The Confucius institute at the University of Cape Coast held an orientation
session for students to introduce the Chinese language and culture to them.
The orientation was held at the S.K. Adjepong Lecture Theatre during the hours of 2pm- 4pm. The purpose of this orientation was to brief interested students about the Chinese language and culture courses being offered by the institution and also the benefits the students stand to gain should they participate in this program. And not only by participating but by taking the course serious.
The program started with a documentary of CIUCC being played to the students present. This documentary was about what the institute stands for and relationship between the two countries (Ghana and China) as well as the achievement of the institute during their time of existence. This was done to whet the appetite of the students of what they are yet to embrace.
Prof Ishmael Mensah, the Ghana director of the Institute, gave an opening speech.
The China director of the Confucius Institute, Prof Hu Liangcai gave a speech. In his speech he elaborated on the vital things the Confucius Institute had done and the opportunities they offer to students ranging from scholarship application to the procuring of a Visa and also recommendation for other corporate jobs. He made mention of the fact that students who participate in the Chinese language course are more competitive on the job market. This is because Chinese Companies in Ghana would prefer working with employees who can speak and write their language.
Master Akwasi Adu Poku, a student of University of Cape Coast had the opportunity to go to China through Confucius Institute. He shared his experience. He stated that he was a novice to the Chinese language. He basically didn’t know how to read, write nor speak. As a result of his interest to learn the Chinese language, he was given a task to learn five vocabularies a day which resulted in his ability to speak the Chinese language fluently. He also shared some of the experiences he had when he went to China. He concluded his speech by giving a word of advice to the students.