Third International Conference on Chinese Language Education
Third International Conference on Chinese Language Education
Over 100 language education experts and scholars from the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong gathered today (16 November) at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) for the Third International Conference on Language Education, jointly organised by the Department of Chinese Language Studies of EdUHK and the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association. Through keynote speeches, presentations, workshops and symposia, the participants shared the latest developments in Chinese language education in order to achieve sustainability for Chinese language education worldwide.
Addressing the conference were EdUHK Vice President (Research and Development) Professor Lui Tai-lok and Executive Committee Chairman of the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association Dr Anson Yang.
In his welcome remarks, Professor Lui emphasized that language competency is the key to learning, as it helps students access the knowledge of different subjects. “Nowadays, language education is no longer confined to classroom learning; it also has much to do with research. The teaching and learning of speech and recitation, and how such teaching and learning can be applied to language education, provides an important direction for us to develop and follow” he said.
Dr Yang pointed out how training students to express sounds and emotions through speech and recitation could benefit the development of students’ speaking and presentation skills, and enhance their interest in literature and their overall language competency. He said, “Combining speech and recitation with daily language teaching and learning can motivate students to learn languages and help make literature part of their lives.”
Professor Hongming Zhang, from the Department of Asian Language and Culture of the University of Wisconsin, explored the relation of prosody and language in his keynote speech, titled "Cross-linguistic Theory of Poetry and Prose". He affirmed the value of poetry and prose recitation in language learning, and analysed prosody’s relation to performance, in terms of rhythm and melody, for example. He also presented evidence to support the cross-linguistic benefits of poetry and prose recitation.
Ms Quan Yuli, Founder of the Hong Kong College Putonghua Recitation Society, explained the art form and value of recitation in her keynote speech, titled “The Art and Training of Speech and Recitation”, and proposed a series of training methods that align with the features of recitation.
Another keynote speaker, Ms Li Ping, Vice-president of the Chinese program at UWC Changshu China, presented her views and experience as a senior examiner and teacher training officer of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). Titled “Inspired by IBDP – Chinese Language Teaching”, her speech explored how IBDP could be a source of inspiration when it came to teaching Chinese to native Chinese speakers.
Tomorrow (November 17), Professor Tang Chiu-kay, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Chu Hai College of Higher Education, will present a speech on the topic “Cantonese and Ancient Verse Teaching”. He will explain the relationship between Cantonese and ancient verse, and discuss the value of Cantonese in ancient verse teaching.
In addition to keynote speeches, workshops on recitation, language and culture, and seminars on recitation and language teaching were held for the participants to share their experience and explore the implementation of speech and recitation teaching and learning.
For more details, please visit the website: https://www.eduhk.hk/ticcle/index.html
