The “Chinese Bridge” Online Seminar 2021 (“A Cultural Journey: A Taste of Traditional China in Modern Shanghai”) organized by the School of Humanities (SoH) of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) closed Friday evening. During the program, 90 students from 27 countries, including the UK, the US, Australia, South Korea, Egypt and Ecuador, enjoyed a virtual language and culture feast.

During the 12-day seminar, the SoH provided courses on Chinese culture and the Chinese language in the forms of pre-recorded lectures, live-streaming classes and themed discussions. They were designed to create a diverse, lively and immersive learning environment. The cultural courses featured six major categories: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Chinese ancient philosophy, the Maritime Silk Road, traditional Chinese musical instruments, calligraphy and Shanghai-style culture, giving a general picture of the ancient and present China as well as the dinstinctive subculture in Shanghai.Those parts were integrated, coordinated, and mutually-enhancing,reflecting the theme of this program. Notably, participants were given chances to interact with teachers online as to what had been covered in the pre-recorded lectures, whereby they could better understand the courses and grasp the Chinese culture.

The Chinese language courses with four difficulty levels are aimed at enabling the students to better use Chinese.The courses pay special attention to immediate practice upon instruction, with a teaching assistant available as a partner and troubleshooter in after-class practice. Weekend discussions focus both on culture and language, through which participants were motivated to read up on culture-related topics and fully share both questions and input in Chinese.

Culture Courses

After the program, the participants contributed their recorded videos, where they extended their gratitude to the teachers and offered their praise for the program. Most of them told us how they benefited a lot from the program, where they not only acquired abundant knowledge on the Chinese language and culture but made friends with classmates from across the world. They also express their wish to visit China and see what it is really like and study at SJTU on site upon the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

部分学生结课视频

本次“汉语桥”线上交流活动的成功举办，离不开教育部中外语言交流合作中心的信任与支持，离不开中文联盟技术人员的培训和指导，离不开学校相关部门和学院的重视和配合，也离不开各位任课教师的准备与付出。今后，我院将进一步了解学生的学习需求，并持续探索线上线下的教学新模式，为培养更多沟通中国与世界的“文化之桥”、“友谊之桥”而努力。