Entrusted by the Department of Language Information Management of the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Open University of China (OUC) held two online-training sessions on standard spoken and written Chinese language for a total of 440 students, including community-education and grassroots workers in counties designated for rural revitalisation, from 21 November to 2 December.
The OUC and the MOE Department of Language Information Management attached great importance to the training, and OUC vice president Ju Chuanjin delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.
Ju Chuanjin, OUC vice president, delivering a speech at the opening ceremony
Ju Chuanjin stated that these sessions support in-depth learning, the implementation of the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and the significance of popularising and enhancing the teaching of standard spoken and written Chinese language. Experts from the State Language Commission, editors from the Commercial Press, and professors from famous universities were invited, bringing together theorists and practitioners. Practice was emphasised in the sessions on the basis of policies related to the spoken and written language, standard characters and pronunciation, use of punctuation, expression during recitation, and document writing for a variety of purposes. Effectiveness was also a focus, relying on the OUC’s strengths in terms of information technology and livestreaming, with interaction between teachers and students boosted via online discussions, and exchanges among students promoted via group interaction. Assignments and assessments ensured learning effects and quality, and the students found the training “very practical”.
Students learning online
Student assignment: posters designed to popularise Putonghua
At the closing ceremony, Liu Hong, deputy director of the MOE Department of Language Information Management, stated the training had achieved solid results that left the students satisfied. He encouraged them to continue to strengthen their awareness of the norms of standard spoken and written Chinese language, to improve themselves, and to lead at work by sharing what they had learned.
Liu Hong, deputy director of the MOE Department of Language Information Management, delivered a speech online
The OUC worked together with community-education guidance centres in all provinces as well as Qinghai Open University and Yunnan Open University in choosing students for the sessions. The aim was to improve the understanding of Chinese-language policy of community-education workers and grassroots workers in counties designated for rural revitalisation, their ability to use standard spoken and written Chinese language, and to build a team promoting standard Chinese.
By Lu Qian and Li Yan, OUC
Related reading: First OUC Training Class on Language and Character Norms and Standards Completed