Welcome to the Summer term and a growing number of activities across Scotland related to China and Chinese culture.

9th SCEN YOUTH SUMMIT: “MANDARIN STORIES” & SCOTTISH SCHOOLS MANDARIN READING COMPETITION
John McIntyre Conference Centre, University of Edinburgh
Friday, 9 June 2023 from 9:30 am

SCEN will be hosting the first national Youth Summit since the start of the pandemic and already nearly 20 schools have signed up to take part.

The event will be largely hosted by school students who are involved in Mandarin learning, and will provide a showcase of work going on across Scotland in learning Chinese language and about China.

In addition to a showcase of Chinese learning in schools, we will also be hosting a Mandarin Reading Competition where competing school students can demonstrate their proficiency in spoken Mandarin.

Certificates will be awarded to all student participants at the event, and participants will also be appointed SCEN Panda Ambassadors for their role in promoting Chinese language and culture. Some of the participating students who have shown particular involvement in the promotion of Mandarin will be awarded certificates as SCEN Dragon Ambassadors.

The event is being supported by the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS), CISS Alumni (who will be actively involved in the event), the Chinese Consulate, and the many friends of SCEN.

Applications to take part in the Youth Summit and reading competition have now closed. However, if you have any inquiries about the event, please contact Megan Hammell at admin@scen.info.

SCEN YOUTH EVENT IN GRANTOWN GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Along with colleagues from Grantown Grammar School (the Confucius hub school in Highland Region), SCEN will be hosting a Youth Event in the school on the afternoon of 31 May.  This will be along the lines of similar events we have hosted in other secondary schools along with associated primaries in the period since the pandemic-imposed lockdowns. As well as students from Grantown, we will be welcoming students from other schools in the area, both primary and secondary. We will be supported by CISS, the Chinese consulate, the China Britain Business Council (CBBC), and local representative bodies interested in supporting the development of Mandarin learning in the area. 

If your school would like to host a similar showcase type event in session 2023-24 on the learning and teaching of Chinese, please let us know by contacting admin@scen.info.

RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE TEACHING OF MANDARIN ACROSS SCOTLAND

SCEN is involved in a major research project on the learning and teaching of Mandarin across schools in Scotland. The project will identify where and how Mandarin is being taught, and the added value to learners of embarking on the study of Chinese language. The project is supported by the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS), SCEN, and is led by Professor Antonella Sorace of Bilingualism Matters. Two students with PhD qualifications, Yajun Liu and Maggie Mroczkowski, will be contacting schools at the start of the new term in order to embark on the project. Once the project is complete, we hope to organise a major conference event on the future of Mandarin learning in schools in Scotland.

DE-MYSTIFYING THE CHINESE WRITING SYSTEM: CPD LECTURE

SCEN and the Swire Language Centre (Edinburgh) jointly hosted a CPD lecture by Andrew Scrimgeour of the University of South Australia in Edinburgh on 20 March. The lecture was lively and informative, and well attended by teachers of Mandarin in the Edinburgh area, as well as by a number of senior students studying Mandarin in local schools.

SCEN CHINESE TEACHING CLUB

The next meeting of the online Club will be held on 2 June, following a successful meeting on 24 February. The Club is an increasingly valuable forum for teachers across Scotland to exchange information and views and we would encourage teachers of Mandarin, wherever you are based, to join us. If you are new to the Club, or seek further information, please contact Megan Hammell at admin@scen.info.

SCEN TRUSTEES AND ADVISORY COUNCIL

SCEN Advisory Council met on 17 February. The next AC meeting is scheduled for 26 May. SCEN Trustees are scheduled to meet on 1 June.  

Best wishes to you all,
Simon Macaulay
Chair
SCEN