Victoria University of Wellington Welcomes 57 Chinese Teaching Assistants with Maori Ceremony

On Feb. 1st local time, the Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, welcomed 57 Chinese teaching assistants with a traditional Maori ceremony and held a three-day adaptive training for them.

Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington holding the 2017 welcome ceremony for Chinese teaching assistants

Tony Browne, former New Zealand Ambassador to China and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington, Prof. Frazer Allan, Vice President of Victoria University of Wellington, and Chen Wen, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute, attended and addressed the ceremony. Browne stated that he hopes all volunteers can adapt to New Zealand’s culture and transform from a student to a teacher as soon as possible. Prof. Allan introduced the basic situation of the Victoria University of Wellington and encouraged the volunteers to actively blend into New Zealand’s culture.

A Group Photo

Chen informed the volunteers of the objectives, tasks, and lecturers of the training. She emphasized that since New Zealand’s culture is inclusive and diverse, the volunteers should be aware of cultural difference. She also wished that they could become envoys of Chinese culture in New Zealand. Prof. Yang Xiaoqing and Prof. Zhao Yezhu provided useful information on working and living in New Zealand for the volunteers.

The training boasts diverse forms and informative lectures. Upon invitation, experts from Victoria University of Wellington, presidents and Chinese teachers of elementary and middle schools offered reminders to the volunteers on working in middle and elementary schools in New Zealand, explained the characteristics of second language teaching, and described possible scenarios during their teaching and daily life. The volunteers noted that they have benefited a lot from this training.

Scene of the Training

Fu Jiwei, National Adviser for Chinese in the Ministry of Education of New Zealand, and Chen Yue, Education Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, attended the closing ceremony on Feb. 3rd. Fu encouraged the volunteers to “teach not only the students of New Zealand, but also the teachers; teach not only the Chinese language, but also the culture; bring what you learnt in New Zealand to China, but also what you learnt in China to New Zealand.”

Chen introduced the status quo of Chinese language teaching in New Zealand and hoped that the volunteers could constantly improve their level of Chinese teaching to meet the demands of this field and become prompters of China-New Zealand relations.

On Feb. 4th, the 57 Chinese volunteers were dispatched to over 140 elementary and middle schools in 21 cities or districts extending from Wellington to the Bay of Plenty Region to embark on a one-year journey of Chinese language teaching and culture promotion.