On 15-16 June 2023, the Open University of China (OUC) held its “Mid-term Seminar on the Reform of AI-aided English Smart Teaching” in Kunming, Yunnan Province. More than 40 project leaders and teachers from eight pilot branches and experimental schools, as well as three institutions that plan to join the teaching reform branches, participated in the seminar. Zhao Liling, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and president of Xi'an Open University, and Hou Xichang, secretary of the Party Committee Handan Open University (OU), also attended the event.
Zheng Jipeng, vice dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the OUC, discussed the progress of AI-assisted English teaching reforms by introducing their background, goals, objectives and content. Zheng said earlier multi-modal teaching reforms laid a solid foundation for smart teaching reforms, pointing to the deep integration of teaching reforms with artificial intelligence technology as a new field of exploration in the teaching system as well as its practices, resources and scientific research. He said there are five goals to the teaching reforms: creating a mature, complete and replicable teaching mode; creating targeted and flexible teaching resources; providing feasible and implementable plans; promoting an effective teaching experience and working mechanism, and cultivating a faculty of intelligent, smart, professional, and dedicated teachers.
Zhao said the seminar is of great significance to the promotion of strategic action in the digitalisation of education, improving the level of English teaching in open education, building a team of high-quality English teachers, and promoting teaching reforms in smart education.
Hou said the discussions have strengthened the contact and communication of the English teaching team involved in the reform pilot, and promoted the concept of collaborative innovation, development and education. Handan OU will combine the deployment of work at the OUC headquarters with the situation at Handan OU, taking into account its regional characteristics and wisdom to promote the digital transformation of education and contribute to the creation of the Hebei model.
He Gaoda, dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Guangdong Baiyun University, gave a lecture titled "Research on the Path of Digital Transformation of Foreign Language Education". iFLYTEK professionals also provided training on the application of adaptive learning systems to the teaching reform team.
Eight pilot branches and experimental schools in Hebei, Xi'an, Beijing, Zhejiang, Hainan, Gansu, Sichuan and Fujian respectively sorted out and summarized the pilot work in the first half of the year. At the end of the seminar, the teaching reform team conducted in-depth exchanges, discussed problems and difficulties, as well as measures encountered in the process of the teaching reforms. They also discussed related issues such as improving the teaching reform plan, expanding the teaching reform team, and completing teacher training. At the same time, corresponding arrangements and deployments were made for the successful completion of the teaching reforms over the course of the year.
By OUC