Opinion | World's experts foreseeing China new role in English language learning

By Augustus K. Yeung

INTRODUCTION

Be it Belt and Road or the campaign to launch the teaching of English in the Greater Bay Area, it must have a mind-set – if it is to carry a gargantuan impact, failing that it will not work. Setting a mega-trend is a must!

It was good to have a congregation of experts and scholars from all over the world to Macao – to explore new opportunities for global cooperation in English education brough by China's development.

What are the specific outcomes of this three-day event?

The goal is there. The major concern seems to be the realization of the three initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013. Unfortunately, it is viewed by Washington and its Western allies as going against the grain.

They see BRI as a way of containing or challenging the US. With this negative attitude, Washington's perception and response is one of doubt.

Why in the last ten years (since its inception), the role of BRI retains the identity as a mega trade organization? Washington's doubt is one.

There is another. We are hearing from Italy that it is withdrawing its membership or partnership from BRI – after the Italian leader met with President Biden in Washington last week.

Clearly, Xi's lofty goal of global development is perceived as politically motivated, and economically beneficial to China.

The idea of bringing in the teaching of English – as an impetus – would turn out to be a work of wonder – as the content is a culture steeped in Western values – and might, therefore, be acceptable to many countries, including the United States, UK and New Zealand.

To succeed, China needs the involvement and participation of these English-speaking countries!

However, something essential is missing. This movement, if it is to be successful, needs a theoretical framework or a structure. And certainly, it would not be STEM, as Professor Kennedy of the Hong Kong Ed. U has so often tried to hard sell – even at the height of the 2019 student riots in Hong Kong, when he should not have been regurgitating, watching the city being set on fire!

We will come back to the crux of this matter – the theoretical structure.

Hundreds of English education experts and scholars from all over the world assembled in Macao – to explore new opportunities for global cooperation in English education brought about by China's development.

The 2023 Global English Education China Assembly, an online-and-offline event now opened at the City University of Macau (CityU), attracted over 1,000 experts, front-line educators and scholars from more than 20 countries and regions, reported China Daily.

Participants were mainly from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Thailand, Russia, Singapore, Nepal, Mongolia, Indonesia and Pakistan, sharing their insights to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and discussed the most recent trends in English language teaching.

The theme: "New opportunities for the world with new advances in China's development: Opening up new prospects in English education cooperation world-wide",

This year's assembly was hosted by China Daily and Shanghai International Studies University and co-hosted by the Macao SAR Government Education and Youth Development Bureau and organized by CityU and China Daily's 21st Century English Education Media.

Note: For the first time, the assembly which started in 2018, was held in Macao – one of the engine cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This location echoes the Outline Development Plan for the GBA released in 2019, which set out to, among other goals, build the region as a model area for high-quality education – and promote opening up education to the world.

At the event's opening ceremony, Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, highlighted that 2023 marks the 10th year since President Xi Jinping put forward both the idea of "building a community with a shared future for mankind" and the Belt and Road Initiative.

"It is, therefore, appropriate that for the first time, the conference this year has moved out of the Chinese mainland to Macao – where East meets West and multiple cultures blend," Qu said.

He said that he believed the event will catalyze many innovative outcomes. Qu further said that English education could be a bridge to promote high-quality development of the BRI and people-to-people cultural exchanges could provide momentum for "building a community with a shared future for mankind".

Qu also said China attaches great importance to education and cultural exchange, saying. "Xi, in his several correspondences with foreign students studying in China, has encouraged the latter to see with their own eyes the development of China and tell the world about what they have seen, to boost people-to-people bonding and friendship between their countries and China."

Zha Mingjian, vice-president of Shanghai International Studies University, said, "Development in recent times has brought many opportunities as well as challenges. In this context, the English education sector in China has the responsibility to serve as a vital bridge for English education globally."

"Opening education more extensively to the outside world will significantly strengthen China's efforts to modernize education in the new era," Zha said.

Note: On Friday, the event's organizer and CityU jointly established the Belt and Road English Education Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Exchange Base, which will use English education as a means – to promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonding in countries and regions participating in the BRI. (Source: China Daily)

CONCLUSION

Given the sizable manpower that had gathered plus the inclusion of teaching English as the dominant theme to fulfil as the common purpose, the timing for this event is right.

I have an experience-based, time-tested theoretical framework that would serve as a guiding learning principle and a gimmick that sells, the LIKE APPROACH, an alphabetic acronym that stands for Language (L) Intelligence (I), Knowledge (K) and Experience (E)

The structure, functions and full implications of this approach will be spelt out soon, testifying to a high-impact, highly popular mind-set in cross-cultural English language education.

 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

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