Chinese Language Teacher Identity Development Through Rapid Digitalization of Language Preparatory Courses.

    Activity: Talk or presentationPresentation at conference/workshop/seminar

    Description

    The learning of modern standard Chinese is currently undergoing a rapid expansion, with Wang, Moloney and Li (2013) describing it as the new ‘must-have’. Within China, language students make up the majority of international students at university.
    International students are usually required to undertake a Chinese preparatory course, covering areas such as how to; learn and master Chinese, better understand the Chinese national education system, and enable intercultural communication competence.
    Under the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic, change in teaching methodologies has been accelerated, with an increase in the number of online Chinese language preparatory courses. These changes often mean a change in the role of language teachers.
    This paper describes a case study which focuses on the identity and language transformation process of two preparatory Chinese teachers moving from onsite to online teaching. It describes the transformation journey from being a teacher to becoming an allocator of educational resources, from being a housekeeper to becoming a personalized learning consultant, from being a researcher to a guide of effective teaching and learning interaction, and from being a "judge" to becoming a "catalyst". It describes how the language used with the change in role influences how identity is transformed, and how this transformation itself influences how teachers describe themselves and their teaching.
    The paper concludes with a number of suggestions on how this transformation of Chinese language teachers’ identity in course delivery can be positively enabled within the university setting, enhancing both their professional and personal development.
    Period6 Jun 20229 Jun 2022
    Event titleThe 12th Asian Conference on Cultural Studies (ACCS2022)
    Event typeConference
    Conference numberACCS2022
    LocationTokyo, JapanShow on map
    Degree of RecognitionInternational