-hand experience of Chinese culture.

The study visit is being organised by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) and the British Council, alongside the Hanban in China - the Office of Chinese Language Council International.

Read more from the Scottish Government news.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/02/20104349

BBC reports:

Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop is opening a Chinese hub to be used by pupils and the wider community. The North Lanarkshire Confucius Classroom will provide a central learning point for Chinese culture and language and is the sixth of eight hubs being opened across Scotland. Pupils will have access to language courses, take part in Chinese cookery lessons, and learn about the country’s history.

As part of the partnership with Clyde Union - part of the Clyde Blowers group - a Chinese assistant from the school will teach about 30 engineers Mandarin. In return the engineering firm, which makes pumps for the Chinese market, will provide pupils with business training and an insight into the company’s work.

At the official opening the Education Secretary is also expected to make an announcement about a summer visit to China for a group of Scottish school pupils.

Read the full story on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7900487.stm

Director of the Scottish Centre for Chinese Studies and the Confucius Institute for Scotland in the University of Edinburgh, Professor Natascha Gentz will deliver a special lecture on Tuesday 24 February. Entitled, ‘The Birth of Tragedy in China: Global Routes of a Local Genre’ the lecture will take place at 5.15pm in lecture theatre B of the David Hume Tower, George Square.  A reception will follow. If you would like to attend this lecture please email patricia.mcclory@ed.ac.uk to book.

The Scottish Government announces that pupils in East Dunbartonshire are set to learn about China following the opening of a new Confucius Classroom Hub. The Hub is based at St Ninian’s High School, Bishopbriggs, recognised for its outward-looking approach as winner of the International School’s Award at the 2008 Scottish Education Awards. As Scotland steps up its engagement with China, this is the fifth of eight Confucius Classroom Hubs being opened across the country. The East Dunbartonshire Confucius Classroom Hub will provide the area with a central learning point for Chinese culture, language, heritage, history, art, food, music and sport. The Hub will offer young people a stimulating and engaging way to gain the skills needed to succeed in a global society.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/02/13133020

The Scottish Government has announced that more pupils in Scotland will have the chance to learn about Chinese language and culture following the opening of the West Lothian Confucius Classroom Hub at Bathgate Academy on Friday 30 January.

This is the fourth of eight Confucius Hubs being opened across the country, following on from the hubs in Edinburgh, Perth and Kinross, and Ayrshire.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Fiona Hyslop announced she has asked Learning and Teaching Scotland and British Council Scotland to work with the Chinese authorities to develop a school visit programme that would allow at least 50 pupils to visit China this summer. This would enable pupils to gain first-hand experience of Chinese culture, traditions and language.

Read more on this story on the Scottish Government website.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/01/30103446