The closing ceremony of the work carried out by eleven Chinese teachers in public schools in the regions of Valparaíso, Ñuble, Biobío, Araucanía and Los Ríos was held with great success. This significant event, organized with the support of the CLEC Foundation, Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, allowed teachers to share their experiences, show the fruits of their work and reflect on the challenges of teaching Mandarin in the context of Chilean public education.

Throughout the year, teachers conducted prominent cultural and academic activities, such as Chinese Language Day, conversation workshops, and preparing students for international HSK language certification exams. In addition, they highlighted the warm welcome received in the school communities, where they were fully integrated as part of the educational environment.

The ceremony was attended by important authorities, including Roberto Lafontaine, Director of the CLEC Foundation Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean; Verónica Xu, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of China; María Angélica Mena, Coordinator of Strategic Learning for the XXI Century of the Ministry of Education of Chile; and Claudia Téllez, PIAP counterpart in the International Relations Office of the Ministry of Education of Chile.  

During the event, teachers shared the challenges they faced when teaching a language like Mandarin, from cultural adaptation to the implementation of pedagogical methodologies in a diverse environment. However, they also highlighted the satisfaction of seeing students take a deep interest in a language that opens doors to new cultural and professional opportunities. Finally, they received the delivery of diplomas that certified their work during this year.

For its part, the CLEC Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to the promotion and teaching of the Chinese language in Latin America. Roberto Lafontaine, director of the Foundation, praised the achievements of the teachers and highlighted future projects, such as the “Chino+” initiative, which seeks to continue strengthening language learning in the region.

The Mandarin Chinese Learning Program is part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the governments of the People’s Republic of China and the government of Chile in 2004. As part of the Ministry of Education’s Mandarin Chinese Teaching Project, since 2005 the arrival of teachers of Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language has been managed in different educational establishments in Chile, a country that receives a subsidy from the State. Recently renewed, this agreement has allowed a group of eleven teachers to arrive in Chile to teach the language in the same number of establishments

This event marks the end of a fruitful year, not only for Chinese teachers, but also for Chilean educational communities, which have been enriched by this unprecedented cultural and linguistic exchange.

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