Master Class for Training and Development of International Chinese Language Teachers Held in Beijing

From July 14th to July 16th, the “2017 Master Class for the Training and Development of International Chinese Language Teachers” sponsored by the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching (ISCLT) was successfully held in Beijing Foreign Studies University. More than 260 participants including teachers and students of Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Language (MTCSOL) from 125 universities and institutions nationwide and members of the ISCLT attended the event.

Mr. Lu Jianming, the committee member of the National Language Committee of China, former President of the ISCLT and President of the International Association of Chinese Linguistics (IACL), Prof. Simon Borg, the internationally renowned expert on teacher’s education and professional development and visiting professor of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at University of Leeds, Prof. Cui Xiliang, the former president of Beijing Language and Culture University, and Prof. Zhang Jianmin of East China Normal University attended and addressed the event upon invitation. These experts delivered wonderful speeches on the training and development of Chinese language teachers, teacher’s professional development and research, the study of high quality language teaching, the knowledge, ability, academic consciousness of Chinese language teachers, and the international Chinese language education under the world political setting, arousing strong reactions from the audience.

Prof. Lu Jianming is one of China’s great masters of modern Chinese grammar. During the class, he proposed to the participants that international Chinese language teachers should not simply teach. He also expounded the proper self-position of Chinese language teachers from the perspective of their training and development: Chinese language teachers are international disseminators of the Chinese language at first, and also disseminators of the Chinese culture and image ambassadors of China. Chinese language teachers should not just be competent teachers, but also make themselves researchers and equip themselves with proper structures of knowledge and abilities, good ideological and psychological quality and a strong sense of educational responsibility.

Prof. Simon Borg is a prestigious scholar in international teachers’ education and professional development research. During his speech, Prof. Simon Borg stated the meaning of teachers’ research, described with living examples the importance and practical meaning of teachers’ research holds for language teachers, and provided detailed guidance on the characteristics, research methods, specific measures and communication effects of high quality language teaching research.

Prof. Cui Xiliang shared his years of Chinese language teaching experience and teaching research, elucidated the knowledge and abilities that Chinese language teachers should possess and discussed the academic consciousness that a good Chinese language teacher should have. He put forward his views from perspectives of why Chinese language teachers should possess academic consciousness, what issues should be studied, and the necessary theoretical consciousness and problem consciousness. He also interacted lively with teachers present.

Prof. Zhang Jianmin introduced the specific relationship between the current world political changes and the international Chinese language education from a macroscopic angle and analyzed the pattern and development trend of international Chinese language education in the world, taking into consideration multiple affecting factors such as national power, national interests, ideology, information technology and Sinosphere.

The participants said that the class was held just in time. They not only learned of the abilities and quality that Chinese language teachers should possess from different levels, but also knew about the overall positioning of international Chinese language teaching under the current world political setting from a macroscopic angle and developed a clearer plan for their future careers. The ISCLT will organize and release the meeting materials timely. Cross-cultural Communication and International Chinese Language Teaching, the script of Prof. Micheal Byram’s speech during the 2016 “Master Classes on Cross-cultural Communication and International Chinese Language Education” has been edited and published by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.