CQU discusses EMI development with universities from home and abroad
On October 17, 2019, the "2019 International Symposium on EMI for Higher Education in the New Era" co-sponsored by China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) and the British Council (BC) was held in Beijing National Convention Center. The Symposium was an important part of the 12th China Annual Conference for International Education and Expo. Professor Peng Jing, dean of the School of Foreign Languages of Chongqing University, Huang Lu, deputy director of Teacher & Teaching Development Center, Chen Yuan, head of the Department of Teaching Training and Consultancy, and Zhou Xiaoling, director of General Affairs Office, attended the Symposium upon invitation.
The Symposium focused on the global trend of English Medium Instruction (EMI) and the background of East Asia, research results, policies and best practice cases related to EMI teaching, evaluation and research, career development of EMI teachers, quality assurance of EMI courses and programs, etc. In June 2015, Chongqing University’s Teacher & Teaching Development Center and the School of Foreign Languages collaborated with BC to take the lead in launching the first specialized and systematic teaching development program for EMI teachers colleges and universities in Chinese mainland, and organized continuous follow-up activities for EMI teachers, with academic research carried out and academic papers published. Over the past four years, the EMI teacher & teaching development model of Chongqing University has been implemented in many colleges and universities across China.
At the Symposium, Associate Professor Chen Yuan made a keynote speech on behalf of Chongqing University titled "Supporting EMI Teachers' Sustainable Professional Development - From the Perspective of Teacher & Teaching Development Center". After that, he participated in the expert theme discussion and was interviewed by media. Based on sufficient researches and research data, Chongqing University and BC’s Academic Team designed a training system covering four modules and 11 courses, including EMI connotation discussion, classroom language revision, EMI teaching strategy and micro teaching practice. They paid close attention to and followed up the participating teachers in various means for a long time, in an effort to help them build a common learning community and call for a more favorable policies environment. The speech received heated response, struck a chord, and was highly recognized by experts from home and abroad.
In addition, experts from Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Fudan University, Beijing Institutive of Technology, University of Oxford, University of Leeds, University of Bath, University of London and British Council also shared their research results and experience.
The Teacher & Teaching Development Center of Chongqing University will continue to pay close attention to future development of EMI courses and teachers, further promote the deep integration of EMI courses in professional content, teaching methods and language expression, and accelerate the improvement of both teachers and students in academic achievements and languages.
