Confucius Institute in Sofia and Sinology Department at Sofia University Jointly Launched Spoken Chinese Club

From 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on 18 January, the Confucius Institute in Sofia and the Sinology Department at Sofia University jointly held the opening ceremony of the Spoken Chinese Club at the Sinology Classroom of the Centre of Eastern Languages and Cultures at Sofia University. Antonia Tsankova, Head of the Sinology Department at Sofia University, Aksiniya Koleva, Bulgarian Director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, and Professor Liu Xiuming, Chinese Director of the Institute, attended the event and delivered speeches. The event was hosted by Mrs. Wang Kexin, a Chinese language teacher at Sofia University. Nearly 30 people participated, including members of the Spoken Chinese Club and teachers and students from the Centre of Eastern Languages and Cultures. The activity included songs, calligraphy, tea art, paper-cutting, taichi, spoken conversations on different topics and other recreational activities.

Mrs. Koleva and prof. Liu said in their speeches: "The Confucius Institute in Sofia and Sofia University have cooperated for many years in the Chinese major. On their common goal of introducing Chinese language and culture and Bulgarian language and culture, they have supported and helped each other, exerted their respective strengths, and achieved fruitful results." They also added that, “the Spoken Chinese Club is an active method to develop immersive learning tools, stimulate interest in Chinese learning, create a language environment, strengthen language practice, exercise language input and output, and improve language and cultural accomplishments. It is also a favorable opportunity to enhance self-confidence, cultivate participation awareness, enhance communication skills, and expand human connections. We hope that everyone will make full use of this platform to further improve and perfect their Chinese proficiency."

The club has built an excellent learning platform to introduce Chinese culture and customs to Bulgarian students; it has created a positive learning atmosphere, it has stimulated students' enthusiasm for Chinese learning; it has strengthened their ability to speak and express themselves in Chinese; and, last but not least, is beneficial to improving the overall quality of language use.

Confucius Institute in Sofia
Text: Liu Xiuming
Photos: Liu Xiuming, Wang Kexin
Editors: Liu Xiuming, Aksinia Koleva, Liu Tianchao
English translation: Dima Pironkova

Photo 1 Antonia Tsankova, Head of the Sinology Department at Sofia University, delivered a speech