Submitted by urci on
From April 11th to April 12th, the Confucius Institute at the University of Regina and the Confucius Institute at the University of Saskatchewan visited the Confucius Institute in Edmonton to talk about and engage in best practices and professional development.
On April 11th, the Directors of the Confucius Institute in Edmonton warmly welcomed their guests and gave them a tour of their facilities. The Confucius Institute in Edmonton has a very impressive library, filled with modern facilities, Chinese language and culture books, and Chinese art collections. This library provides an abundance of resources for Chinese learners in the local community.
After the tour, the three Confucius Institutes sat down to discuss their best practices and learn from one another. Each institute at time to share about their offerings, current projects and practice in Chinese language teaching, organizing cultural events, conducting the Chinese proficiency test (HSK), developing Chinese camps, managing study tours in China, and more. The three institutes also discussed ways to improve their practice and teaching, sharing ideas and challenges with one another.
Afterwards, instructors shared their talents with one another such as Chinese martial arts, folk dance, Guzheng, Erhu, and piano. Then, the teacher from the Confucius Institute in Edmonton demonstrated how to make traditional Chinese dough figures. Everyone enjoyed learning this exquisite and interesting traditional skill.
On April 12th, the Confucius Institutes from the Universities of Regina and Saskatoon went to Ottewell Junior High School, one of the Confucius classrooms in Edmonton, to observe teaching. Ms. Xie Mianmian taught a well-organized class which engaged both visitors and students in the classroom. Ms. Xie had a unique way of teaching the Chinese language by using sign language and incorporating Chinese songs, dances, paper-cutting into the teaching. Students were actively engaged in learning the Chinese language and culture. Ms. Xie also shared her years’ experiences in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, her teaching philosophy and effective approaches.
The collaboration between the three Confucius Institutes is beneficial for the development of Confucius Institute, as it helps stimulate new idea, improve teaching practices, and build strong relationships.