Cardiff Confucius Institute tutors win Chinese language teaching awards at regional championship

Two tutors from the Confucius Institute at Cardiff University, Mengjiao Yang and Modi Zhu, recently won awards at the ‘Scotland & Wales Chinese Teaching Championship for English Speaking Countries in Europe 2023’ at the University of Glasgow.

The competition, held on 29 October, was judged by five experts in international Chinese language education from the University of Sheffield, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Manchester. Having been selected from 27 teachers to participate in the final of the Primary and Secondary Teaching category, both tutors gave a teaching demonstration to an audience of experts and scholars.

Mengjiao Yang’s session addressed the needs of Years 7-9 students who had no prior knowledge of Chinese language, teaching them how to give the time. With games, practical teaching props and Chinese songs, Ms. Yang delivered a lively session. She also presented the concept of ‘growth mindset’ which she uses to encourage students to maintain a positive and optimistic mindset whilst learning Chinese.

The judges and experts praised the diverse yet focused elements of her lesson plan, and Mengjiao was awarded the winning prize for the Primary and Secondary Teaching category. She will go on to represent Scotland and Wales in the UK Chinese Teaching Championship Finals in the spring.

Modi Zhu’s teaching demonstration was "subject + take a certain means of transportation + go to a certain place" and was pitched at Year 5 pupils who had not studied Chinese before. Her progressive teaching material and activities included a video of her own travels and the design of a whack-a-mole type of game which were both praised and commended by the judges. Ms. Modi Zhu won the Excellent Participation award.

The Scotland & Wales Chinese Teaching Championship for English Speaking Countries in Europe 2023 is co-organized by the Chinese Proficiency Test UK Committee and the Association of Chinese Teachers in the UK.