On the morning of November 23rd, local time, 2019 Dubai Chinese Language Teachers’ Conference kicked off in the auditorium of the Nord Anglia International School Dubai. The conference was assisted by the Confucius Institute Headquarters, supervised by the Consulate General of The People’s Republic of China in Dubai, organized by the Confucius Institute at University of Dubai, and co-organized by Nord Anglia International School Dubai. Sun Xudong, Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Dubai, Matthew Farthing, President of the Nord Anglia International School Dubai, Geoffrey G. Gachino, Provost of the University of Dubai, Liu Yanhui, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dubai, and nearly 100 Chinese teachers from the UAE, Australia and China attended the conference.
Before the conference, the Dubai Children’s Choir of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dubai performed the child’s chorus “Jasmine”, which was well-received and won warm applause. After playing the solemn national anthems of China and Afghanistan, Liu Yanhui, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dubai, announced the opening of the conference.
Matthew, President of the Nord Anglia International School Dubai delivered a speech first. He thanked for the presence of all the attendees and introduced his position in Chinese. He said that it is very important to provide students with the opportunity to learn different languages. Teachers are welcome to share their experiences, and make contributions to language education.
Sun Xudong, Deputy Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Dubai, on behalf of the Chinese Consulate General in Dubai and Consul General Li Xuhang, extended warm congratulations to the convening of the conference. Sun Xudong, Deputy Consul General said, “Teaching is a noble profession, and teachers are friendly messengers of cultural exchanges. We hope that through the hard work of teachers, students who love Chinese in Dubai and the UAE can further deepen their understanding of Chinese culture and history. If you visit China several times, you can become a messenger of cultural exchanges between China and the UAE in the future.” He also said that the UAE is an important partner for the Belt and Road Initiative. Teachers are advised to cherish their working opportunities in Dubai and learn more about Arab culture and history. Mutual learning and construction of different civilizations are required for common improvements and due contributions to building a community with shared future for mankind.
Later, Dr. Liang Yu, Director of the Chinese Language Education Branch of Higher Education Press and the tutor of the master’s degree at the School of International Education of Minzu University of China, gave a special lecture on “Design and Application of Chinese Teaching Resources in Arabic Region” to the participants. Dr. Liang introduced the country and its people of Arabic, the current development and application of Chinese teaching resources in Arabic, and the exploration of Chinese teaching resources. He analyzed the principles of syllabus design, the existing difficulties, and the effective solutions from five aspects: phonetics, Chinese characters, vocabulary, grammar, and culture and provided professional and detailed answers to the questions raised by the teachers present.
Dr. Jiang Lan, who is currently teaching in the Department of Language and Literature of St. Peter University in the United States and has hosted the Licensed Chinese Language Teacher Program for public primary and secondary schools in the United States for nearly ten years, shared the “Integration into Classical Poetry of the International Chinese Teaching” with teachers. Dr. Jiang Lan took Chinese teaching in America as an example, and explained the necessity of immersing Chinese culture into Chinese teaching and strategies in teaching practice. She believed that “poetry is the orthodox of Chinese literature, the essence of world culture, and international Chinese teaching integrated into poetry is of great necessity.” Dr. Jiang Lan’s speech won a warm applause.
In the afternoon, six forums on different topics were held, including the promotion and classroom management of Chinese courses in primary and secondary schools hosted by Dr. Lan Xiaoming, the study of the Chinese classroom teaching pedagogy hosted by President Hong Zhengyou, and teaching research on Chinese vocabulary hosted by President Hu Ying. Teaching research on Chinese grammar chaired by President Zhou Tongtong, the use of advanced educational technology in Chinese teaching chaired by Director Qi Na, and teaching of Chinese traditional music, fine arts, martial arts and culture chaired by President Liu Qinglu.
After the conference, Geoffrey, Provost of the University of Dubai, issued certificates of participation to the participants. Liu Yanhui, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Dubai, said that the conference aims to bring together Chinese language teachers and all friends who are dedicated to Chinese language teaching and cultural promotion, and work together to promote and improve Chinese language teaching. (cited from Confucius Institute Headquarters, source: People’s Daily Online, Story by Qu Xiangyu)