The Chinese Language Centre of the Open University of China (OUC) is responsible for teaching Chinese language to overseas learners. It uses open and distance education to conduct Chinese language and culture instruction, develop multimedia teaching resources, and provide distance learner support services and related research. The Chinese Language Centre is staffed with 37 personnel, of whom 22 are professional teachers with overseas teaching experience or an overseas educational background.

Teaching via TV Programmes

In 1996, China’s State Council approved its Information Office to set up an “All Chinese Teaching Channel” on the SCOLA satellite TV network. China Central Radio and Television University established the Chinese Language Centre to take care of the planning and production for the programmes in the “All Chinese Teaching Channel”. Over the next ten years, a large number of high quality Chinese teaching programmes were produced and broadcasted to overseas learners, including Chinese language programmes such as China Panorama , a large-scale series, Easy Chinese, a short-term intensive programme called Time to Talk Chinese, a series of family-based programmes, and several programmes about Chinese culture, such as Journey Through China, Selected Chinese Poems, and The Lives of Chinese People. Journey Through China was one of the first projects to be listed on the National Publication Fund and the Easy Chinese series was awarded second prize for “National Quality Educational Audio-Visual Products.”

To date, SCOLA programmes have been watched by over 400 universities, 7,000 secondary schools, and 50 urban cable networks in North America, with more than 8,000 accumulative broadcasting hours and 20,000 minutes of original Chinese language or cultural teaching programmes.

Online Teaching

Chinese language and culture teaching is implemented in a blended online and offline model. The MyEChinese distance Chinese teaching system for overseas learners was established in 2010. As one of the first exemplary projects approved by the Chinese press and publication industry, it has been developed into a seamless and comprehensive environment for information access and learning by applying teaching content and services to a variety of digital publications and channels such as the Internet, radio and TV programmes, mobile communication, and learning terminals, supplemented by face-to-face class instruction and traditional publications. Cooperation has been carried out with universities in Europe, America, and Southeast Asia, distance educational organisations, and language schools. Today, MyEChinese has 30,000 online Chinese learners spread across 160 nations and regions.

Teaching Materials Development

At present, the Chinese Language Centre has already developed more than thirty multimedia teaching products for Chinese teaching for overseas learners covering rich Chinese language and culture teaching resources, such as comprehensive and systematic, short-term and intensive, and teaching materials for children, primary and secondary school students, business people, tourists, and HSK test takers, along with supplementary resources about phonetics, grammar, and Chinese characters. In addition to English resources, other foreign language versions in French, Thai, Korean, and German are being developed. The productions include traditional books, recording tapes/CD/MP3, video tapes/VCD/DVD/MP4, CD-ROM, online courseware, as well as new media learning and teaching resources such as mobile learning terminals, smart phones and intelligent point reading pens on traditional printed books.

Summer / Winter Camp

For the past ten years, the OUC Chinese Language Centre has hosted short-term camps in China in the form of immersion Chinese summer camps, Chinese cultural experience summer or winter camps, and homestay programmes for students from countries such as the US, France, UK, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, and Laos. For more details please visit camp.myechinese.com/en

Students on Scholarships

In 2012, the OUC launched a one-year scholarship programme for international students, which provides the students with 400 face-to-face teaching hours (including elective courses), 10 one-on-on tutorials, and four extracurricular cultural activities.

International Student Programmes

The OUC provides three undergraduate programmes for international students, Chinese Language and Literature, Finance, and Logistics Management. The programmes are offered over four years and are taught in Chinese.

In addition, long-term and short-term non-degree Chinese language programmes are offered to Chinese learners. The programmes are given in a blended style, integrating online and offline teaching, self-study, and face-to-face instruction.