On May 7th, the opening ceremony of 2018 Orientation for Volunteer Chinese Teachers Confucius Institute Headquarter (Hanban) to Asian and African Countries was held at Xiang’an Campus, Xiamen University (XMU). Fan Li, Secretary of CPC General Branch of the Southern Base of Confucius Institute Headquarters chaired the event. Zhan Xinli, Vice President of Xiamen University, and Geng Hu, Vice Director of the Southern Base of Confucius Institute Headquarters (Office of Confucius Institute Affairs) attended the ceremony and delivered their speeches. Teaching and administrative staff of the Base and 142 volunteer Chinese teachers also participated in the ceremony.
Fan Li presiding over the ceremony
At the beginning of the ceremony, all trainees watched Xiamen University Goes Global, the publicity film of XMU, to appreciate the historical and cultural heritage of the University.
Zhan Xinli gave a vivid and meaningful first lesson of the training to trainees. Starting from the motto of the University, which is “Pursue Excellence, Strive for Perfection”, and the four spirits, namely “Patriotism, Revolution, Self-improvement, and Science”, she detailed the magnificent achievements of XMU since its establishment 97 years ago and a series of achievements by the University in promoting Chinese around the globe. At the same time, in her speech, she encouraged all trainees to cherish this training and lay a solid foundation, so as to shoulder the important responsibility of promoting Chinese culture globally.
Zhan Xinli giving her speech
Based on the trainee manual, Geng Hu introduced every aspect of this training in details, including teaching arrangements, training objectives, training methods, training courses, class hours, examination and assessment. Moreover, he expressed his hope and requirements for the trainees. Firstly, he hoped that the trainees could strengthen solidarity and coordination. Secondly, he hoped that trainees would observe discipline, obey the arrangement, and refrain from tardiness and leaves. Thirdly, he expressed his hope that the trainees could cherish time and seek self-improvement. He also emphasized the significance of practice and the importance of orientation and hoped that the trainees could learn professional knowledge and skills and adopt an eclectic approach to Chinese language teaching and learn widely from others’ strengths. Furthermore, he hoped that trainees could improve themselves in their future work, so as to become a volunteer Chinese teacher that could succeed in carrying out their missions.
Geng Hu introducing training arrangements
Li Hangying from Beijing Language and Culture University delivered a speech as the representative of the trainees. She shared her experiences and wished that shouldering their dreams and the expectations of the motherland, the volunteers would contribute to the cultural exchanges between China and Asia as well as China and Africa. She stated that this training was an experience that should be cherished, which facilitated her teaching ability and enabled her to become a qualified volunteer Chinese teacher. Li hoped the trainees could learn from the training modestly, remain true to their original aspiration and acquire knowledge and skills in the training, so as to contribute their strength to the Chinese teaching undertaking in future.
Li Hangying delivering her speech
All attendees
The training will last for six weeks. The trainees who pass the examination will be dispatched to Asian and African countries including Malaysia, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Burundi and embark on a journey of Chinese teaching. (cited from Confucius Institute Headquarters, source: Xiamen University, Story by Zhao Ke)
