The International Conference on Chinese Education (ICCE) 2023 organized by the Organization of Taiwan Education and Cultural, Malaysia, Kedah State Education Department, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), and the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Malaysia, was held from November 17 to November 19 at Swiss Avenue Hotel, Sungai Petani, Kedah.
The 3-day conference aimed to promote the internationalization of Chinese education, cultivate teachers’ interest in Chinese teaching, and provide an alternative platform for international Chinese education scholars to conduct research and publish papers. Topics included innovative Chinese teaching methods, traditional and modern poetry, international trends of modern Chinese education, and so on, were presented by representatives of University of Taipei, UTAR, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Xiamen University Malaysia.
Mr. Malek bin Abu Hassan, Deputy Education Director at Kedah State Education Department stated at the opening that Mandarin has become one of the important languages for learning and has been gaining popularity globally. He said that Malaysia has a full and comprehensive Chinese education system outside of the Mandarin-speaking countries, and should utilize this advantage to train more teachers who love teaching Chinese. He also pointed out that globalization brings challenges to education, so educators must open their minds and grasp different ideas, cultures and trends to support students' diversified development. He also believes that being open and friendly to the world provides opportunities for mutual learning, collaboration, and improvement in the field of education, such as holding international conferences. It fosters a global perspective that can benefit scholars through idea exchanges and professional development.
Mr. Beh Chew Nam, Executive Director of the Organization of Taiwan Education and Culture, Malaysia said promoting the flourishing of the Chinese education career requires a group of enthusiastic Chinese teachers to educate the next generation. There were 11 papers published by the Chinese education scholars in this 3-day event. He hoped that the attendees will benefit a lot from this conference and improve teachers' teaching skills.
Ms. Charlin Chang, the Director of the Education Division of TECO was invited to be the keynote speaker on the trend of internationalized Chinese education. She mentioned that Taiwan is promoting Mandarin learning worldwide through “Taiwan Huayu Best Program” and “2025 Huayu Education Project” to support quality learning and teaching Mandarin for partner universities and institutions. As for local K-12 education in Taiwan, new teaching methods are also implemented through curriculum teaching, creative learning, teacher training, and student teaching experience. It is essential to allow and encourage students start learning Chinese at a young age to cultivate their interests and admires in Chinese education and culture. Moreover, teachers play important roles in promoting Chinese education, she hoped that here in Malaysia, teachers can encourage more students to join the Chinese education and be proud of teaching Chinese.
The guests included Mr. Saw Beng Hup, Deputy Director of the Language Section (Chinese Language) of the Kedah State Education Department, Assoc. Prof Dr. Chong Siou Wei, Dean, Institute of Chinese Studies, UTAR, Madam Wee Kee Kim, the headmistress of SJK(C) Sin Kwang.