On October 20, 2024, Beijing time, the opening ceremony of the jointly customized training program by six European and American schools was successfully held online. Attendees included Fan Leshan, Principal of the Chinese Institute Geneva Foundation Switzerland; Xu Hui, Principal of the Copenhagen Mermaid Chinese School in Denmark; Tang Chaorong, Principal of the Swiss Tangren Chinese School; and Wang Hongyan, Principal of the Delft Chinese School in the Netherlands, who delivered speeches at the ceremony. Li Zidan, Administrative Director of the Office of the China Chinese Language Education Foundation, Zhao Hongsen, Principal of Qiming International Education in Canada, and Li Wei, Principal of the Chilean Beijing Chinese School, gave video speeches. Also in attendance were Wang Zhuoyu, Executive Vice Principal of Delft Chinese School, and Xian Shuhai, Director of Academic Affairs at the Copenhagen Mermaid Chinese School. The ceremony was hosted by Zhai Ying, Director of the Overseas Department of Beijing No. 4 High School Online.
Opening Ceremony
In her speech, Li Zidan welcomed the teachers participating in the training and introduced the history and impact of the “Master Class” project. She emphasized the practicality and forward-looking nature of the jointly customized training program by the six European and American schools and encouraged teachers to apply the training content to their teaching practice to jointly promote the development of Chinese language education.
Fan Leshan expressed his deep gratitude to Chinese Language Education Foundation for its long-standing support. He pointed out that Chinese language education in Switzerland faces numerous challenges due to the country’s multilingual environment, but he believes this training offers valuable learning opportunities, helping teachers integrate new knowledge into their daily teaching to improve the quality of educational practices.
Xu Hui stressed the importance of this professional customized program for his school. As a non-profit, membership-based school with volunteer teachers, this training is essential to enhancing the professional level of the teaching team. He hoped the teachers would improve their teaching skills through the training to provide higher-quality Chinese education to the children of Chinese families.
Tang Chaorong shared insights from 25 years of school operation, highlighting that teachers are the soul of education. She firmly believes that teachers’ passion, love for students, and professional teaching skills are fundamental to improving teaching quality. She praised last year’s training and looked forward to more practical teaching strategies from this year’s program.
Wang Hongyan expressed her gratitude to the China Chinese Language Education Foundation for providing the platform on behalf of her school. She mentioned that although her school is small, the educational challenges they face are the same. She looked forward to the training, hoping that teachers could acquire cutting-edge techniques in Chinese language education and further enhance their professional skills.
Li Wei stated that the training is a valuable learning opportunity for her school, and she looked forward to working together with colleagues from Chinese schools around the world to contribute to the development of overseas Chinese education.
Zhao Hongsen reflected on the original intentions and challenges of education in his speech and thanked the China Chinese Language Education Foundation for providing the learning platform. He anticipated that the training would comprehensively improve the teaching abilities of the school’s teachers and that the knowledge gained would be applied in practice.
Following the opening ceremony, Ms. Chang Na from Beijing Language and Culture University delivered an engaging lecture titled “Building the Foundation: Collaborative Teaching of Vocabulary and Grammar.” Ms. Chang explained in detail the steps for vocabulary instruction, interpretation methods, practice strategies, and grammar teaching steps, providing a wealth of teaching resources and practical techniques aimed at enhancing teachers’ ability to teach vocabulary and grammar.
Image: Ms. Chang Na’s Lecture
The “Master Class” distance teacher training project is organized by the China Chinese Language Education Foundation and hosted by Beijing No. 4 High School Online.