Chinese language teachers stage national meeting

Teachers from around Australia met recently in Canberra to discuss the latest techniques in how best to teach Chinese to Australian students.

Chinese is increasingly being recognised as the most important non-English language for the future of Australia, event organisers argued.

“The conference enabled teachers to learn the latest developments in Chinese teaching practice, the latest theories about how students learn Chinese, and, importantly, about assessment and quality assurance issues in relation to learning Chinese” said James Wu, President of the Chinese Language Teachers Federation of Australia.

The conference opened with a personal message of support and encouragement from the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered by Dr Richard Rigby, formerly of the Office of National Assessments and currently Director of the China Institute at ANU.

Other keynote speakers included:

• Professor Lu Jianming, Beijing University, and President, International Society of Chinese Language Teaching
• Mr Sun Wenzheng, Director, Division of Teaching Materials, Hanban
• Professor John Minford, Director, China and Korea Centre, ANU

During his address Professor John Minford announced that ANU intended to establish Chinese Teaching Fellowships from 2009, which would allow primary and high school teachers from around Australia to come to the University for periods ranging from two weeks to one term to access the vast array of resources relating to China.

The conference featured more than 20 workshops where leading innovators in Chinese teaching practice from universities, secondary and primary schools across Australia discussed and explained their particular approaches to teaching Chinese.

One of the recurring themes of the conference was the way in which repeating patterns and rhythms, including by singing and dancing, can make it easier for Australian students to learn Chinese.  Another theme was the innovative ways in which information technology can be used to engage students in learning Chinese.  Other speakers emphasised the importance of establishing cultural relevance in teaching Australian students.

Students compete for top spot 

The Australia-China Council National Chinese Speaking Competition for Year 10 and 11 secondary schools students was held on Friday 11 July 2008 as part of the Conference.

The competition featured students from every state in Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.  These students won through to the national competition following similar competitions at state and territory level.

The competition was conducted in two categories - one for students with a Chinese family background and one for students from a family background that does not involve Chinese. As the competition is aimed at students who have learned Chinese in Australia, students who have lived in a Chinese-speaking country after the age of five were not eligible for the competition.

Each student gave a prepared speech of two-and-a-half minutes, and an impromptu speech of one minute from a topic chosen at random from a hat following the prepared speech. Speeches were assessed by a panel of judges in terms of content, pronunciation, fluency and presentation.

The winners received cash prizes of $500 for first, $300 for second and $200 for third. There were presentations to all contestants for reaching the national level of the competition.

The winners were:

First language (Chinese background):

1st: Jocelin Wen, Vic
2nd Andrew Kam, NSW
3rd Alan Xu, SA

Second Language (Non-Chinese background):

1st Clarissa Belanti, Vic
2nd James Dawson, NSW
3rd Madeleine Leung, SA

The principal sponsor of the competition was the Australian Government’s Australia-China Council.  Other sponsors included ANU, the Office of Chinese Language International (Hanban), and the ACT Department of Education and Training.

The competition was launched by Mr Mick Gentleman MLA, representing Mr Jon Stanhope, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory.

The conference and competition were organised by the Canberra Chinese Language Teachers Society on behalf of the Chinese Language Teachers Federation of Australia.