First “Chinese Language Teaching Idols” Concludes Successfully

On June 22nd, sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and co-organized by Beijing Language and Culture University and China Education Television, the first “Chinese Language Teaching Idols” was brought to a successful conclusion. After fierce competition, out of the 8 Chinese and overseas finalists, there emerged 2 first-prize and second-prize winners respectively, and 4 third-prize winners. At the same time, 2 Best Stage Style Awards, 2 Best Popularity Awards and 20 Excellence Awards were also given to the contestants. Following the contest, the awards ceremony saw the presence of some leaders who gave awards to the prize winners. The leaders attended the ceremony included Liu Limin, President of China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) and Director of Nationwide Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) Advisory Committee, Ma Jianfei, Deputy Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and Deputy Director-General of Hanban, Huang Baoyin, Deputy Director-General of Department of Degree Management & Postgraduate Education of the Ministry of Education and Director of Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council (ADCSC), Yuan Xiaoping, Director of Chinese Education Television and Liu Li, President of Beijing Language and Culture University.

A contestant in the Wonderful Classroom section

A contestant in the Keynote Speech section

The contest consisted of two sections: Wonderful Classroom and Keynote Speech. In the former section, the contestants were required to explain Chinese language points to the overseas students and carry out related classroom activities. The contestants integrated such cultural elements as Taiji, Chinese tea culture, Chinese folk songs and folklores into their teaching, demonstrating the concept and method of “Inquiry Based Learning”. In the latter section centering on “My Future Self in Ten Years”, 4 contestants shared their tireless pursuit of and hard work on becoming a Chinese teacher to non-Chinese speakers.

Guests making comments

The guests Yu Dan, Dean of the Institute of Culture Innovation and Communication of Beijing Normal University, Zhong Yinghua, Vice President of Tianjin Normal University, Carma Elliot, Minister of Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in China, Michael Kahn-Ackermann, former Head of the Goethe-Institute China, and Xiu Huajing, Foreign Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Kentucky. They all gave insightful comments on the performance of the contestants. Following the breathtaking voting section, Sun Yueran from Beijing Language and Culture University and Gao Di, a Hungarian student from Beijing Normal University bore away the first prize. Li Zhuojun from Chongqing Normal University and Hong Jiancheng, a Thai student from Peking University potted the second prize. Li Ziyan, Zhang Yuhang, Li Wenjun and Jia Li coming from China, Indonesia and Ghana won the third prize.

Liu Limin awarding the contestants

Liu Limin giving a speech

After the awards ceremony, Liu Limin delivered an address and congratulated on all the contestants. He pointed out that fresh vitality could be seen from the international Chinese language teachers in this contest. The contestants showcased their immense love of Chinese language and culture by giving full play to their sophisticated language and teaching organization in the class. He emphasized that as “China Craze” and “Chinese Craze” are heating up, the Confucius Institute has become an important platform for people around the world to learn Chinese, to get to know China and to facilitate cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

Highly-qualified teachers are of vital importance to high-quality Chinese language teaching and to the sustainable development of the Confucius Institute. “Chinese Language Teaching Idols” has exerted a profound impact on the Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (TCSOL) program and will inspire more outstanding young people to devote themselves to this great and meaningful cause.

The contestants being deeply attached to each other

Group photo

Over 700 Chinese and overseas postgraduates of TCSOL from 84 universities and colleges registered and participated in the contest.