The Open University of China (OUC) recently launched the RTVU system for international Chinese teacher training. The aims of the training are threefold: prepare teachers for international Chinese education within the RTVU system, facilitate the overseas expansion of  local RTVUs, and accelerate the internationalization of the OUC.

The first training programme was held at the OUC from December 17-22, 2012. Key teachers and teaching management staff from Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Guizhou attended this training. 

Zhang Shaogang issues a certificate to a trainee

Combining lectures and seminars, the training leverages the supplementary study and support services provided by the Myechinese distance teaching platform. It involves both online and offline “blended learning” methods. 12 well-known experts and professors from Peking University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing Normal University and Beijing Foreign Studies University, including Liu Xun, Cui Yonghua, and Chen Fu, have been appointed to hold training sessions. They have given lectures on 13 topics across four modules: linguistics and language learning theory, Chinese teaching strategies and skills, promotion of Chinese culture and cross-culture communication, and the qualities of an international Chinese teacher. During the training sessions, each lecturer is assigned an assistant who helps him or her to give lectures, organize discussions and tutor trainees. Zhang Shaogang, deputy secretary of the OUC Party Committee, attended the official opening and closing ceremonies for the training and spoke with trainees.

The training was organized by the OUC Chinese Language Center. The first international Chinese teacher training programme plans to hold three to four consecutive sessions. 

By Zhou Jinlan, Fan Yuan, the OUC