On March 5th, the Chinese language teaching program kicked off at the university’s Tashkent Campus. Vice Rector Aziz A. Abduvasikov of Tashkent State Agrarian University and his entourage visited the campus, walked into the classroom and observed the first lesson of the new semester.
In the inaugural class, the teaching team consisting of Associate Professor Liu Yao from the School of Language and Culture, and MTI postgraduates Xiao Tong and Deng Daqiu delivered scenario-based teaching integrated with the cultural customs of the Spring Festival, a traditional Chinese festival. While reviewing and consolidating students’ basic language skills, the team helped them comprehend the connotations of Chinese culture. During the practical session, students wrote Spring Festival couplets and the Chinese character “Fu” (blessing) with their own hands, experiencing the charm of Chinese characters and folk customs in an immersive way. After the class, Meilin, a postgraduate student majoring in Resource Utilization and Plant Protection at the Tashkent Campus, shared her feelings, “This is my first time writing various forms of the character ‘Fu’ by myself. Though my handwriting is not perfect yet, the teacher said my writing is full of ‘blessings’!” The course also innovatively adopted a group competition mode, which effectively stimulated students’ initiative in learning and their collaborative abilities. After the class, Vice Rector Aziz A. Abduvasikov had a warm exchange with teachers and students, made a detailed inquiry about the curriculum design and teaching implementation, and spoke highly of the teaching team’s innovative explorations and remarkable achievements in cultural communication.
The smooth launch of teaching work for the new semester has not only built a window for local young people to perceive Chinese culture, but also laid a solid foundation for cultivating interdisciplinary talents who are proficient in Chinese and equipped with modern agricultural professional skills, effectively boosting the construction and development of Tashkent Campus. In the subsequent teaching activities, teachers from the College of Language and Culture will continue to leverage their linguistic strengths, fully promote the dissemination of Chinese culture, and play a bridging role for faculty of the college in enhancing China-Uzbekistan people-to-people and cultural exchanges and agricultural science and technology cooperation.