[lg policy] Peruvians take a new interest in learning Mandarin

[Harold Schiffman]

Peruvians take a new interest in learning Mandarin
English.news.cn   2010-11-27 10:17:24 	

by Jamie Wick

LIMA, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The surge of Chinese investment in Peru and
the increasing trade with the Asian country has led to a notable
interest in learning Mandarin among Peruvian students and businessmen.
Currently in Lima, capital of Peru, Mandarin is taught in two
universities and in different language institutes, something which was
unimaginable five years ago. The center for teaching Mandarin and
Chinese culture in Peru is the Confucius Institute, at the Catholic
University of Lima.

The classes are packed at this institution where some 300 students
study. However, despite the great demand, the lack of infrastructure
prevents the Institute from accepting more students. While students at
the Confucius Institute are mostly young students and businessmen,
people interested in literary translation, other aspects of Chinese
culture and children also attend classes.

The director of the Confucius Institute is Dr. Ruben Tang, a Peruvian
professional of Chinese ancestry. The second in charge, Ignacio Cheng,
is a Chinese citizen.  Cheng is known for translating into Chinese
"One Hundred Years of Solitude," a novel written by Colombian Gabriel
Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1982.

There is an agreement between the Confucius Institute and Catholic
University which allows for the exchange of educational experiences,
didactic material, and bibliography. On December 15, the Confucius
Institute will sign an agreement with the prestigious Shanghai library
to exchange books and other cultural materials. Naida Muller, who is
in charge of the library at the Institute, told Xinhua that even
though there might be a large disparity between the two libraries, the
agreement showcased the increasing interest in Chinese culture amongst
Peruvians.

The library at the Confucius Institute has ballpoint pens for reading
and writing in Chinese, a bibliography of Chinese literature,
magazines, current Chinese newspapers, and DVD' s. The program of
studies has an initial length of two years. The Ricardo Palma
University also teaches Mandarin. Studies at the Confucius Institute
are mandatory for students at the University of the Pacific, which
specializes in training economists and business administrators.

At the Inlingua Institute, Mandarin is taught by professional Chinese
teachers, and requires a pre-basic course and another special course
in phonetics that lasts six months. Until recently, English and French
were the only foreign languages taught in Peru, both of which are
still in high demand among students. In the last three years, Mandarin
has appeared in diverse langauge institutes, something which was
previously unimaginable due to the great cultural difference with the
eastern regions of the world.

It is not a secret to anyone that the source of Peruvian interest in
Mandarin is the new phase of trade ties between China and Peru. On
March 1 of this year, a Free Trade Agreement between Peru and China
came into effect.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-11/27/c_13624553.htm

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