UN Chinese language day at STA |24 April 2021
Students and staff of the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) were joined by officials of the Confucius Institute at the University of Seychelles (UniSey) for an afternoon of activities on Tuesday, to mark the International Chinese Language Day.
The day, observed annually by the institute on April 20, aims to educate people about the history of the Chinese language, which was officially established as an official language of the United Nations (UN) in 1946.
To mark the day, the institute organised a ceremony, in which some 40 plus participants of the Chinese cultural activities were presented with their rewards.
To begin, director of the Confucius Institute, Wang Dongxia, introduced the origin and significance of the United Nations Chinese Day, the Chinese language, and the increasingly important role of the language in communicating with others and the world.
Mrs Wang went on to praise the support and cooperation provided by STA in Chinese teaching, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, whereby the only resort was online teaching. Despite the pandemic and challenges it posed, both institutes collaborated to ensure that students have adequate time to learn about the language and culture.
“During the Chinese Spring Festival and lantern festival, Confucius Institute organised series activities such as drawing ox in the year of ox, making lanterns by themselves, guessing riddles and singing Chinese songs. Chinese lecturers introduced these culture and language elements in online classes and encouraged the students to work on this according to their understanding. A lot of students participated in the activities, and they sent their drawings, lanterns and videos of singing songs to the platform for the class, sharing their learning experience and creative works. Though the online class is a little different, it makes Chinese learning interesting,” Mrs Wang noted.
Head of programme at STA, Cecil Payet, also gave a short speech in which she conveyed STA’s willingness and commitment towards partnering with other organisations so as to expose students of the academy with as many opportunities to enhance their learning experience and further develop.
Ms Payet also thanked the Confucius Institute at the UniSey for the support afforded to STA students.
Sharing a quick word on behalf of all the students, Angel Belle iterated her learning experience, one which she terms as “fulfilling and enriching”.
The students animated the ceremony with performances of Chinese classic folk song ‘Jasmine flower’, while donning the traditional Chinese cheongsam, complete with traditional umbrellas and fans, themselves resembling a bunch of freshly picked spring flowers. They also sang a Chinese song ‘Song and Smile’.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of Tuesday’s ceremony at the STA.
Source: Confucius Institute of Seychelles
Photo source: Confucius Institute
