25 July – 5 August, 2016
The Experience China Course is a two-week immersive course in Shanghai that equips UK teachers with a basic knowledge of Chinese language, to begin teaching beginner-level Chinese in their schools in the UK. It can assist the introduction of Chinese in their schools or support existing Chinese teaching. Please read the website for further information.
Applications for Experience China 2016 open in early January 2016
Click here to download 2016 Experience China Course Guide
Who should apply?
If you are a primary or secondary teacher who has little or no previous knowledge of Mandarin Chinese and are looking to teach beginners’ level Chinese language in your school (maintained and independent), or if you are training to become a teacher, then this course is for you. All applicants need to provide a rationale of why they want to take the course and how they plan to develop both their own Chinese and the provision of Chinese in their school. Applications must be supported by the school leaders. The support letter should outline how the school intends to implement the knowledge the teacher gains from this course. If you are a current PGCE trainee teacher, then a support letter can come from your course tutor.
Places are limited on this course, so the commitment you or your school leader can demonstrate towards teaching Chinese will strengthen your application.
Successful applicants will be required to do a self-study Mandarin online course developed by the UCL Institute of Education Confucius Institute prior to their learning experience in China. A further online course will be available for participants upon their return.
How to apply
Applications open in early January 2016. Click here to fill in online application and send the scanned copy of the supporting letter from your school leader or PGCE tutor to chinesenetworks@ioe.ac.uk . The deadline for all applications is Friday 26 February, 2016.
How much will it cost?
Participants will cover their own airfare, food, visa costs and travel insurance. All other course costs including tuition fee, teaching resources, accommodation and some organised excursions are generously covered by Hanban.
Format of the course
The course in China comprises of 30 hours’ tuition each week (30 hours x 2 weeks). Tuition focuses on developing participants’ pronunciation, speaking and listening skills; participants also cover some reading and writing of Chinese characters. Participants can enjoy a number of cultural activities and excursions arranged by the organisers.
At the end of the course, participants should be able to teach beginner-level Chinese in their school. They are also expected to continue with Chinese language study upon return to the UK.
Certificates are issued to all participants upon their successful completion of the two-week course in China.
Partnership with East China Normal University (ECNU)
The IOE Confucius Institute works in successful partnership with ECNU which is a national base for teaching Chinese as a second / foreign language.
Evaluation and impact
All participants are required to provide feedback and to support the IOE CI to track their progress in their teaching and study of the language after they complete the course.
Below is a collection of some comments from 2015 course participants:
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the two weeks of training in Shanghai and have gone from barely being able to communicate to being able to use what I have learned to book tickets, ask for prices, directions etc. The teachers have been great though it’s been intense, it is worth it. I may not remember every single word I’ve been taught whilst there, but it’s certainly given me a good base to work on. Thank you very much for the opportunity, it’s been fantastic and now I can’t wait to come back to China again soon.”
“Feifei’s lessons were excellent, I really enjoyed the homework tasks as well as the actual lessons.”
“IOE Experience China course has further motivated me to continue learning Mandarin. I feel it is important to build links to China and Chinese language from an early age, and I would like to enhance my professional development by leading on Mandarin in my school.”
If you have any questions, please email us at chinesenetworks@ioe.ac.uk
