Monday 24 July – Friday 4th August, 2017
The Experience China Course is a two-week immersive course that equips UK teachers with basic knowledge of Chinese language to begin teaching beginner-level Chinese in their schools upon their return to the UK. It also serves as a catalyst for the introduction of Chinese in their schools or supports any existing Chinese teaching.
Click here to download the 2017 Experience China Course Guide
Who should apply?
If you are a primary or secondary teacher who has little or no previous knowledge of Mandarin Chinese and are looking to teach beginners’ level Chinese language in your school (maintained and independent), or if you are training to become a teacher, then this course is for you. All applicants need to provide a rationale of why they want to take the course and how they plan to develop both their own Chinese and the provision of Chinese in their school. Applications must be supported by the school leaders. The support letter should outline how the school intends to implement the knowledge the teacher gains from this course. If you are a current PGCE trainee teacher, then a support letter can come from your course tutor. A letter of support can include the teacher/student teacher’s linguistic ability, teaching ability, and enthusiasm to learn Mandarin Chinese and her/his potential to take it back to her/his job as a teacher of MFL.
Places are limited on this course, so the commitment you or your school leader can demonstrate towards teaching Chinese will strengthen your application.
Successful applicants will be required to do a self-study Mandarin online course developed by the UCL Institute of Education Confucius Institute prior to their learning experience in China. A further online course will be available for participants upon their return.
How to apply
Applications open in early November 2016. Click here to fill in online application and send the scanned copy of the supporting letter from your school leader or PGCE tutor to chinesenetworks@ucl.ac.uk . The deadline for all applications is Friday 10 February, 2017.
How much will it cost?
Participants will cover their own airfare, food, visa costs and travel insurance. All other course costs are generously covered by Hanban.
Annual China-based training course
Format of the course
The course in China comprises of 30 hours’ tuition each week (30 hours x 2 weeks). Tuition focuses on developing participants’ pronunciation, speaking and listening skills; participants also cover some reading and writing of Chinese characters. Participants can enjoy a number of cultural activities and excursions arranged by the organisers.
At the end of the course, participants should be able to teach beginner-level Chinese in their school. They are also expected to continue with Chinese language study upon return to the UK.
Certificates are issued to all participants upon their successful completion of the two-week course in China.
Topics covered in the course
Topics covered include: origins/history of Chinese language; Chinese characters; pinyin and tones; basic greetings and introductions; numbers; family; food and drink; other topics related to daily life; using a dictionary.
By the end of the course, all participants are able to:
- understand key words and phrases that fall within the above topics
- talk about the above topics
- use simple phrases/sentences
- recognise some simple Chinese characters
- write some basic Chinese characters
- have a basic knowledge of Chinese language
- have a good foundation to lead to further study of the language
- be able to look up simple words in the dictionary
- have an understanding of how to teach Chinese as a foreign language.
Partnership with East China Normal University (ECNU)
The UCL IOE Confucius Institute works in successful partnership with ECNU, who contribute generous staff time, support and resources for the running of the Experience China course.
ECNU provide the highest quality of training for the teachers. They both serve as national bases for teaching Chinese as a second language and have made great efforts to expand their programmes for international students. With their strong reputation for pedagogical expertise, ECNU is the ideal partner for this course.
Evaluation and impact
Previous participants have started the teaching in their school and a number are continuing with study of the language. Some are also hoping to return to China for further study. Participants hold a variety of roles in primary and secondary schools and all are in a good position to promote Chinese in their schools.
All participants are required to provide feedback.
