CI hosted the conference ‘GCSE/A-Level Mandarin Exams in the UK: Aligning Standards, Curriculum and Teaching Pedagogies’
On 11 and 12 April 2022, CI hosted the conference titled ‘GCSE/A-Level Mandarin Exams in the UK: Aligning Standards, Curriculum and Teaching Pedagogies’ at the Avenue Campus, University of Southampton, aiming to provide a platform for all colleagues in schools at all levels in the UK engaged in Chinese teaching and research. Four experienced experts and front-line teachers in related fields were invited to give speeches. Due to the epidemic situation, only about 30 teachers and doctoral students who are engaged in Chinese teaching and research, from universities and secondary schools across the UK were invited.
At the beginning of the conference, Dr Ying Zheng delivered a welcome speech on behalf of the CI, introduced the relevant research projects carried out by the institute. Also, Dr Ruoling Zheng introduced the large-scale examination system and measurement research results completed by their research teams. Among the four invited experts, Ms. Lik Suen, who teaches at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, gave a speech on ‘The Implementation of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) Language Proficiency Standards in the British Local Chinese Test’. Ms. Zhiyan Guo, the Chinese Department Director of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Warwick, UK, gave a lecture entitled "CEFR, GCSE + A-LEVEL Qualifications, Chinese Course Design in HELs UK".
And in order to better connect theoretical research with teaching practice, this conference also invited two front-line teachers who are engaged in Chinese teaching in British secondary schools to share their thoughts and experience. Mrs Jia Li, the current Chinese teacher of Bohunt Trust Liphook School and the Chinese teacher of the PGCE teacher program, and Mrs Ting Hou, the Chinese subject director of St. Bees College, jointly made a speech on "Chinese examination standards in England and teaching implementation".
During the symposium, participants had several discussions about GCSE-A-LEVEL Mandarin Exams in the UK, form the aspects of both opportunities in teaching and research, and moving forward - aligning standards, curriculum and teaching pedagogies. The participants concluded that Chinese teaching in the UK is facing many challenges, but Chinese teachers are " doing it for love" - using their love for Chinese language and teaching to promote the development and progress in Chinese language learning in the UK. Teachers will continue to work hard to develop Chinese language teaching in the UK.