国际英语新闻:1st training seminar held for teachers of Chinese in Romania

SIBIU, Romania, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of local Chinese language teachers in Romania and neighboring countries have an opportunity to improve their teaching skills with two experts from Beijing this weekend in Sibiu, central Romania.

The two-day training seminar starting here on Saturday is the first of this kind since Confucius Institute at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu became Hanban's only teacher training base in Romania last December.

Trainees included local Chinese teachers, volunteer teachers and reserve teachers from all the four Confucius Institutes in Romania, as well as some from neighboring countries such as the Confucius Institutes at University of Banja Luka in Bosnia Herzegovina and University of Tirana in Albania.

At the seminar, professor Jiang Liping from Beijing Language and Culture University explained the characteristics, content and application of the concept and tutorial of the Chinese textbook HSK Standard Course, while her colleague, associate professor Zhao Jing elaborated on the main features of the teaching method. Practical cases of class activities and major teaching modules from primary and secondary schools in other countries were also introduced.

Chinese experts and local teachers will also share teaching experiences on the second day of the seminar.

As most Chinese learners in Romania are primary and secondary school students, it's better for teachers to able to speak both Chinese and Romanian, said Wang Jiong, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute of Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu.

The overseas teacher training center in Sibiu is designed to offer regular training for teachers in Romania and neighboring countries, with the support of Hanban and Beijing Language and Culture University, Wang told Xinhua, adding that efforts will be made to improve teaching efficiency and effect and train more local teachers to build the reserve pool.

Confucius Institute at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, established in 2007, is the first Confucius Institute in Romania. Currently, there are four Confucius Institutes in Romania, 10 Confucius Classrooms, and more than 130 Chinese language teaching sites, with over 10,000 local Chinese learners.