Institut Confucius de l'Artois

The Confucius Institute of Artois was officially opened on 23rd October 2008, at Artois University, Arras, in conjunction with the Hanban (the Chinese Language and Cultural Office of China's Ministry of Education) and Nanjing University, China. It has enjoyed the support of the Nord-Pas de Calais Regional Council; the General Council of the Nord-Pas de Calais; the City of Arras and its Urban Community; and the Education Department of the Chinese Embassy.

Since its inauguration, the Confucius Institute of Artois has continued to develop in the north of France. For its fourth anniversary there is a varied program of activities and events.

The Confucius institute of Artois puts great effort into promoting Chinese language and culture through numerous conferences, workshops and academic courses. It aims to create a forum for transcultural dialogue open to all who wish to discover one of the oldest and richest civilisations in the world. It is truly a collective and cultural adventure.

The Main Aims of The Confucius Institute are :

• ♦ To teach Chinese using the most modern methods available, including multimedia and the internet
• ♦ To provide courses for teachers who wish to teach Chinese in primary and secondary schools
• ♦ To organize language testing in Chinese (HSK - Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi - and other tests in the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language).
• ♦ To organize Chinese courses at various levels, using various themes
• ♦ To sponsor academic activities and exams in Chinese
• ♦ To show Chinese films and TV programs
• ♦ To advise those who wish to study in China
• ♦ To provide reference tools for teachers and other professionals

/ March 23, 2020 / Since the French government announced the closure of all the primary schools, secondary schools and universities within France on March 10, the Confucius Institute at the University of Artois has actively responded to this sudden change.

On the one hand, all the staff of the Confucius Institute continue to run teaching, cultural and daily work remotely. On the other hand, they are trying harder than usual to adapt to their work and life in the duration of lockdown.

With the exception of the Chinese Art Festival, which was planned to begin at this March and postponed until March next year, all the annual plans are on schedule. The art exhibition, a jewel of the Festival, was planned for a month-long show at the Roubaix Contemporary Art Exhibition Center in Lille. Until it was informed officially to be closed by the government, this art exhibition had kept opening to the public from March 5th to the 18th and been the most visited among previous iterations.

On-going tasks in the duration of remote work are as follows :

1. Preparations for European-Chinese teacher training program in June.
2. Preparations for World Confucius Day in September.
3. The Chinese Language Classes of all three levels have been taught at the scheduled time remotely. All lessons are provided through instructional video or on ZOOM platform (cyber classroom).
4. For students to receive quality teaching and learning efficiency, an additional "Chinese Cyber Chatroom" was added to the intermediate and advanced classes during this special period. The students could have free tutoring through the ZOOM platform for 90 minutes every other week.
5. In order to prevent all the staff from slacking off and anxiety during this special period, the French Director and the Chinese Director set up a system of “Daily Health Report” through the WeChat platform as well as a regular meeting held via the ZOOM platform weekly.
6. Draft a quantitative method and assessment system for workload.
7. Draft the working announcements for the closure of the Confucius Institute in Chinese, French, and English.

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