The British Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield Convenes a Lecture on Chinese Teacher Training

Sheffield, May 1st – The Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield held a lecture about Chinese teacher training today. Over 20 participants, including Wang Jiankun, the Chinese Director of the British Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester and teachers from the Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield attended the lecture.

Chen Lili, Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield, gave a lecture titled “Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language & Chinese Culture”, discussed the subject of how to promote culture when teaching languages and elaborated on the phenomenon of ‘culture shock’ in language acquisition. She emphasized the importance of introducing a new culture in language teaching; one that cultivates students’ observational and intellectual abilities when looking at subtle cultural differences, rather than letting students simply accept cultural labels or making careless judgments. Associate Professor Liang Yanmin also delivered a speech titled ”The Basic Principles and Methodologies in Chinese Teaching”, sharing with the audience his personal experiences and approaches to Chinese teaching. He discussed the development of language proficiency and communication skills, making full use of students’ initiative and creativity, strengthening a Chinese learning environment, and combining an active learning style with natural acquisition. Liang Yanmin also recommended two academic works titled “Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Gailun” and “Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoyuxue Yinlun”. The participants also exchanged their ideas on approaches to introducing culture during the lecture.

Teachers listening attentively

A group photo of participants