How can college English teachers improve their international competence? What can the School do to help promote teachers’ professional development? These are the questions that Professor Chunling Mu, the former dean of School of College English Teaching and Research (SCETR), is trying to answer eagerly for years. Mu was appointed Vice Dean of SCETR in 2002 and Dean in 2008. During her tenure of office from 2002 to 2018, she took the lead in international communication, and opened up new channels making the international scholastic visiting possible for all. She made great contributions to the internationalization of the SCETR faculty.

Pioneering Scholastic Visiting — Decoding the Secret of Teaching Abroad

At the end of 2004, China Scholarship Council (CSC) and the Education Department of Henan Province initiated a joint program, selecting and funding 100 local college teachers to visit and research abroad. Mu won the opportunity due to her excellence and wonderful preparation. She became the first teacher who visited abroad in ten years. In July 2006, Mu left for New Zealand and began her one-year visit at University of Canterbury.

That experience became a lifetime memory. “Although I was well prepared, it was still a culture shock for me to see people drive on the left,” said she. Exposed to all kinds of cultural differences, she chose to interact with local people and experience the local life, trying to fit in there.

Mu found that the teachers at University of Canterbury seldom asked the students to just memorize knowledge. Instead, they attached more importance to the students’ reflection and feedback on what was taught. The students were asked to digest and apply the knowledge they had acquired by writing papers, which was used in Mu’s own classes later. The slow-paced life in New Zealand gave her a chance to reflect on her twenty years’ teaching experience. She often compared the teaching systems and teaching methods of New Zealand with those of China, exploring ways to apply the best part of New Zealand’s teaching system in China.

Mu brought back and shared her gaining knowledge of the updated teaching concepts, management approaches and the local culture, and worked with her colleagues to develop a global perspective on college English education.

Embracing opportunities — Building a Bridge for Scholastic Visiting for All

In 2003, Henan University decided to send its middle managers to the University of Chicago for professional development. As Dean of SCETR, Mu became a member of the delegation and took the role of translator. The then Executive Vice President Zhao Guoxiang, who was also the leader of the team, said after one academic exchanges activity: “Our English teachers shouldn’t just stay at home and teach. We should encourage them to go abroad for visiting and research so that they can be competent for the job.” The university was supportive for the college English teachers’ training abroad. She got the hint and took up the responsibility.

After the training, Mu conceived the program about the internationalization of college English faculty and got the support of all the leaders in the School. Shortly after, she set up a team to push forward the program. The key members of the team went to a dozen universities in China, including top universities such as Nanjing University as well as other provincial and ministerial co-construction universities like Nanchang University, which are facing the same challenge with Henan University. Based on careful research on other universities’ practice and extensive discussion on Henan University’s situation, Mu and her team designed a scheme which was to fund 3 or 4 teachers each term for scholastic visits in English-speaking countries.

Originally founded as the Preparatory School for Further Study in Europe and America, Henan University has long attached great importance to English teaching. So the program was fully approved. Since 2014, a special fund has been set up annually to send six to eight SCETR faculty members to go on six-month visits to universities in English-speaking countries. This program has strongly promoted and accelerated the internationalization of SCETR faculty team.

In the meanwhile, she encouraged faculty members to apply for grants from CSC for overseas scholastic visiting. So far, another five teachers, Yu Jiankai, Shi Zhaoli, Wangling, Shi Ying, Jia Chaoqin, gained the CSC grants and completed their overseas study.

Fulfilling the Dream of Scholastic Visiting for All — a Shared Journey to Mountains and Seas Thousands of Miles Away

 “What a brand-new experience!”  This was a feeling shared by all visiting teachers. Through full engagement in the fresh and diversified environments, they were exposed to a large amount of authentic language materials and had a deeper understanding of the British and American society. After return, they would confidently share their personal experiences and photos with students when talking about British and American culture in class, thus greatly enriching the teaching content and expanding the students’ international vision.

Communication is never a one-way street. Since 2015, Mu and her team have invited four American scholars to Henan University to hold several workshops ranging from four to six weeks, which broadened the faculty members’ view for teaching and research and establish a new channel for SCETR to further carry out international academic exchanges. As Dean, she kindly invited the scholars to her home for dumplings and introduced Chinese culture to them, which strengthened mutual understanding and friendship.

With years of efforts and experience, she led her team to formulate and perfect the administrative measures for the overseas visits of faculty members, covering candidate selection, application procedures, dispatch management, services after return, etc. They have also developed a tradition to share their gains from the overseas study after returning home in order to maximize the benefits.

By the year of 2020, a total of 50 staff members from SCETR have overseas academic background, accounting for more than 60% of the full-time faculty. The international competence of teachers has been significantly improved.

“She dares to be the first.” “She always keeps the public interest in mind.” These are what Mu’s colleagues said about her. She had the courage to be the pioneer and break the barriers for college teachers to further study abroad. She also shoulders the responsibility to make overseas scholastic visiting for all faculty members possible. It is her persistence and sense of responsibility that have boosted the internationalization of the whole SCETR faculty, met the students’ demand for a global vision, and contributed to the university’s strategic goal as a world-class one.

(From: School of College English Teaching and Research)