scholarly journals A comparative study of the Confucius Institute in the United Kingdom and the British Council in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-63
Author(s):  
Liexu Cai
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Communication ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Confucius Institute ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
British Council ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Confucius Institutes ◽  
International Comparative

Since the first Confucius Institute was set up by the Chinese government for the promotion of Chinese language and culture overseas in 2004, the development of Confucius Institutes has become exponentially increasing. Currently, there are 29 Confucius Institutes in the United Kingdom among over 500 Confucius Institutes abroad; meanwhile, the activities of the British Council in China also became popular as one of the central paradigms for educational communication between China and the United Kingdom. Although there have been several studies on Confucius Institutes and British Council, respectively, little research exists about them from the international comparative perspective, with regard to both of them being cultural institutes abroad and the establishment of Confucius Institutes benefitting from the United Kingdom’s experience in promoting its national languages and culture. This article aims to discover the general similarities and differences between Confucius Institutes and the British Council in three aspects: the organisation structures and culture diffusion models, the language teaching and learning resources and activities, and the cooperation that the two institutes have with the other organisations.

British Council as an Instrument of Public Diplomacy of Great Britain

2017 ◽  
pp. 305-312
Author(s):  
Mykola Trofymenko
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
British Council ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Public diplomacy of Great Britain is one of the most developed in the EU and in the world. The United Kingdom has developed an extremely efficient public diplomacy mechanism which includes BBC World Service (which due to its popularity boosts the reputation and the image of Great Britain), Chevening Scholarships (provides outstanding foreign students with opportunity to study in Great Britain and thus establishes long-lasting relations with public opinion leaders and foreign countries elite) and the British Council, which deals with international diplomatic ties in the field of culture. The British Council is a unique organization. Being technically independent, it actively and efficiently works on consolidating Great Britain’s interests in the world and contributes to the development of public diplomacy in Great Britain.   The author studies the efforts of the British Council as a unique public diplomacy tool of the United Kingdom. Special attention is paid to the role of British Council, which is independent of the governing board and at the same time finds itself under the influence of the latter due to the peculiarities of the appointment of Board’s officials, financing etc. The author concludes that the British Council is a unique organization established in 1934, which is a non-departmental state body, charitable organization and public corporation, technically independent of the government. The British Council, thanks to its commercial activities covers the lack of public funding caused by the policy of economy conducted by the government. It has good practices in this field worth paying attention by other countries. It is also worth mentioning that the increment in profit was getting higher last year, however the issue of increasing the influence of the government on the activities of British Council is still disputable. Although the Foreign Minister officially reports to the parliament on the activities of the British Council, approves the appointment of the leaders of organizations, the British Council preserves its independence of the government, which makes it more popular abroad, and makes positive influence on the world image of Great Britain. The efficiency of the British Council efforts on fulfillment of targets of the United Kingdom public diplomacy is unquestionable, no matter how it calls its activities: whether it is a cultural relations establishment or a cultural diplomacy implementation. Keywords: The British Council, public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, cultural relations, Foreign Office, Her Majesty’s Government, official assistance for development

scholarly journals Introduction: 5 years of ELEUK

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Amparo Lallana ◽  
Lourdes Hernández Martín ◽  
Mara Fuertes Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk

We are delighted to be able to present to you this fifth anniversary volume which inaugurates a series of publications emanating from conferences organised by ELEUK, the Association for the Teaching of Spanish in Higher Education in the United Kingdom (www.eleuk.org). Nearly a decade ago, Spanish Language Teaching (SLT) was going from strength to strength across higher education; however, there were hardly any conferences or professional development events within the UK dedicated specifically to the teaching of Spanish. University colleagues and language professionals got together to launch a space from where to promote the teaching and learning of Spanish, foster research in SLT, provide opportunities for teacher development, facilitate collaboration among its members, and enhance subject expertise.

scholarly journals Understanding Collaborative Teaching and Learning in Adult Literacy: Practices in Canada and the United Kingdom

1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Taylor ◽  
Karen Evans ◽  
Ali Abasi
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Adult Students ◽  
Adult Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Collaborative Teaching ◽  
Literacy Practice ◽  
The United Kingdom

The purpose of this study was to investigate how adult students learn collaboratively with other peers in both formal and non-formal adult literacy programs and what teaching styles best support this learning. A multi-site case study research design was used involving several different literacy organizations in Eastern Ontario, Canada, and in Central London, United Kingdom. Findings suggest that collaborative learning is the cement that bonds the various building blocks in a community of literacy practice across small, large and tutorial types of programs. Central in this framework is the component called the Instructor’s Philosophy and Teaching Perspective which helps explain the teaching and learning transactions.

scholarly journals China's Confucius Institutes and the "Necessary White Body"

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Culture ◽  
National Language ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Confucius Institute ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Social Landscape ◽  
Distinct Process ◽  
Confucius Institutes ◽  
Canadian Multiculturalism

Abstract. Confucius Institutes (CIs), modelled on similar European organizations, promote China’s official national language and culture abroad. Unlike their European counterparts, however, the interactions between CIs and Canadian audiences are haunted by complex histories of a racialized “Oriental Other” in Canada and “Western Other” in China. Through ethnographic research on the Confucius Institute in Edmonton and the CI Headquarters in Beijing, this paper explores racialized representations of China and Chinese culture, as well as racialized understandings of the desired Western audience, in both locations. I argue that representations of Chinese culture are caught between two competing logics which I term reorientalism and reorientality. Reorientalism attempts to reclaim definitions of Chineseness and redress misunderstandings about China while simultaneously making China comprehensible and ultimately marketable through reorientality, or a use of familiar Orientalist tropes. Canadians (most often imagined and represented as white) are encouraged to engage with this reorientality through their own performance and embodiment of Chinese culture (a conceptually distinct process I call re-orientality) as a means of understanding the project of reorientalism. However, the spectacle of Chinese culture through CIs resonates with Canadian multiculturalism in ways that may unintentionally reproduce a social landscape that normalizes whiteness and the consumption of ethnicized Otherness.

Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Institutional policies, research and practices in Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Huet ◽  
Teresa Pessoa ◽  
Fátima Teresa Sol Murta
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Initial Idea ◽  
The University

The initial ‘idea’ for the book emerged during the seminar Sharing of Innovative Pedagogical Practices that occurred at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) in 2018. Like all ‘good ideas’, this one originated in a conversation between colleagues from the University of Coimbra and the University of West London in the United Kingdom. The ‘idea’ of this book was to move away from sharing experiences related to teaching and learning in higher education in just one or two countries, but instead to organise a more European view about the policy, research and teaching practices that are shaping the way our students learn, academics teach and do research. We have a total of 16 chapters from academics in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic.<br>The book is organised in four interrelated themes: (1) policy and quality; (2) professionalisation of teaching and academic development; (3) research and teaching nexus; and (4) pedagogy and practice. <br>Enjoy reading the book!

Toward International Comparative Research on Associational Activity

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 163S-181S ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik W. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
International Comparative Research ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
International Comparative

This article describes the scope and composition of national associational populations in four similar countries (Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and United States), by way of introducing an important new data release on national associational populations. Special attention is devoted to the subset of associations attending to social inequality issues of gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and which are of particular interest to social movement and interest group scholars. No evidence is found for the Tocquevillian notion of heightened national-level associational activity in the United States. The nonmembership associational form is, however, particularly prominent in the United States. Associations attending to social inequality issues in the United Kingdom are structured very differently from these other nations, likely as a result of the unitary nature of government in that country rather than a strong federal system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document