From June 15 to 17, China’s 2023 training for college Italian teachers was successfully held in the College of Foreign Languages of Nankai University. Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy (MAECI), the training was jointly organized by the College of Foreign Languages, the Italian Cultural Institute of the Italian Embassy in China, and the University for Foreigners of Siena. 42 Italian language teachers from 22 universities and 4 secondary schools throughout the country participated in the training.
On the morning of June 15, the opening ceremony was held at the College. Prof. Federico Roberto Antonelli, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of the Italian Embassy in China, Prof. Wen Zheng, President of the Italian Language Teaching and Research Office, Prof. Yan Guodong, Dean of the College of Foreign Languages of Nankai University, Prof. Carla Bagna, Vice President of the University for Foreigners of Siena, Dr. Xing Jianjun, Director of Uni-Italia in China, Prof. Monica Bezzegato, Italian Expert from MAECI and Beijing Foreign Studies University, delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was presided over by Associate Professor Yang Lin, Director of the Italian Department of the College.
On behalf of the College, Dean Yan Guodong extended a warm welcome to all participants and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Italian Cultural Institute of the Embassy of Italy in China, the University for Foreigners of Siena, the Italian Language Teaching and Research Office, and other universities for their support. Prof. Antonelli mentioned that this training is the largest Italian teacher training in China, and MAECI is willing to support Italian language and cultural exchange events organized by Italian and Chinese universities.
Wen Zheng reviewed the rapid development of the scale and level of Italian language teaching in China in the past 10 years, pointing out the current opportunities and challenges. In the video speech, Bagna expressed his hope to further strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between the Italian language teaching community of the two countries. Xing Jianjun said that in the past 15 years, the number of Chinese students studying in Italy has reached 50,000, and the degree of Chinese students' mastery of Italian is key to their successful education. Bezzegato introduced the global Italian language education system and the information about teachers sponsored by MAECI.
Prof. Carla Bagna, Prof. Pierangela Diadori, Dr. Elena Monami, and Dr. Marco Casandro of the University for Foreigners of Siena were invited as lecturers. The topics of the training courses included the history of Italian movies, the changes and development of the Italian film language, the use of video in Italian teaching, and strategies and methods for teaching Italian to young people. This event helps to promote the construction of Italian teaching resources and strengthen the exchanges between the Italian language education communities at home and abroad.
