Co-established by Beijing Foreign Studies University and University of Malaysia and inaugurated by Hao Ping, Vice Minister of Education of China, and He Guozhong, Vice Minister of Education of Malaysia, the Confucius Institute at University of Malaya was established on July 8, 2009 and launched officially in March, 2010.
About Us
Located in the main campus of University of Malaysia, Confucius Institute at University of Malaya occupies an area of 1,415 m2. It is a multi-functional venue integrating office, Chinese language teaching, book browsing and Chinese culture exhibition. the Institute has 8 Chinese government-sponsored professional Chinese teachers and 4 volunteer Chinese teachers and offers various Chinese language courses.
Chinese Language Teaching and Examinations in Confucius Institute
The main teaching targets of the Institute are non-Chinese ethnicities such as Malays. We also give consideration to Chinese Malaysian’s demands to learn Chinese. Based on the strength of the Malaysian Department in Beijing Foreign Studies University, the Institute attaches great importance to the establishment and development of language and cultural exchange mechanism between China and Malaysia so as to set up a platform for friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. Since the establishment of the Institute, the main teaching activities include Chinese language teaching for on-campus students, basic Chinese, Chinese hand writing and Chinese culture for social students, Chinese language teaching in Kelantan branch institute of University of Malaysia, branch courses in cooperation with University Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Chinese language teaching in Maktab Polis Diraja Malaysia, Chinese language teaching for civil servants in Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations of Malaysia, and Chinese martial arts. The total number of students is about 4,000 so far.
Besides, the Institute offers various Chinese language courses and holds diverse cultural activities, including Chinese optional courses in partnership with University of Malaysia, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) and basic Chinese language courses in partnership with Nilam Puri, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), HELP University, Politenik community college and SRK St. Paul Seremban. While teaching Chinese, the Institute also offers cultural curriculum such as Tai Chi and Go classes regularly. The Institute also supports the development of its local Chinese teachers by holding Chinese language teaching seminars and public lectures periodically. Seminars on China’s economy and culture and local Chinese teacher training are popular among local Chinese teachers.
Meanwhile, HSK and YCT Examinations, which attract learners from local middle and primary schools and other Chinese language teaching institutes, are held regularly in the Institute. Since HSK Examination was offered in May, 2009, there has been more than 1500 participators so far.
Cultural Activities
In addition to Chinese language teaching, the Institute develops several cultural and educational exchange activities and won great social praise. Those activities include Chinese language teaching visiting mission from Ministry of Education of Malaysia, short-term overseas study for university students, summer camp for primary and middle school students, summer camp for middle school students from ASEAN countries, big artistic performance “Chinese Culture Night”, Chinese textbooks exhibition, Chinese speech contest for Malaysian primary and middle school students, activities for “celebrating the year of dragon”, activities for “International Language Day”, “Chinese Bridge Competition”, board games competition “The Deity of Eastern Board Games”, Confucius Institute diploma ceremony, parties for Mid-autumn Festival and Ed al-fitr, traditional Chinese food culture experience, Chinese calligraphy competition, training lectures for primary and middle school teachers and various class language and culture activities.
Features of the Institute
Since Malaysia is a country with integrated multi-ethnic cultures and according to the special condition that Chinese education is well developed in Malaysia, Confucius Institute at University of Malaya aims at non-Chinese ethnicities, such as Malays as its main teaching targets and offers courses and cultural lectures which accommodate Chinese Malaysian Chinese’s learning demands while helping cultivate and promote the level of the local Chinese teachers and communicate actively, and carry out cooperation with local universities and primary and middle schools and other Chinese language teaching institutes. It also lays emphasis on exploiting the strength of Malaysian Department in Beijing Foreign Studies University and the establishment and development of language and culture exchange mechanism between China and Malaysia.
Future Development
In order to further expand the range of Chinese language teaching in the future, Confucius Institute at University of Malaya will continue to plan and design courses reasonably according to the local multi-cultural features and carry out all sorts of works, including HSK projects, local Chinese teacher training and more and more meaningful and popular cultural exchange activities, by offering all sorts of Chinese courses and seeking for further cooperation with Malaysian government, local universities, primary and middle schools and enterprises.
Contacts
Address: Kong Zi Institute , University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-79677344/- 7347/-7022
Fax: 03-79677346
E-mail：kongzium@gmail.com
(As of December 31, 2014)
