China News Agency, Guangzhou, July 19th: Why is the "Chinese + professional" international Chinese education more and more popular overseas?
——Interview with Wu Jian, Vice President of South China Normal University and Director of Education Internationalization Research Center
China News Agency reporter Xu Qingqing
A few days ago, South China Normal University established the Southeast Asian Chinese Teacher Education College, focusing on training overseas local high-level Chinese teachers, especially to meet the needs of overseas local people for "Chinese + professional" teachers.
Why is "Chinese + major" international Chinese education more and more popular overseas?
How can local high-level overseas Chinese teachers promote overseas Chinese education?
What role does it play in the exchanges and cooperation between Chinese civilization and other civilizations?
Wu Jian, vice president of South China Normal University and director of the Education Internationalization Research Center, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "East and West Questions" to answer this question.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service reporter: What is "Chinese + professional" education? What are the similarities and differences with traditional international Chinese education?
Wu Jian:
"Chinese + professional" education is the new direction of traditional international Chinese education, shouldering a new mission in the new era - cultivating compound talents with both Chinese language ability and certain professional skills according to local conditions.
Before the introduction of "Chinese +", some experts and scholars put forward the concept of "Chinese for Special Purposes", and mentioned that pre-professional students of various majors in China and overseas employees of Chinese companies not only need to learn Chinese, but also need to use Chinese in their respective professional fields Ability.
At present, to jointly build the high-quality development of the “Belt and Road”, countries along the route are in urgent need of compound talents who can understand Chinese and master professional skills, and “Chinese + professional” or “Chinese + vocational” education is ushering in new opportunities at home and abroad.
Traditional international Chinese education pays more attention to language education. "Chinese + professional" or "Chinese + vocational" not only pays attention to language education, but also pays attention to the learning of professional knowledge and the improvement of professional skills, which has stronger practical and interdisciplinary characteristics.
Foreign students at South China Normal University learn to tie Chinese knots.
Photo by Li Ning issued by China News Agency
At present, many "Chinese + Vocational" projects are cooperating with local governments and enterprises through Confucius Institutes, opening the "order-based" talent training and training model, focusing on language education, professional knowledge, and professional skills, and are also committed to providing internship training and employment platforms. and opportunities.
At the same time, "Chinese + professional" or "Chinese + vocational" education puts forward higher requirements for teachers and courses.
Either the teacher has an interdisciplinary background, and has the ability to carry out Chinese education and professional skills education at the same time; or the teachers with different discipline backgrounds can work together, so that each course helps students develop language skills and professional skills at the same time.
China News Service reporter: How big is the overseas demand for international Chinese education? What is the demand for "Chinese + professional" education? Why is "Chinese + professional" education more and more popular overseas?
Wu Jian:
According to the data released by the Ministry of Education of China, by the end of 2021, China has established more than 1,500 Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in 159 countries through Sino-foreign cooperation, and has trained more than 13 million students of various types in more than 180 countries. The country has carried out Chinese education programs; 76 countries have included Chinese in their national education systems by issuing decrees and decrees, and more than 4,000 universities have established Chinese faculties, majors, and courses.
According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 25 million people overseas who are learning Chinese, and the cumulative number of people learning Chinese is close to 200 million.
In addition, more and more international institutions and organizations have set Chinese as the official language, and the international status of Chinese is gradually improving.
In November 2019, nearly 8,000 students took the Chinese test at the Confucius Institute at Khon Kaen University in Thailand.
Photo by China News Agency Hu Lin
The demand for "Chinese + professional" education is closely related to the economic and trade cooperation between China and other countries in the world.
The high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative has expanded this demand.
Many countries along the "Belt and Road" have participated in the "Chinese +" project, covering dozens of fields such as high-speed rail, economy and trade, tourism, law, and customs.
"Chinese + major" education is more practical and targeted, students' learning goals are clearer, and the corresponding learning motivation is stronger, and the learning effect is better, forming a virtuous circle.
At the same time, the "Chinese + professional" Chinese education also has a positive impact on local development, and continuously delivers high-quality compound talents.
China News Agency reporter: Compared with the teachers sent from China, what are the advantages of overseas high-level Chinese teachers?
Wu Jian:
The international status of Chinese is increasing day by day, and the new demands of various countries for the high-quality development of international Chinese education have brought new challenges to the construction of international Chinese teachers.
At present, Chinese education in some overseas countries faces the problem of "three shortages and four failures", that is, lack of teachers, lack of textbooks, lack of experts, no policies, no plans, no standards, and no systems.
Overseas local Chinese teachers urgently need to be strengthened, and they will become the main force for the high-quality and sustainable development of international Chinese education in the future.
Overseas local high-level Chinese teachers often have professional leadership and influence.
At the same time, high-level local Chinese experts not only master two languages, Chinese and their native language, but also two cultures. They have unique advantages in cross-cultural understanding, and may become a bridge between Chinese-speaking countries and local Chinese education.
China News Agency reporter: What role does cultivating overseas local high-level Chinese teachers play in promoting exchanges and cooperation between Chinese civilization and other overseas civilizations?
Wu Jian:
In the past few years, the uncertainty of the international order has become increasingly prominent.
Trade protectionism, the climate crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic have brought tremendous changes to people's lives.
Many misunderstandings and misunderstandings stem from the barriers and gaps between cultures.
Only by enhancing mutual understanding and trust can we increase consensus.
Chinese culture is an important part of global multiculturalism. It has a profound historical background and contributes to Chinese civilization and even world civilization.
Overseas Chinese education helps to promote the international understanding of Chinese civilization, and creates a good environment for the integration and development of Chinese civilization and other civilizations and the peaceful development of the world.
The overseas local high-level Chinese teachers are, first of all, a group of foreign friends who are familiar with China, Chinese culture and Chinese.
They are an important driving force in promoting exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese civilization and other civilizations.
On the other hand, training overseas local high-level Chinese teachers is also an important support for promoting Chinese culture to go global and international Chinese education to go a long way.
Foreign students at South China Normal University learn to draw face masks.
Photo by Li Ning issued by China News Agency
China News Service reporter: What is the current status of overseas high-level Chinese teachers? How to effectively enhance the overseas local high-level Chinese teachers?
Wu Jian:
At present, high-level Chinese teachers overseas are relatively weak and scarce.
From a domestic perspective, China only began to set up doctoral programs for international Chinese education in 2018, and it started late.
From abroad, there are very few colleges and universities offering doctoral degrees in Chinese and related majors.
For example, among Southeast Asian countries, Thailand and Malaysia each have 5, Vietnam 3, Singapore 2, and Myanmar 1. Other countries have not cultivated Chinese and related professional doctoral level talents.
On the campus of a Chinese primary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a Chinese teacher from the Confucius Institute at SEGi University in Malaysia guides Malay students to learn Chinese ink painting.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yue
In addition, there is a lot of pressure on Chinese teachers in overseas colleges and universities, and the number of Chinese teachers in some schools is seriously disproportionate to the number of Chinese learners.
Its professional development system is not perfect, teachers' professional development lacks driving force, teachers are more mobile, and their professional identity is not high.
Although there are some high-level Chinese talents overseas, they are more engaged in business, translation and other careers unrelated to education. The status and salary of teachers are generally low, which is particularly prominent in developing and underdeveloped countries.
In order to effectively enhance the overseas local high-level Chinese teachers, breakthroughs can be made in the following aspects.
First, vigorously promote the cultivation and training of Chinese talents at the doctoral level.
Collaborate with colleges and universities at home and abroad to jointly build a training base for high-level Chinese teachers.
Encourage overseas local Chinese teachers to continue their doctoral studies and improve the overseas Chinese education system.
Second, according to the development needs of Chinese teachers at different levels, we will formulate specialized training programs for overseas Chinese teachers, strengthen post-training services, and improve the effectiveness of training.
Cooperate with local schools to formulate professional development plans for teachers, balance the teaching and research time of local Chinese teachers, incorporate teacher training into teacher workload and performance assessment, and enhance the attractiveness of overseas local high-level Chinese teachers.
Third, coordinate and integrate Chinese teacher resources at home and abroad, relying on the International Chinese Teachers College, give full play to the main force at the provincial level, and establish an international Chinese education exchange and cooperation mechanism. The guide for the construction of overseas local high-level Chinese teachers in the region, accurately docking and serving the construction of overseas local Chinese teacher resources, and striving to build an inter-school high-level teacher cooperation community.
(Finish)
About the Author:
Min Qingwen, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, member of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, vice chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Jiusan Society, former chairman of the Scientific Committee on Globally Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, chairman of the Expert Committee on Globally Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Chinese Ecological Society Vice-chairman, former vice-chairman of the Chinese Agricultural History Society, chairman of the Agricultural Cultural Heritage Branch of the Chinese Agricultural Society, deputy director and researcher of the Natural and Cultural Heritage Research Center of the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a post professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.