Mandarin Teacher Training Day

Category: Language; Teacher Training
Date: Saturday 2 November 2019

Two Chinese attendees in discussion at a previous teacher training event

Date: Saturday 2 November 2019
Location: Leeds University Business School, G.31
Open to: Mandarin teachers and people involved in Mandarin teaching
Category: Language; Teacher Training

Mandarin teachers in the region are invited to attend this free training day to share ideas and develop new skills under the guidance of trainer Robert Neal.

Mr Neal is the coordinator of the Manchester Swire Language Centre and has been teaching Mandarin for over ten years in secondary schools in Manchester and Sheffield. He is also a part-time ESRC-funded PhD student at the University of Cambridge, where he is researching the pronunciation of young beginner learners of Chinese. He has considerable experience of delivering training workshops and in 2018 presented his research findings at the 5^th International Conference on Chinese as a Second Language at the University of Hong Kong.

The aim of this training day is to deliver practical teaching strategies and advice based on current research into Mandarin teaching. Attendees will reflect upon their own teaching practice and consider how they can apply a researcher’s mindset to develop their own work in the classroom.

See below for the agenda and workshop descriptions.

How to register

Online registration for this event is now closed. If you would like to enquire about attending please email Confucius@leeds.ac.uk, stating your current involvement in Mandarin teaching and the school where you work (if applicable).

Agenda

Morning:

· 9:00 Registration

· 9:25 Welcome and Introduction

· 9:30 -10:20 – Workshop 1: Developing best practice

· 10:20-10:30 – Tea Break

· 10:30-12:00 – Workshop 2: Evidence-informed perspectives for teaching pronunciation to beginner learners of Chinese

Afternoon:

· 13:00 -14:30 – Workshop 3: Researching our own classrooms

· 14:30 -15:00 – Q&A

· 15:00 -15:20 – Conclusion and Closing, group photo

A buffet lunch will be provided.

Workshop details

Developing best practice

Consider your current teaching practice, share ideas and discuss how you can continue to develop your teaching and ensure student success in the ever-changing world of Mandarin teaching. A key question that we will reflect upon is whether the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language requires its own unique pedagogy or whether a more generic approach is appropriate.

Evidence-informed perspectives for teaching pronunciation to beginner learners of Chinese

Set within the context of teaching and learning Chinese at two secondary schools in the North of England, the aim of this workshop is to share research-informed insights into the nature of beginner learners’ pronunciation challenges. Participants will discuss priorities for pronunciation instruction as well as practical teaching ideas.

Researching our own classrooms

As a teacher you know that you learn something new every day! How are you recording what you learn, and are there ways that you can share your own experiences with the wider teaching community? Rob will share his advice for using research to develop your own teaching practice in a systematic way.

More about the trainer

After graduating from the University of Birmingham (BA Hons: French and German), Rob spent two years in Japan where he worked as an assistant English teacher on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. He then completed a Masters degree in Language Teaching (TESOL) at Lancaster University before teaching English for two and a half years at Peking University. Upon returning to England he did a PGCE in Modern Foreign Languages at Sheffield University and now has ten years’ experience of teaching Mandarin in secondary schools. In 2014 he was awarded an IOE Confucius Institute for Schools Excellence Award for contribution to Mandarin teaching in UK schools and has led seven student trips to China. He also has experience of teaching French, German and Latin.

He is currently the Coordinator of the Manchester Swire Chinese Language Centre.

Learn more about Rob’s ESRC-funded PhD research in this post on their blog: ‘Knocking tones off their perch: investigating how young people learn Mandarin Chinese’.