On June 3rd 2020, the Spanish teacher Modesto “Modi” Corderi Novoa, came to the Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield with an interesting, practical and dramatic teacher training session for the teachers of the Confucius Institute.
All public teachers and volunteers from the Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield, as well as local teachers, participated in this online teacher training. The training session was just like the weather in the UK recently, after several days of hot weather, we ushered in a timely rain, which brought us refreshment and comfort.
The training session was conducted and overseen by the Sheffield Confucius Institute Deput Director Li Xiao. The teachers first watched Mr. Modi’s videos on "Application of Dramatic Teaching Method in Chinese Classes in Primary and Middle Schools" and "Application of Dramatic Teaching Method in Adult Chinese Classes".
In the videos, Ms. Modi vividly and interestingly analysed the language acquisition characteristics of primary and secondary school students & adults. He also introduced the teaching skills of primary and secondary school students & adults, as well as a variety of teaching games and teaching methods involving the use of theatre.
Mr Modi went on to discuss and compare the practice and analysis of cross-cultural communication in foreign language education between Chinese and Spanish-speaking countries.
Foreign language teachers should be like directors. Students are actors, classrooms are stages, and textbooks are scripts. Unfortunately, most foreign language teachers think that they are both directors and leading actors. Speaking, so students can only be forced to be the audience, and they are an audience who "participates" in the performance but feels bored but cannot leave the theatre. Therefore, we need more "teaching directors.
Modesto “Modi” Corderi Novoa
On his master's thesis looking into Language Acquisition
After the video conference, it was the long-awaited Q&A session with Teacher Modi! The teachers raised questions one after another with intrigue and excitement, and Teacher Mo Di answered them one by one with professional knowledge and the use of vivid language.
Among them, when Teacher Huang Huihui asked how to apply dramatized teaching to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, Teacher Modi immediately demonstrated the classroom drama game "I am a tree", and the teachers themselves tried the “I am a tree” game.
His views and teaching experience provides great inspiration and influence to our “teaching director” teaching Chinese as a second foreign language.
The online training session was organised by the Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield and enabled the teachers to learn about new teaching concepts and teaching skills. This has brought new learning opportunities to our teachers and has been especially valuable, who have been teaching from home due to the pandemic.