An Introduction to Department of Chinese Language and Culture

　　The Department of Chinese language and Culture (Chinese Department), was established on May 1st, 2004 . It is administered jointly with the Department of Basic Courses, which is another title for the organization. There are thirty-five staff members in this department: twenty-three full-time teachers, nine part-time teachers, and three administrators. Among them, seven teachers presently have master's degrees, while two teachers are working towards doctoral degrees and additional four towards master's degrees. Nine of the teachers enjoy the title of associate professor and three others are associate senior professionals, one of whom works as a part time graduate supervisor at South China Normal University (SCNU). There are seven state-level examiners and six provincial-level examiners for National Mandarin Testing.

　　Having strengths in Chinese and phonetic teaching, the department is outstanding among colleges of humanities in Guangdong province. It has excellent teachers with great potential in modern and contemporary Chinese literature teaching as well. As for teaching composition, there are 3 professional teachers: one key member who also works as a part-time graduate supervisor in the Chinese Department of SCNU; one with master's degree in literature and art, majoring in aesthetic creation; and one part-time teacher. They all have a strong ability to do academic research and provide guidance to the students. Ling Nan (the south of the Five Ridges) Culture is a distinctive course in the department, which has been well received by the students.

　　The department now offers two specialties: Secretarial Training (Chinese and English) and Primary Education (Chinese). The department began to recruit new students for Secretarial Training from Guangdong , Hunan Province , and Tianjin in 2004; while it began to recruit students for Primary Education in the autumn of 2005.

　　A distinctive feature of linguistic communication competence in Secretarial Training (Chinese and English) has been identified to evaluate the students: That they are capable of communicating in two languages and three local ( Guangdong ) dialects. In order to strengthen the students' writing skills, the department has offered three courses in writing: basic writing, Chinese secretarial writing, and English secretarial writing. Meanwhile, it emphasizes the cultivation of the students' ability to apply information technology; as such it offers not only courses in basic information technology, but also the courses in practical modern office technology and so on.

　　Primary Education (Chinese) is the key specialty of the department. It has implemented a “5+1” model for talent cultivation. The core courses include Modern Chinese, Writing, Selective Readings of Ancient Chinese Literary Works, Selective Readings of Modern Chinese Literary Works, Introduction to Literature, Children's Literature, Oral Chinese for Teachers, Handwriting, and Primary School Chinese Teaching and Research. The department aims to fully develop and train our students in terms of moral character, intellect, physical fitness, aesthetics, and competence, so as to provide the primary schools with qualified Chinese teachers with college degrees. The department now has 442 students on the campus.

　　With the support and guidance of the school leaders and people of various circles, the Department of Chinese Language and Culture will continue to explore new directions in which to specialize and to improve in the future.