Peking University, December 28, 2021: On December 4 2021, the first HSBC Hongmen Dialogue was held in Peking University HSBC Business School UK campus both online and offline. The dialogue was themed “Research and Practice of Teaching Chinese as an International Language from a Comparative Perspective”, and attracted more than 160 scholars and experts from China and UK academic circles.


In his welcome speech, Liu Shaojia, director of Peking University HSBC Business School UK campus expressed his gratitude to all guests present at the event. He pointed out that by providing an exchange platform for relevant scholars, teachers and learners, everyone can jointly advance the development of teaching Chinese as an international language, therefore deepening the cooperation between China and UK in theoretical research and teacher training.

The first session was “Expert’s Dialogue”. Five scholars, including Zhao Yang, dean of PKU’s School of Chinese as a Second Language, and Yang Defeng, professor from PKU’s School of Chinese as a Second Language provided insights into learning motivation and bilingual acquisition for language learners, as well as the grammar teaching model, teachers’ teaching ideas and training models used in master programs.

The second session was “Teacher’s Dialogue”. Four teachers shared experiences on the integration of the Chinese course into the British local curriculum system as well as how to apply theoretical research results to the classroom.
    
The third session was “Learner’s Dialogue”. Chinese language learners from universities around the world including the London School of Economics and Political Science and HSBC Business School of Peking University shared their stories about their journey learning Chinese.

Lastly, researchers from the University of Cambridge gave a lecture entitled “Ancient and Modern Dialogue: Chinese Philosophy from a Comparative Perspective”, offering new perspectives on the collision and exchange of language and culture from a philosophical point of view.

Finally, the dialogue ended on a final note with concluding remarks given by Xiang Hua, director of the department of East Asia of the London School of Economics and Mamtimyn Sunuodula, head of the East Asian section of Bodleian Library at Oxford University.

Written by: Fu Jiaqi
Edited by: June Tan Rui Min
Source：PKU News (Chinese)