The Dean’s Forum on International Communication 2023 was successfully concluded at the City University of Macau (CityU). The forum aimed to promote foreign language education and cultivate international communication skills for foreign language talents in this era, develop the appropriate concepts, models, and methods for cultivating international communication skills that are in line with the university’s development, and thereby comprehensively improve the efficiency of cultivating international communication skills, promote a higher-standard of foreign-language education, and enhance the international influence of Chinese foreign language education.
Zha Mingjian, vice-president of Shanghai International Studies University, and Zeng Qingkai, editor-in-chief of China Daily 21st Century English Education Media delivered their opening remarks.
Zha Mingjian had pointed out that in the context of strengthening the construction of international communication capacity in China, foreign language disciplines should enhance their connotative development. On one hand, they should focus on cultivating high-quality, multi-talented international communication professionals, and on the other hand, they should encourage foreign language teachers to conduct in-depth research on international communication and regional countries, to demonstrate the indispensable role of English majors in the new historical period, and to create remarkable strides in China’s modernization, thus realizing the value of English majors.
Zeng Qingkai had expressed that enhancing the construction of international communication capacity was the common mission of international communication institutions and foreign language colleges. The integration of language education and international communication development had been beneficial for foreign language disciplines to maintain their unique advantages in high-quality development, and it had also provided strong academic and talent support for the research and practice of international communication theories. The China Daily 21st Century English Education Media hoped to have better cooperation and collaboration with foreign language colleges in talent cultivation, theoretical research, teaching material, and communication means, and had contributed to telling the story of China’s modernization to the world.
Following that, Chang Junyue, vice-president of the Dalian University of Foreign Languages, and Sun Jisheng, vice-president of the China Foreign Affairs University, gave keynote speeches. This session was moderated by Wang Xin, dean of the School of English Studies of the Shanghai International Studies University.
In his keynote speech entitled “Clear Goals, Solid Foundation, Bridging East and West, Strengthening Practice – Thoughts and Practices on Cultivating International Communication Skills for Foreign Language Majors,” Prof. Chang Junyue shared his thoughts on cultivating international communication talents in foreign language majors. He pointed out that foreign language majors need to have clear goals for cultivating international communication talents and should focus on three dimensions to achieve this: helping students to solidify their language foundation and improve their language communication skills, understanding both Chinese and foreign cultures and social backgrounds, and strengthening international communication practices to enhance students’ practical skills. He emphasized the need for foreign language majors to cater to national needs, clarify goals for international communication, and then transform their educational concepts, strengthen the construction of international communication courses, and enhance practical teaching to improve students’ international communication skills.
“Culture is an important foundation for enhancing mutual understanding and trust between countries.” In his keynote speech entitled “Strengthening the International Communication of Chinese Cultural Concepts – Taking the ‘A Shared Future for Mankind’ as an Example,” Prof. Sun Jisheng pointed out the need for China to strengthen the dissemination of its concepts based on cultural and national behaviors. Using the concept of “A Shared Future for Mankind” as an example, he proposed the idea of building a new international relationship based on mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation, which could be achieved by working together in various fields, regions, and countries to build a shared future for mankind.
A roundtable dialogue on “Leapfrog Development of International Communication and Foreign Language Disciplines” was held with Prof. Chang Chenguang from Sun Yat-sen University, Prof. Wu Xia from Tsinghua University, and Prof. Gao Yongwei from Fudan University as the speakers. Prof. Miao Xingwei from Beijing Normal University served as the moderator.
Prof. Chang Chenguang shared the reforms in educational models and curriculum settings at Sun Yat-sen University based on the differences in foreign language majors, such as offering courses in the humanities, international affairs, and regional studies. Prof. Wu Xia suggested that while foreign language majors should uphold tradition, they needed to reform their enrollment, training models, talent cultivation, and to enroll both arts and sciences students. Prof. Gao Yongwei summarized the qualities that international communication talents should possess and proposed a path for their cultivation, including curriculum reforms, the “foreign language + journalism/communication” educational model, the promotion of communication practices, and cooperation with media organizations at various levels.
In the afternoon’s thematic presentation session, Prof. Yang Yanning from East China Normal University, Prof. Wang Dan from Peking University, Prof. Mao Sihui from Shantou University, Prof. Chen Jing from Xiamen University, Prof. Yuan Zhoumin from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Prof. Wu Peng from Jiangsu University discussed the topics of “Constructing Foreign Language Majors in the Context of International Communication in Latin America,” “Exploration and Practice of Non-Common Language Major Construction at Peking University in the Context of International Communication,” “Optimizing the Ecosystem of Glocal Foreign Language Talent Cultivation: A Brief Report from the College of Liberal Arts at Shantou University as an Experiment,” “Cultivating Interpreting and Communication Talents from the Perspective of International Communication,” “New Dimensions and Requirements for the Development of Foreign Language Teaching Resources,” and “Development and of Local International Communication Teaching Resources – A Case Study of the Jiangsu University English Curriculum Campus-Community Co-Construction Project.” They discussed the first-class discipline construction, outstanding foreign language talent cultivation, and teaching resources at their respective institutions in the context of international communication.
As one of the sub-forums of the 2023 Global English Education China Assembly, the Dean’s Forum on International Communication focused on the integration of language education and international communication, proposing new pathways for the innovative development of foreign language disciplines and the cultivation of international communication talents.
