NYU Shanghai Leads Debate on Chinese Language Instruction

More than 60 Chinese language teachers and experts gathered to discuss the future of Mandarin teaching at the inaugural Chinese Language Pedagogy Forum hosted by the Chinese Language Program (CLP) at NYU Shanghai on May 21.

Prompted by the increased demand for Chinese language instruction in Shanghai and abroad, teachers and scholars met to share ideas about the different ways Chinese is taught and assessed.

Zhang Qiyi, director of the Chinese Language Program at NYU Shanghai suggested courses should include more practical elements and immersive experiences as she urged different programs to work together and learn from each other.

“If you want to keep students’ interest in learning Chinese, you need to not only satisfy their instrumental motivation, but make them comfortable with the Chinese culture as well,” agreed Ye Jun, professor of International College of Chinese Studies from East China Normal University.

Among initiatives to give students an outlet to practice the language, Zhang announced NYU Shanghai’s first Chinese Speech Contest, which will open in the 2016 fall semester, and invited Chinese language schools in Shanghai to encourage their students to participate.