On July 17, the teacher training for the Core Course "Intercultural Communication" for 2022 MTCSOL was held online. This one-day training was sponsored by the Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages Education Supervisory Committee (Education Supervisory Committee for short) and organized by Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).
Hosted by Professor Zhu Yong, Vice Dean of School of Chinese Language and Literature, BFSU, the training was divided into three parts: thematic lecture, teaching seminar and expert report on "Intercultural Communication Teaching". Experts from the University of South Florida, University of California, Berkeley, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Nankai University and other universities, as well as the China Story Research Institute of NewChannel International Education Group Limited lectured, and from 119 training units across China, 192 full-time teachers of the course "Intercultural Communication" for MTCSOL attended the training.
During the thematic lecture, Associate Professor Qin Xizhen from the University of South Florida introduced the application of "Experience and Performance Teaching Method" in intercultural communication courses, suggesting that teachers should fully utilize "stories" in teaching, thus enabling students to develop their intercultural communication skills by telling stories and engaging in cultural stories. Professor Liao Hongjing, a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and an associate professor at BFSU, introduced new theories and research trends in the field of Intercultural Communication. Professor Zu Xiaomei, a senior expert in intercultural communication courses for International Chinese Language Education, delivered a lecture on "Intercultural Communication Courses in the New Era: Challenges and Countermeasures", analyzing the key issues of intercultural communication teaching for MTCSOL in the light of the situation and development trend faced by International Chinese Language Education and the theory of intercultural communication.
During the teaching seminar, Associate Professor Zhang Chunyan from Beijing Normal University and Associate Professor Zhang Shitao from Sun Yat-sen University shared their experiences and practices in teaching intercultural communication courses for MTCSOL, guiding the teachers to concentrate on teaching practice and discuss common issues such as curriculum design, textbook compilation and design, theoretical research and innovation, as well as the problems and strategies existing in online teaching practice. The attendees passionately shared their thoughts, raised questions and exchanged ideas, exploring solutions and methods to improve teaching quality.
To expand the academic horizons of the cadre teachers, Jiang Fei, Dean of the School of International Journalism and Communication, BFSU, was invited to give a report on "Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Construction of International Education and International Communication Based on the Assumption of ‘Cultural Borders'", and Professor Hu Min, President of the China Story Research Institute of NewChannel International Education Group Limited and an industry member of the Education Supervisory Committee, delivered a report on "Innovation and Practice of Telling Chinese Stories Well". The two experts provided teachers with cross-disciplinary perspectives and practical ideas to inspire intercultural competence cultivation with vivid cases from their respective professional fields.
Short as the one-day training was, the full-time teachers gained new perspectives and new approaches during the lively exchange, as well as explored the schemes of teaching innovation and theoretical construction of the intercultural communication courses in the New Era. The participants expressed that the training arrangement was very targeted, and the experience shared by subject experts and the exchange and mutual learning among peers were extensive, practical and efficient. And they expected to have more opportunities to communicate with their peers in the future, to build a teaching and research community for the "Intercultural Communication" course for MTCSOL, and to strive for improving the quality and standard of the cultivation of International Chinese Language Education talents.
The Education Supervisory Committee will further promote teacher training for the core course for MTCSOL and build a teaching and research sharing platform oriented to the practical needs of frontline teachers in order to promote fine practices and facilitate researches, comprehensively advancing the height, depth, breadth and precision of the teaching work for MTCSOL, enabling teachers to gain in training, practice in teaching and develop in studying, so as to contribute to promoting the cultivation of International Chinese Language Education talents. (source from Center for Language Education and Cooperation)