The first Academic Seminar on Putonghua Education under the New Curriculum at Universities in Hong Kong was held on 30 March. Titled ‘Where are we going in Putonghua Education for University Students in Hong Kong?’, the seminar attracted over 130 enthusiastic participants such as relevant unit heads from ten tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, language instructors and postgraduate students, as well as key players in the field from China, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore and the US.

Jointly organized by Yale-China Chinese Language Centre, Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages and Department of Chinese Language and Literature, the seminar addressed four major issues in teaching Chinese as a second or foreign language, namely language proficiency assessment, curriculum design, teaching materials and teacher training. Representative from the ten local tertiary institutions presented their roadmaps to a better Putonghua and Chinese language education in their institution.