NAIROBI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A training program for local Chinese language teachers was launched in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on Sunday as part of efforts to promote Sino-Kenyan cultural ties.
Government officials, lecturers and students from China and Kenya attended the three-day training exercise for 170 students, which was organized by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) of China's Ministry of Education, Tianjin Normal University, and the University of Nairobi's Confucius Institute.
Carol Wangui Hunja, secretary for higher education and research at Kenya's Ministry of Education, said that the training program is designed to support the East African nation's efforts to expand Chinese language education in the school curriculum.
The growing presence of the Chinese language in Kenya will enable citizens to find employment in various parts of the world where the language is spoken, Hunja added.
Yu Yunfeng, director-general of the CLEC, said that the development of Chinese language education in Kenya has been made possible by the high-level attention of both governments as well as the strong support from all sectors in China and Kenya.
Local Chinese language teachers, he said, are the most essential and decisive force behind this progress, given their pedagogical skills, cultural fluency and understanding of Kenyan learners' needs.
"I firmly believe that the Chinese language will play an increasingly important role in advancing the bilateral relations and in building the China-Kenya community with a shared future for the new era," Yu said.
Margaret Jesang Hutchinson, acting vice chancellor of the University of Nairobi, encouraged the students to make full use of the opportunity and strengthen their skills.
The training is expected to nurture local Chinese teachers who will serve Kenyan schools, act as ambassadors of Kenya-China friendship, and make positive impacts across diverse sectors of society, she said.
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