From 9-12 May 2023, the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Open University of China (OUC) held a training session on digital competence for its English teachers. One of the key aims of the event is to implement several digital projects, including the “AI-Boosted Teaching Team Construction” pilot sponsored by the Ministry of Education (MOE)， the “5G Plus Smart Education”pilot and the project of “Digital Teachers,” jointly sponsored by the MOE and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
It is geared toward enhancing digital competence and the smart instructional abilities of English instructors, and to propel AI-powered smart English teaching reforms.
Renowned experts and scholars from several higher education institutions were invited to offer eight lectures on the digitalisation of education, AI and foreign language teaching in the context of the digital transformation. The lectures were attractive and provided sharp theoretical and practical guidance. For their part, the lecturers analysed trends in foreign language teaching in the context of the digital transformation while clarifying the opportunities and challenges facing foreign language instructors in the AI era. They also elaborated on how to apply AI into the practice and research of language-based teaching, using their own teaching practice and case studies as examples. This provided guidance and inspiration for the English teachers in attendance, and the activity was warmly welcomed. It attracted 556 participants, who all said they had benefitted significantly from the session.
The digital competence of teachers is essential in promoting the digitalisation of education, as well as a key driver in the construction of a high-quality teaching system along with the training of top talent. The event focused on training the professional abilities of teachers, progressing with digital instruction, promoting the in-depth integration of language teaching and AI, strengthening awareness around the reform and practice of smart teaching, and enhancing the digital competence of English teaching teams.
By Wang Minchen and Fan Rongrong