[044] Chinese language courses, after-school program available from Confucius Institute

MURFREESBORO — MTSU’s Confucius Institute will offer its noncredit Chinese language courses and after-school activities for children as the fall semester starts.

This year’s Chinese language classes will begin Saturday, Aug. 29, and continue on Saturdays throughout the fall 2015 semester at the Confucius Institute, which is located in Room 106 of Peck Hall on campus.

From 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., classes that are continuations of the 2015 spring semester classes in adult beginning, intermediate and advanced Chinese will be held. Other classes for adult beginners who started in spring 2015 are slated for 10:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m.

Students who started taking elementary Chinese for children in the spring 2015 semester are scheduled for classes from 10:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Chinese classes for children from Chinese heritage families will take place from 10:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. Advanced Chinese classes for children from Chinese heritage families are slated for 2 to 4 p.m.

The Confucius Institute’s after-school program for children ages 6 to 12 will run from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. each Thursday in the fall 2015 semester beginning Thursday, Sept. 3. This language and cultural enrichment program focuses on basic conversation, entry level vocabulary and writing of Chinese characters.

To assist students who find Saturdays inconvenient, the institute is making an effort to be more accommodating with its scheduling this year.

“If we have five people say, ‘Hey, we could do it Wednesday,’ then we’ll do it Wednesday,” said Mike Novak, the institute’s assistant director. “We’re trying to be a little more flexible, just making sure we meet everybody’s needs if we have an interest.”

Tuition for all classes is $140 per semester. Tutoring is available at the rate of $15 per hour with times and dates to be arranged among parents, students and teachers.

The Confucius Institute strives to enhance understanding of Chinese language and culture, provides outreach to create collaboration between Tennessee communities and China and serves as a resource center for Chinese language, history and culture.

To enroll in classes or to obtain more information, contact the institute at 615-494-8696 or at cimtsu@mtsu.edu. Visitors to campus can find a printable campus map at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParking2015-16.