The 31st annual conference of the Committee of Adult Higher Education in Foreign Languages Majors of China Adult Education Association (CAEA) was held at the Open University of China (OUC) on 16 December 2021.
Fan Xianrui, vice president of the OUC, Xu Jian, vice president of CAEA, and Xie Yibin, chairman of the committee, attended the conference and delivered speeches. Liu Zhanrong, editor in chief of the OUC Publishing & Media Group, Zheng Jipeng, vice dean of the OUC Faculty of Foreign Languages, Wu Ruohong, secretary general of the committee, Jiang Lu, dean of the School of European Studies of Beijing International Studies University, and Chen Hongbing, secretary of the Party General Branch of the School of Continuing Education of Beijing Foreign Studies University, attended the meeting onsite.
The theme of the annual meeting was “Inheritance and Innovation is the Current Main Responsibility of Adult Higher Continuing Education in Foreign Languages in the New Era.” More than 90 experts and teacher representatives engaging in continuing education from 27 well-known universities in China, including the University of International Business and Economics, Peking University, and Beijing Foreign Studies University, attended the meeting via online and offline means.
At the opening ceremony, Fan Xianrui introduced the OUC, its operation history, and the development opportunities it is anticipating in the new era, as well as its main practices and achievements in English teaching, resource construction, and teaching team construction in terms of open education. She also expressed her hope that all parties will continue to deepen reform and seek excellence and quality improvement in higher continuing education in English disciplines.
Xu Jian proposed that the committee, together with its institutional members, should successfully tell Chinese stories and give full play to the advantages of disciplines in foreign languages and the characteristics of their majors. It should cultivate the humanistic qualities of learners and broaden their international vision, and push forward the development of adult continuing education in China. It should also improve the teaching level of foreign languages for adults and the quality of talent training, and make positive contributions to promoting the construction of lifelong learning and a learning society.
Xie Yibin said that he believes that the conference had a unique format, a large number of participants, and was a highly meaningful use of time. He comprehensively reviewed the work of the committee in 2021 and looked forward to its work in 2022. At the meeting, a decision to add vice chairpersons of the committee was passed.
In order to deeply explore the development of adult higher continuing education in foreign languages in the new era, a number of special sessions, including the “Forum for Deans” and the “Teachers’ Salon,” were organised during the annual meeting. Zheng Jipeng gave a report on behalf of the university; introduced the educational reform project of College English in open education in the OUC in a comprehensive way; summarised the background of educational reform, educational reform pilot programmes, the implementation process, characteristic activities, teaching achievements, and achievements in educational reform; and demonstrated the OUC’s in-depth explorations of teaching and educational reform in foreign languages for adults.
Professor Liu Yongquan from the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Liu Ning, deputy director of the Public Foreign Language Centre, made speeches on behalf of the teachers of the OUC. Focusing on the topic of “The Construction of Standards for an English Grading System at the OUC,” Liu Yongquan clarified the theoretical basis for the construction of standards and the establishment of a five-grade certification unit covering five dimensions of English learning, including listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation. Under the title of “Building of the Instructional Design Capabilities for Ideological and Political Education of English Teachers in Open Universities,” Liu Ning shared the policy background and theoretical framework of ideological and political education. Based on the achievements of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Liu Ning summarised a multi-level model for capacity development including policy tools, support and connections, as well as practices and upgrading.
Professor Zhang Dian’en from Beijing Union University and Zhou Junhua, chief editor of the Shanghai Business Division of Higher Education Press, were invited to give lectures entitled “The Design and Practical Explorations of Integrating Ideological and Political Education into Foreign Language Courses in the New Era” and “Fostering Virtue through Education and Enlightening Wisdom: Preventing Political Errors in Foreign Language Teaching Materials,” respectively. Wu Ruohong gave a report on the collection and expenditure of committee membership fees, while Xie Yibin summarised the fruitful results of the annual meeting and deployed future work.
With the full support of the OUC, the annual conference focused on the contemporary characteristics and goals of adult higher education in foreign languages, including contributing to promoting the integration of ideological and political education into courses, implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, and promoting the inheritance, innovation, and healthy development of adult higher continuing education in foreign languages.
Written by Liu Ning;photos by Zhuge Huanyu, OUC