Students in the Department of TeCSOL at the Graduate School of Teaching Foreign Languages Win Award at the 3rd Internati
- 작성처
- Date2026.09.04
- 297
Team of Students in the Department of TeCSOL at the Graduate School of Teaching Foreign Languages Wins Second Prize in the Korean Regional Finals of the 3rd International Chinese Language Education Case Competition for Chinese Graduate Students
A team of students in the Department of TeCSOL in the master's degree program at the Graduate School of Teaching Foreign Languages, Ewha Womans University, consisting of Kim YunHee, Meng FanLu (孟繁璐), Park HanSol, and Jeon ChunMae (全春梅), under the guidance of Professors Shin SeungHee and Dong LinLi (董琳莉), won Second Prize in the Korean Regional Finals of the 3rd International Chinese Language Education Case Competition for Chinese Graduate Students, held on August 29 (Saturday) at the Confucius Institute of Honam University in Gwangju Metropolitan City.
The Ewha team presented a case involving an adult learner whose goal was to obtain Level 3 of the TSC (Test of Chinese Speaking) under the title 「会说，为何不会写——韩国成人学习者从“回避汉字”到“主动学习”(Why Can They Speak but Not Write? — From “Avoiding Chinese Characters” to “Active Learning” among Korean Adult Learners)」. The team diagnosed the learner's tendency to avoid Chinese characters, based on the belief that "there is no need to memorize Chinese characters," as stemming from an outcome-oriented view of learning, while also pointing out that the teacher had failed to identify in advance the cognitive resources already possessed by learners from a Chinese character cultural sphere. Accordingly, the teacher applied three principles: separating cognition from writing to reduce the learning burden, combining character-level and word-level instruction, and exposing learners to Chinese characters through electronic media outside of class.
(From left) Jeon ChunMae, Kim YunHee, Park HanSol, Meng FanLu
The team also focused on two areas of self-reflection that emerged in this process. One was the teacher becoming impatient when the learner's progress accelerated, increasing the amount of homework, and then adjusting it again. The other was failing to check which characters the learner was referring to when the learner independently discovered that "there are also some characters here that I already knew," and simply moving on.
Through these experiences, the team concluded that rather than judging learners' levels and experiences solely through the teacher's observations, it is important to directly confirm them with learners and adjust instruction accordingly. In its presentation, the team analyzed its own instructional design from a self-reflective perspective in light of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory. In addition, through Byram's model of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC), the team proposed that the starting point for Chinese character education for Korean learners should not be "teaching from the beginning" but "identifying what learners already possess," and presented a pre-class diagnostic procedure as a concrete measure. The team also introduced a web-based Chinese character learning tool it had developed as a future application, receiving recognition for going beyond analysis to propose ways to apply its findings in the field.
The 3rd International Chinese Language Education Case Competition for Chinese Graduate Students is a competition that encourages graduate students majoring in International Chinese Language Education to organize and share cases based on practical experiences in Chinese language education, cultural dissemination, technology application, and intercultural communication. The competition aims to identify cases from actual educational settings that combine authenticity, innovation, exemplary value, and potential for dissemination.
Established for the first time this year, the Korean regional competition was held in two stages, preliminary and final, with the Confucius Institute of Honam University participating as a partner institution. The competition was jointly judged by three Korean experts and four Chinese experts. Approximately 80 figures from various sectors of Korea and China attended the event, including Consul General Gu JingQi (顾景奇) of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Gwangju, Wang Xun (王巡), General Manager of China Southern Airlines' Korea Branch, and Professor Kim HyunCheol of Yonsei University, Vice President of the World Chinese Language Teaching Association.
With the establishment of the Korean regional competition, faculty members and graduate students from universities in Korea gained a platform to showcase their achievements in International Chinese Language Education, further expanding exchanges between the Chinese language education communities of Korea and China.
The final round featured graduate student teams from nine major universities in Korea, including Ewha Womans University, Korea University, Yonsei University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Hanyang University, who shared a variety of cases. Following the judging, one team was selected for First Prize, one team for Second Prize, and two teams for Third Prize. In particular, this year's competition highlighted cultural education and education utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) as major topics, demonstrating that Chinese language education is expanding toward reflective teaching practices grounded in individual learner characteristics.
Team leader Kim YunHee said, "For nearly two months starting in early July, we repeatedly reread and revised the case, and I came to realize that there is more to learn when looking closely at moments when things did not go well than at classes that went smoothly." She added, "I was able to see how the theories I learned in the department operate in the classroom, and going forward, I hope to become a researcher who contributes to the field of International Chinese Language Education by maintaining an attitude of confirming things first rather than making assumptions about learners."
This award is significant as an achievement that combined academic theory with reflection on real-world issues in the field of International Chinese Language Education and developed these insights into concrete improvements in teaching and learning. It is also meaningful in demonstrating the field-oriented research capabilities and practical educational competencies of graduate students in the Department of TeCSOL at Ewha Womans University's Graduate School of Teaching Foreign Languages.