The 4th International Symposium Dialogue between Chinese Language Teaching & Culture and the Arts - 10-11 July 2019

Posted on: 19 July 2019 by Anna Chen in Conference & Event Reports

I attended this two-day conference at the School of Modern Languages, Cardiff University, at which the main themes included language teaching versus culture communication and Chinese literature and music in an international perspective. It was co-organised by School of Language and Literature, Beijing Normal University.

What is the event?

The event covered elements regarding Chinese language learning, culture, Chinese films and the research of Chinese folk-customs. It probed into the cognitive sequence of declarative sentences in the teaching of Mandarin Chinese as a second language. Also discussed was the theme of ‘Internet Celebrity and Learning Chinese on Social Media’.

I was a keynote speaker on ‘How to teach Chines Films in the UK and how to help home students understand and learn Chinese language as well as learn about Chinese films at the same time’.

An overview of the days:

The conference’s processors were the keynote speeches and some research about incorporating culture into L2 learning using alternative pedagogical approaches and methodologies. It reflected on how teaching Chinese can develop intercultural understanding. The research also addressed issues in practice, for instance dealing with silence in small-group teaching and striking a balanced programme between culture and language.

What did you get out of the conference?

Establishing a cultural perspective on the study of contemporary language development and change. This will help to better understanding of contemporary Chinese and its development and the reasons for its emergence. Therefore, it should become an important perspective in contemporary Chinese studies.

Different eras have different cultures, which is particularly evident in the study of contemporary Chinese. It is an important carrier of contemporary culture and is a very good starting point for the understanding of contemporary Chinese culture from the perspective of language.

Final thoughts:

Chinese language teaching is also cultural teaching, the two are inseparable. In-depth observation and research about the relationship between language and culture and the effective use of teaching practices to that end are the main directions that every practitioner must seriously consider.