National Chinese Advisor
We are awaiting the appointment of a new Chinese National Advisor and will update this page once this appointment has been made.
The Ministry of Education fund their work through Future Learning Solutions and their role is to support the development of Chinese language education in New Zealand.
Chinese Language Lessons for Beginners
Future Learning Solutions - Centre for Languages invites you to free weekly Chinese lessons with Karen Hu, Professional Expert.
Open to all New Zealand registered teachers (primary, intermediate and secondary teachers) with a beginner level of Chinese language.
The programme covers:
- Weekly online Chinese lessons (during school term) Wednesdays 7pm-7.45pm
- Weekly podcasts to support language learning
- Learning with a range of Language teaching pedagogies: TBLT, TPR, CLIL etc.
- Teaching as Inquiry with a focus on Chinese language learning and teaching
- One Teacher observation and discussion with a focus on gathering evidence for inquiry on how the teacher is implementing their Chinese language learning.
- One TRD on programme completion
The benefits of this programme are:
- Improve your Chinese language and cultural knowledge
- Build your confidence in Chinese learning and teaching
- Explore different language teaching pedagogies
- Network with other beginner Chinese teachers
Professional support for teachers of Chinese in New Zealand are offered by the following organisations:
New Zealand Chinese Language Teachers Association (NZCLTA)
A subject association organising events for students and provides professional network opportunities and professional development opportunities at primary and secondary level, to promote effective Chinese learning and teaching. For more information or to join NZCLTA, visit www.nzclta.org.
New Zealand Association of Language Teachers (NZALT)
A professional network of language teachers with over 500 members. It runs a number of initiatives to support teachers including competitions and professional development opportunities. To join visit www.nzalt.org.nz
Chinese Embassy
Visit www.chinaembassy.org.nz/eng
Confucius Institute in New Zealand
Promotes Chinese language and culture study through educational programmes, exams, events, and scholarships.
- Confucius Institute at University of Auckland, visit http://ci.ac.nz
- Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington, visit www.victoria.ac.nz/ci
- Confucius Institute at University of Canterbury, visit www.ci.canterbury.ac.nz
Asia New Zealand Foundation
A leading non-government organisation on Asia-New Zealand relations, their education programme provides information, resources and professional development opportunities to help school leaders develop students with skills and knowledge to embrace future prospects in Asia. Visit www.asianz.org.nz
Resources and support for Chinese Language Programmes include:
Chinese National Adviser
Provides teachers with information on teaching resources and sustaining Chinese language programmes. For workshops and events click here.
TKI Learning Languages
The Learning Languages Community is a portal to professional learning opportunities, professional support for the New Zealand Curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, resources and key links for language teachers. Learning Languages publishes regular newsletters to keep language teachers informed about important deadlines and events. Visit http://learning-languages.tki.org.nz/.
Confucius Institute Online
Provides a wide variety of Chinese learning resources, covering interactive live classes, video & audio courses and Chinese character writing tools. Visit www.chinesecio.com.
Resources
Hăo! An introduction to Chinese. This resource provides multi-media materials for teachers and students new to language learning. The series is for year 7 and 8 students and supports Level 1 and 2 achievement objectives in Chinese. Schools may request free copies of the two folders of units for each teacher of the specified language.
Access the digital version through Digistore, email orders@thechair.minedu.govt.nz to request copies or phone 0800 660 662.
A few selected resources:
For more information please email fls.chinese@uniservices.co.nz
The North Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence (CAPE)
The North Asia CAPE is funded by government to work in two priority areas: encouraging New Zealanders (especially school and university students) to learn Chinese, Japanese, or Korean and to enhance their understanding of North Asia's diverse cultures; and supporting kiwi businesses, particularly SMEs, seeking to internationalise.
Visit http://www.northasiacape.org.nz
The following immersion and scholarship opportunities are available to teachers of Chinese:
Chinese Scholarship Programme
Up to 15 scholarships are offered to New Zealand teachers of Chinese to attend a 3-week intensive language and culture programme in China. Visit China Scholarship.