Hosted by School of International Studies and organized by College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, International Campus, Zhejiang University, the first International Symposium of English Writing Center in Chinese Universities was successfully held at International Campus, Zhejiang University (Haining Campus) from June 1 to 3, 2018. With “Studies and Practices of English Writing Center” as the theme, professors, scholars and the teachers of English Writing Center from famous universities at home and abroad gathered together to have profound and heated discussions about theories and practices.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Prof. Fang Fan, Deputy Dean of School of International Studies and Director of English Writing Center of Zhejiang University. She extended a warm welcome to experts and scholars, and introduced the purpose of this symposium in the beginning. Several leaders also made speeches, including Qu Haidong, Vice Dean of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at International Campus, Wang Xiaoying, Deputy Division Chief of Graduate Academic Affairs Office , Xu Ying, Deputy Division Chief of International Relations, Gai Junfang, Director of International Cooperation and Liaison Center of Zhejiang University Press. They advanced that English writing plays an increasingly important role in the reform of English teaching at Chinese universities, so it’s expected that the symposium will be important to the in-depth communication between the writing centers in China and to the construction of first-class universities and first-class disciplines.
Jackie G. McKinney, keynote speaker, professor of rhetoric and writing at Ball State University in the United States, and chairman of International Writing Centers Association, delivered a lecture “Work of the Writing Center”. Professor McKinney first introduced the organization of the Association, and two perspectives of writing teaching. She also took Ball State University as an example to illustrate the status quo, problems and working ideas of the writing centers at American universities. Professor McKinney believes that Writing Centers are significant in American universities as they serve students and communities in different ways. Students’ writing can be improved with multiple innovative teaching methods via the new technology of network communication. The lecture provided a wealth of information to the experts and scholars present. And the audience interacted with the professors actively in the Q & A session.
Later, more than 60 participants from universities at home and abroad joined in the heated group discussions. They reached the consensus that in-depth qualitative and quantitative research still needs to be done to improve students’ writing, although writing centers have been popularized in American universities. Chinese writing centers are still in infancy, so international communication of writing centers is so promising that it will help boost writing skills of Chinese and foreign students. In the context of “Double First-class Initiative”, the writing center can help the students ready to publish their papers in different means. In the round-table discussions, six teachers from the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Writing Center also shared their experience and challenges with other scholars. Prof. Fang Fan, Prof. Pang Jixian, Prof. He Wenzhong, and Mario Circelli, Shmurak Roman, foreign experts from English Writing Center of Zhejiang University, and many teachers from the Foreign Language Teaching Center of School of International Studies also participated in the discussion and speeches. SaschaAthey from the Language Center of International Campus introduced the operating experience of the Writing Center, which attracted the attention of counterparts.
The conference rounded off with big applause. Experts and scholars present agreed that the conference promoted the intercommunication and dialogue between English writing researchers and practitioners in China and international counterparts, and was conducive to the reform and innovation of the research and practice of the International English Writing Center. Everyone hopes that the English Writing Center of China will not only improve the English writing of Chinese students effectively, but also promote more and more scholars from home and abroad to conduct academic research on the English writing of non-native speakers.
School of International Studies, Zhejiang University
June 4, 2018
Translated by Zhou Xingchen and Li Jia
Edited by Xu Xueying
