Volunteer Teachers of Confucius Institutes in Ireland Meet in UCD CII
With the support of the Chinese Embassy in Ireland, a meeting for volunteer teachers of Confucius Institutes in Ireland was held in the UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland (CII) on 1st November. Around 40 volunteer teachers from both UCD CII and UCC Confucius Institute (CI) gathered for teaching discussions and networking events. First Secretary of the Education Section of the Chinese Embassy Mr Zheng Dawei, Director of UCC CI Ms Xiaohong Xu, Director of UCD CII Prof Liming Wang and Co-director Mr Wei Zhang attended the meeting.
A tour of the UCD CII exhibition hall and library left the UCC CI volunteer teachers with a good understanding of UCD CII’s Chinese teaching. Participants from both Institutes had a discussion on the history, development and operational structure of UCD CII.
After extending his warm welcome to UCC CI volunteer teachers at the teaching experience sharing session hosted by UCD CII Co-director Mr Wei Zhang, Prof Liming Wang attributed the great success of the two Confucius Institutes since their inception to the hard work by all past and present volunteer teachers. He encouraged the teachers to continue and pass on their effort for a very hopeful future of Chinese teaching and cultural promotion. UCC CI Director Ms Xiaohong Xu thanked UCD CII for the invitation to the meeting on behalf of her staff. She believed that UCD CII has become a role model in areas such as their staff management and Chinese language teaching. She hoped that the two Confucius Institutes will have further discussions, exchange and learning among their staff with regard to cultural promotions and Chinese language teaching in Irish primary and secondary schools.
Mr. Dawei Zheng concluded the meeting. He commended the participants’ showcase of their teaching achievements and advised them to focus on learner experience and learners’ interest to meet learners’ needs by improving their logical thinking with fun games. Mr Zheng also emphasized that the UCD CII building is a joint effort funded by the Chinese and Irish governments, it is a distinctive symbol of the Irish government’s commitment to the importance of Chinese language teaching in Ireland and a milestone of the educational and cultural exchange between the two countries. He hoped that UCD CII will make full use of the facilities in the building to facilitate teacher exchange and training for both Confucius Institutes.
The visit by UCC CI volunteer teachers to UCD CII was a pioneering initiative for the exchange and networking among volunteer teachers. A total of 50 teachers including 20 volunteer teachers from UCC CI, 19 volunteer teachers and some full-time teachers from UCD CII participated in this event, which provides a platform for volunteer teachers from both Confucius Institutes. It also helps to share teaching resources and is beneficial for exploring Chinese teaching methodology in Ireland.
Written by Ting Duan
