(Reported by the Confucius Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Reporter: Wang Jirong, Zhang Xi，Huang Lijuan )
On October 15, 2017 CLTA-WPA Chinese Teaching Symposium was held at Carnegie Mellon University. It was organized by the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Western Pennsylvania (CLTA-WPA) and co-sponsored by the Confucius Institute at the University of Pittsburgh (CI-PITT). Prof. Wu Sumei (Department of Chinese, Carnegie Mellon University) and Vice Chairman Yu Yueming (Director of the Department of Chinese, Carnegie Mellon University) presided over the symposium. A total of 120 Chinese teachers of Western Pennsylvania and graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh participated in the symposium. Prof. Xiao Ying, Chinese Director of CI-PITT and Dr. Wang Haixia, program coordinator of CI-PITT as well as twelve CI-PITT Chinese volunteer teachers attended the symposium.
The symposium was divided into two special sessions. A total of 14 Chinese teachers shared their teaching experiences. Among them, Dr. Wang Haixia and Prof. Liu Gang, Department of Chinese, Carnegie Mellon University made a report titledTeaching Design and Questionnaire Survey of Chinese Project During Summer Vacation,suggested to combine language teaching and cultural teaching together, show the learning results in shape of performance, and make the way to teach Chinese more interesting. Besides, they emphasized that teachers should combine students’ individual uniqueness with peer learning together and choose special topics from their daily life. The CI-PITT Chinese volunteer teacher Liu Xinxin also shared her study on the course design and implementation of Chinese elective course, which sparked a heated discussion. Five graduate students in Carnegie Mellon University conducted a teaching demonstration, showing a variety of Chinese teaching style. In the afternoon, seven board members of CLTA-WPA discussed the sustainable development of Chinese teaching projects and the employment prospects for the Chinese teachers.
CLTA-WPA was established in Pittsburgh in May 2014 with the assistance of CI-PITT. So far CLTA-WPA has successfully hosted six Chinese teaching seminars, which has helped the Chinese teachers of West Pennsylvania in academic exchange and resource sharing. CLTA-WPA will join forces to promote the development of Chinese language teaching in Pennsylvania.
