The first training class on language and character norms and standards of the Open University of China (OUC) was completed on 12 November 2021.
The five-day training class was sponsored by the Department of Language Information Management of the Ministry of Education (MOE) and organised by the OUC with technical support provided by Bell & Horn Education and Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Liu Hong, deputy director-general of the MOE’s Department of Language Information Management, gave a speech summarising the training. By way of enrolment and selection, more than 200 language and character office workers and front-line teachers from the OUC system participated in the training via distance learning.
Mr Zhang Shiping giving a lecture on “National Language and Character Policies and Norms”
Mr Yu Qian giving a lecture on “Phonetics Norms of Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua)”
Mr Zhang Ripei giving a lecture on “The Cause of Language and Character in New China”
Mr Qiao Yong giving a lecture on “Interpreting the Use of Punctuation” and “Use of Figures in Publications”
Mr Rao Gaoqi giving a lecture on the “Application of Artificial Intelligence in Language and Characters”
Mr Lou Kaiyang giving a lecture on “The Basic Tutorial Format of Practical Official Documents”
Mr Fu Yonghe giving a lecture on “The Shape Norms of Chinese Characters”
Mr Yao Xishuang giving a lecture on “The Art of Recitation”
The OUC built a platform for the training by making good use of the advantages of distance education, integrating the functions of watching live broadcasts, watching playback, assignment submission, comments and experience, teachers’ questions and answers, and scoring by the teachers. It simplified the learning process for students and improved the efficiency of learning. At the same time, strict management was realised via registration, time-limited real-time pop-up tests, and backstage attendance records. While listening to the lectures, the students can also ask questions in the “question area” and get timely answers from experts. The students could publish their questions or experiences in the discussion area for the students and experts to deliberate over by reviewing the lectures through playback and sorting out their notes and thoughts after class. At the end of the live broadcast of each course, students can not only ensure the quality and quantity of their assignments, but also submit their own notes and what they have learned from the course.
After five days of intense and fulfilling learning, the students said that the training courses were targeted and the experts and scholars were skilled in teaching profound knowledge using simple language. They said that they benefited a lot for the training course and that quite a few of them had thought hard about their lack of standardisation in daily pronunciation and use of character, which further improved their awareness of the standard application of the national language.
Liu Hong summed up four highlights of the training. First, it was the first training entrusted to the responsibility of the OUC and has deepened the promotion and training of norms and standards of the Chinese language and characters. Second, the training was assigned great importance and careful arrangements, which led to profound practical effects. Third, the contents were rich and diverse, and the contents taught were fully recognised by the students. Fourth, the OUC gave full play to its technical advantages in order to create innovative training forms and guarantee the training’s effectiveness. Liu Hong reiterated that the norms and standards of language and characters are closely related to the social development of the Chinese nation and the livelihoods of the people, as well as each of our specific jobs. It is imperative for us to have a full understanding of the Chinese language, to grasp fully the guiding principles of the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, and earnestly develop standard spoken and written Chinese. The MOE’s Department of Language Information Management will take this training as an important starting point to further strengthen its close cooperation with the OUC.
By Li Yan, OUC