MANILA, April 12 -- "Feilvbin" (the Philippines); "Zongtongfu" (presidential palace); "Xinwenbu" (communications operations office).
For the first time on Friday, some 15 staff members from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) of the Philippines read aloud with zest the three white bond papers that Ms. Meng Guangjie flashed in front of a "special class" at the Presidential Palace in Manila.
After practices, the "students" erupted into laughter when they were told about the meaning of the Mandarin words on flash cards that they repeatedly read aloud -- the Philippine presidential communications operations office, which they are working for.
Glenn Albert Ocampo, the head executive assistant of Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, told Xinhua how eager he is to learn basic Mandarin. He said he had been with PCOO for three years and was quite delighted to learn about the meaning of PCOO in Mandarin.
"Language is the first part in establishing relations with people in other countries and understanding their culture. It's very important for us to learn at least the basic Mandarin for us to fully understand our counterparts in China," Ocampo said.
Around 30 PCOO staff have signed up to attend the formal Mandarin language course at the Malacanang presidential palace, Ocampo said.
Meng, a teacher from the University of the Philippines Confucius Institute, will teach the staff more conversational Mandarin words and phrases, including the four main tones, and more about modern Chinese culture and society in the coming weeks.
After the 90-hour Mandarin course, "you would be able to introduce yourself, your family and your job," Meng told the Philippine staff.
Lourdes Nepomuceno, the director of the University of the Philippines Confucius Institute, said the institute has been conducting Mandarin classes in government offices like the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
She said the institute decided to expand its coverage to the PCOO to provide more opportunities to different sectors.
"We want to cover PCOO because we realize that it is an important avenue to learn more about China and understand China through language and culture," Nepomuceno told the Chinese media.
The curriculum is 80 hours of Chinese language and 10 hours of Chinese culture. "That has been our model for the past three years when we conduct classes at the Foreign Service Institute of the DFA and the BI.
"We already graduated the first batch and we now have the second batch. Same is true with BI. We graduated the first batch and we started the second batch already," Nepomuceno said.
The institute "customize the program" to cater to the needs of the government sector or staff, she added.
In conducting classes for the immigration staff, she said the institute teaches the Chinese words or phrases needed in engaging with Chinese tourists.
"What they do is they give us a list of frequently asked questions when tourists enter the airport, and they will try to memorize and study words and the greetings, and they concentrate on the tones of the words," Nepomuceno said.
"The first batch did a good job, the first batch that graduated, and they are now on the second level," she added.
As a window of showing the Chinese language and a platform for cultural exchanges, the Confucius Institutes are becoming more and more popular in the Philippines.
Except for the University of the Philippines, now there are three other Confucius Institutes in the Ateneo de Manila University, Angeles University and Bulacan State University, respectively. Thousands of local people are learning Mandarin through the courses of Confucius Institutes.
Nepomuceno, who has been working for Confucius Institute for 11 years, said more and more Filipinos have shown interest to study Mandarin.
She said the institute has signed an agreement with the league of cities of the Philippines to cater to the 145 city colleges and universities around the Philippines. Moreover, the institute also holds language courses for University of the Philippines alumni and students for free to help more Filipinos to learn Mandarin. "We create a special class for them," she said.
It is the mission of the institute "to serve and help Filipinos learn Mandarin and to provide more opportunities for them," Nepomuceno explained.
"If they have a second language, specifically Chinese, they will go to other places, they will earn more, and they will create more opportunities for them, not only in the Philippines but around the world," Nepomuceno said.
Meng said she is looking forward to the PCOO classes to start. Meng has been teaching Mandarin in the Philippines for nearly two years. Before her stint in the Philippines, Meng taught Mandarin for 15 years in China.
In the two years that she has been teaching the language course in the Philippines, Meng said she noticed that Filipinos are fast learners and have "a strong desire" to learn more about China.
"They learn very quickly, and their pronunciation is good. They want to know a lot of things about China, economics, politics and so on," Meng said, adding she is proud that her students have "graduated" and made use of what they learned from the course.
"They want more communications with China, and we can introduce the Chinese culture," Meng said, adding that the course is a bridge that connects the Philippines and China.
瑜伽鼻孔交替呼吸法:改善你的睡眠质量
经典英语美文:人与机遇The Man and the Opportunity
我为什么活着What I Have Lived For
3个适合夏天喝啤酒的最佳场所
盘点十个最经常被人误用的单词
经典英语美文:以书为伴Companionship of Books
触动心灵的散文:热爱生活Love Your Life
《海底总动员2》会是迪士尼时尚最卖座的电影吗?
你知道如何简单、快速地保存记忆吗?
经典英语美文:美丽的微笑与爱心Beautiful Smile and Love
让人震惊的事实:戴眼镜让你显老3.3岁
中国传统文化精粹:如何看手相
趣味英语:英文中的“书呆子”如何表达
何令孩子拥有勇往直前的信心
最新资讯:世界名校斯坦福、哈佛录取率持续下降
中国学生为何如此偏爱美国名校
经典双语美文:无知也快乐
莫里:我的老教授Morrie:My Old Professor
没什么大不了,高考只不过是一个新起点
如何提高会影响你人生成败的自制力
想要更快更好地学习?快看这里
印度加入核供应集团的美梦,因中国而落空
增强你的个性,让你显得更酷的十个方法
英国教育体系扫盲贴:令人凌乱的英国教育体系
你辛辛苦苦赚的钱都花哪儿去了
阅读理解及答案:专家降低喝咖啡引起的患癌风险级别
孩子的坏脾气如何应对?8大招式在这里
记忆碎片:论梦境的联系与解析
现代生活丛林的生存法则:33条与他人相处的建议
4个让你更上镜的小贴士,你get了吗?
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |