A UQ education student has received a sought after fellowship to undertake intensive language and cultural study in China next year.
Biquan (Becky) Xie will join other practising and trainee language teachers to complete an Endeavour Language Teacher Fellowship, an Australian Government initiative that offers intensive short-term study programs.
Ms Xie, who will soon complete a Bachelor of Arts (Chinese and Economics) and Bachelor of Education (Secondary) will commence the three-week program in January.
The group will be visiting and undertaking language training at Nanjing University and Fuzhou University in Shanghai.
“Nanjing University is a highly regarded language and cultural training provider, while Fuzhou University is renowned as one of China's most successful teachers' colleges and is well-known for teaching Chinese as a foreign language,” Ms Xie said.
She said the fellowship was a wonderful opportunity for her to further develop her Chinese language skills and equip her to deliver the Chinese senior syllabus once she commences teaching.
“I am a Cantonese-background speaker of Chinese and migrated to Australia at the age of 15. It may seem a bit strange or unnecessary for me to have in-country experiences, but while I was on my teaching practicum, I realised my childhood and early schooling was restricted to Cantonese and I didn’t have a good overall perception of the Chinese culture,” she said.
Ms Xie said she applied for the fellowship to gain valuable intercultural experiences to incorporate into her teaching.
As well as the formal program, the group will participate in a number of field trips, make local contacts and immerse themselves in the language through day-to-day interactions.
Next year, Ms Xie is considering undertaking an honours program in Chinese language studies at UQ, or commencing her teaching career before spending more time overseas.
Media: Helen Battle (07 3346 9279, h.battle@uq.edu.au)
