In an effort to actively promote the establishment of a lifelong education system, support the construction of a learning nation and society, and meet the ever-increasing English learning needs of the elderly, on October 30, 2024, the School of Foreign Languages at the Open University of China (OUC) held an expert seminar on the development of a series of English teaching resources for the elderly.
Over ten English subject experts, elderly education administrators from universities, frontline elderly English teachers, and representatives from the OUC’s Learning Resources Department, the Seniors University of China (SUC), and the OUC Publishing & Media Group attended the event. The seminar was hosted by Zheng Jipeng, dean of the OUC’s School of Foreign Languages.
Zheng Jipeng elaborated on the background and preliminary research findings of the elderly English resource development at the School of Foreign Languages, and presented the concepts for resource development and issues that needed further consultation and discussion. Wang Min, vice president of Shanghai University for the Elderly, introduced the basic situation of the university and its active exploration and practice in elderly English education, offering valuable references for the attendees.
The participating experts highly praised the solid and effective preliminary research and preparatory work done by the OUC’s School of Foreign Languages. They engaged in discussions on various aspects including textbook content, usage scenarios, writing methods, visual effects, support services, and resource development. The expert group unanimously recognised the innovative ideas and practices of the OUC in terms of writing concepts, framework styles, and resource support. They pointed out that the planned series of teaching resources would create a personalised, contextualised, and intelligent learning environment, reflecting the suitability, practicality, and interactivity of senior English teaching. By adopting a construction approach that integrates Chinese and foreign elements, media convergence, digitalisation, and cross-cultural aspects, the development of these resources would provide directional guidance for future resource development. The expert group also offered specific suggestions on the series positioning, unit content, layout design, teacher training, and teaching arrangements of the teaching resources.
Li Wei, director of the Learning Resources Department; Shi Yunzhi, head of the Seniors College of the SUC; Wu Xinghua, head of the Comprehensive Management Centre; and Zhao Wenjing, deputy director of the Open Education Division of the OUC Publishing & Media Group, all expressed their commitments to leveraging their respective functional advantages, strengthening cross-departmental collaboration, and forming a joint effort to advance the development of senior English resources at the School of Foreign Languages. This would provide more comprehensive and higher-quality learning resources and support services for elderly English learners.
To support the teaching activities of the SUC, fully utilise the unique advantages of the system, and meet the elderly’s English-learning needs, the School of Foreign Languages conducted extensive research. They developed, collected, and analysed over 2,300 questionnaires, covering eight cities and four publishing houses, interviewed over 100 elderly education administrators, frontline teachers, and senior learners, systematically reviewed research results on senior education and senior English, and conducted a comparative analysis of existing English textbooks for the elderly. In the future, the School of Foreign Languages will fully consider the diverse learning needs of the elderly learning groups at the SUC, actively leverage the leading advantages of the OUC's digital resources, and meticulously create a series of English resources for the elderly with characteristics of the OUC.
Written by Zhao Jianrong, photo by Miao Miao, OUC