On June 28th, the Sino-French Language and Culture Forum (online), supported by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) and organized in cooperation with Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) in China and the University of La Rochelle in France, came to a successful conclusion. Jing Wei, Deputy Director-General of the CLEC; Liu Li, President of BLCU; and Jean-Marc Ogier, President of La Rochelle University, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered speeches. Numerous experts and scholars from China, France, and other European countries, professionally discussed language education policies, Chinese language pedagogy research, language education innovation, providing theoretical and practical references for the sustainable development of international Chinese language education.
Alain Peyraube, a member of the European Academy of Sciences and an honorary researcher of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), explained the European and Chinese polylingualism traditions and environments from a theoretical perspective, and compared the formation, development, policies and environment of polylingualism in Europe and China through such concepts like "language families" and "cultural unity", providing academic support for the development of Chinese language education.
Stéphane Aymard, Director of the International Division at the University of La Rochelle, France, introduced the European polylingualism tradition and policy environment at a practical level, providing practical support for the development of Chinese language education with examples of incentives for polylingual learning in multiple areas such as EU policy, the current education system, and social awareness.
Elli Suzuki, associate professor at the University of Bordeaux-Montaigne, France, analyzed China's measures to protect minority languages in the polylingual and multicultural context, such as the implementation of bilingualism in areas where minority languages are widely spoken in order to protect minority languages from a policy perspective, and support for the distribution of multilingual publications. Elli Suzuki advocates for an ethnographic and sociological understanding of polylingualism to provide both theoretical and practical support for the sustainable development of language education.
Shen JiaXuan, a researcher of the Institute of Linguistics and a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, introduced his representative academic achievements - the "Great Grammar of Chinese", which is "the integration of words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters, the integration of phonology, morphology and meaning, and the transmission of emotion and meaning. The theory of "Great Grammar of Chinese" follows the path of Chinese grammar research pioneered by masters such as Zhao Yuanren, Lu Shuxiang and Zhu Dexi, and gives a general thought to the grammar system based on the study of the nominal-verbal inclusion model of words and the paralinguistic model of sentences. It aims to inspire Chinese language teachers to respect facts, take into account the comparison of types, and form new explorations on the basis of previous theoretical development, so that they can study Chinese language education in the context of the world's languages, compare differences and seek common ground, and blend the east and the west.
Wang Yu, a researcher at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures in France and the Department of China Studies at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, shared the Chinese Language MOOC she was involved in designing. The course is based on the French MOOC, which not only benchmarks the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, but also attaches importance to the integration of Chinese culture, paying attention to both "words" and "phrases". The program uses new technologies to deepen the memorization of high-frequency words through visual and pictorial expressions, guarantees the learning time and interest through the following three modules---"speaking", "practice" and "interaction", and promotes language learning through cultural sharing. The MOOC system was warmly welcomed by the participating Chinese teachers and provided a practical path for Chinese educators to meet the new challenges in the era of digital education and distance learning.
Cui Hongjian, Director of the European Research Center of the China Institute of International Studies; Éric Marié, President of the Committee of the French Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences; Monica Masperi, Associate Professor at the Université Grenoble Alpes and Triscia Biagiotti, Engineer at the University's Floris Division; Zhang Chaoyi, Director of the Academy of International Communication of Chinese Culture at Beijing Foreign Studies University; Chen Li, Director of the Institute of Basic Education Data at Beijing Normal University; Cao Wen, Director of the Academy of Language Sciences at Beijing Language and Culture University; Han Jingtai, Director of Chinese Culture Research Institute; and Jiang Liping, Vice President of the International Institute of Chinese Language Education, gave keynote speeches on the themes of language policy, language and culture relations, and innovation in Chinese language teaching or training models. More than 100 Chinese language educators from China, France, Italy, Germany, UK, Belgium, Romania, Japan, Egypt and other countries participated in this forum via online. (Source from Center for Language Education and Cooperation)
