From October 29 to 30, 2022, the annual meeting of the Sub-Committee of Teaching Guidance Committee of German Language and Literature in Higher Education Institutions of the Ministry of Education was held. The meeting was hosted by the German Department of the School of Foreign Languages of Sun Yat-sen University. Affected by the epidemic, this annual meeting was held both online and offline. A total of 108 Chinese and foreign experts and scholars from German language majors in universities, the German Academic Exchange Service, the Goethe-Institut, the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, and Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press gathered online to discuss the theme of the conference, “Keeping the Righteousness and Innovation: Building the German Language Major in the Context of the New Liberal Arts”.
The opening ceremony was presided over by Prof. Yang Jin, Head of the German Department of the School of Foreign Languages at Sun Yat-sen University, and Prof. Xu Dejin, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, delivered the opening speech. Prof. Jia Wenjian, Chairman of the German Sub-Committee of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Ministry of Education, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President of Beijing Foreign Studies University, Ms. Sabine Wilmes, Vice President of the Goethe-Institut Beijing and Ms. Ruth Schimanowski, Chief Representative of the German Academic Exchange Service in Beijing, delivered speeches.
In the keynote presentation session, Prof. Jia Wenjian from Beijing Foreign Studies University, Prof. Kong Deming from Nanjing University, and Ms. Vera Trojansky from Goethe-Institut Beijing delivered their keynote speeches.
The afternoon meeting on the 29th was divided into three sessions: special presentations, book presentations by publishers and panel discussions. The presentation session was chaired by Prof. Chen Zhuang Ying from Shanghai International Studies University. Professor Carsten Rohde from Sun Yat-sen University, Professor Liu Wenjie from Beijing University of Technology, and Associate Professor Mao Yabin from Chongqing University gave keynote speeches respectively.
The experts had a thorough and in-depth exchange of views on three topics, namely, “The teaching of German in the new situation: correctness and innovation”, “The connotation and extension of the German major in the context of the new liberal arts”, and “International exchange and cooperation of the German major in the new situation”.
The morning of the 30th was divided into special report and panel discussion report. Prof. Liu Qisheng from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies presided over the presentation session, and Prof. Qi Jiafu from Qingdao University, Prof. Pan Yaling from University of International Business and Economics, and Prof. Liu Yue from Xiamen University made presentations respectively.
At the end of the conference, Prof. Kong Deming from Nanjing University and Associate Professor Kou Kou from Beijing Foreign Studies University gave a presentation and report on this year’s German IV and VIII examinations. Prof. Jia Wenjian, Chairman of the German Sub-committee, summarized the work of the German Sub-committee in 2022. He gave a forward-looking outlook on the development of the German language subject in the light of the important remarks on education in the report of the 20th Party Congress, and hoped that German speakers would work together with a broad academic vision and cultural mentality to develop friendly relations with German-speaking people and to build a community of human destiny.
Mr. Liu Guanlong, head of the German Department of Nankai University, participated in the conference and had an in-depth discussion and exchange with colleagues in the German language field on the theme of “Keeping the Righteousness and Innovation: Building the German Major in the Context of the New Liberal Arts”, which deepened mutual understanding and strengthened the determination and confidence of the German Department of Nankai University and colleagues in the German language field to meet the opportunities and challenges in the era of the new liberal arts.
