Fortunately, I have the opportunity to teach at the two largest Chinese schools in Montreal and Toronto. With the development of society, the number of overseas Chinese is increasing day by day. Many descendants of Yan and Huang hope that their descendants will have the opportunity to contact and learn the language and culture of the motherland.
Chinese is the richest, most unique and charming language among all the nations in the world. Its written language has a history of more than 6,000 years. It is both ancient and ever new, and has the largest number of users. Since the 1940s, Since the 1990s, it has become one of the world's most recognized international languages. This is something that teachers and students in overseas Chinese schools should be proud of. At the same time, Chinese language teaching itself contains knowledge of the history and geography of the motherland, which is of special significance to overseas Chinese primary school students.
As messengers of traditional Chinese culture, Chinese schools play a very important role in Canada, especially among Chinese and descendants of Chinese descent, and can be called "immeasurable merits."
According to incomplete statistics, there are about 15 to 20 Chinese schools in Montreal. Some are established by church organizations, some are established by private individuals, and some are established by private groups. Most of them are non-profit organizations and are subject to leadership. Provincial government funding.
There are about 300 Chinese schools, large and small, in the Greater Toronto Area. Most of them offer "after-school tutoring courses", weekend Chinese classes and summer camps. Some are set up by charities such as churches, and more It is mainly privately owned.
In terms of quantity alone, the number of Chinese schools in the Toronto area is 15 times that of Montreal. There are about 500,000 Chinese in Toronto and about 100,000 Chinese in Montreal. The number of Chinese in Toronto is five times that of Montreal. Although the history of Chinese schools in Montreal is slightly longer than that in Toronto, the competition among Chinese schools in Toronto is obviously much more intense than in Montreal. Parents have more choices. Wider.
Let’s take the two Chinese schools in the two places where I teach as examples to compare the similarities and differences in Chinese education. I hope that the summary can play a role in the development of Chinese education in the two places.
1. From the perspective of scale and curriculum:
Most Chinese schools in Canada give priority to weekend teaching.
The Chinese school in Montreal was established in 1994, with more than 1,000 students and more than 100 teachers, and has a history of more than 20 years.
In addition to Chinese, the school also offers courses such as mathematics, art, calligraphy, dance, martial arts, Go, English, and French. The English and French courses are mainly provided by local Canadian teachers, and individual adults The English teachers are English majors from mainland China. The setting of these two courses is mainly based on the fact that Montreal is located in a French-speaking area, local students have weak English proficiency, and many new immigrant families require children to take more French classes in order to follow the French language course. Progress in attending local schools.
The Chinese school in Toronto has more than 600 students and more than 70 teachers, and has a history of 15 years.
The school mainly teaches Chinese, and added mathematics and calligraphy courses the year before last. In addition to weekend teaching, the school also organizes summer camps, spring break camps, and many kindergartens with "English-Chinese bilingual" as the main curriculum.
In terms of curriculum, Montreal is richer than Toronto, while Toronto is more specialized, with Chinese education as the main theme. This is related to the differences in the training markets for dance, calligraphy, art, etc. in the two markets. Because there are many Chinese people in Toronto, competition for other amateur trainings in addition to Chinese is also very fierce. Therefore, in such a market situation, Chinese education should be " "Specialized" and done well are particularly important.
According to the different families students come from, schools in both places invariably divide Chinese education into: children from Mandarin-speaking families take "Chinese" classes, while children from "non-Mandarin-speaking" families take "Happy Chinese" classes . This has also attracted immigrant families from mainland China, Hong Kong and other places, as well as local Western families and Asian immigrant families to learn Chinese.
2. From the perspective of teaching philosophy:
The school in Montreal is one of the few "China Overseas Chinese Education Demonstration Schools" in Canada. Its purpose is to promote Chinese culture and teach overseas Educating people lays the foundation for cultivating talents with all-round development of moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic development. The school emphasizes the teaching of Mandarin Chinese and simplified Chinese characters, and links Chinese teaching with cultivating students' motherland plot according to students' characteristics, so as to cultivate students' Chinese language abilities in a purposeful and targeted manner.
Toronto's Chinese schools adhere to the line of "professional Chinese teaching" and do not pursue the traditional Chinese school business model of "big and comprehensive, small and comprehensive", and are committed to providing systematic, high-quality and effective Professional Chinese teaching. The school requires education to be "humanized", "systematized", "practical", "localized" and "socialized".
When the two schools were founded, they were the first to propose the promotion of Chinese teaching in Mandarin, simplified characters and Hanyu Pinyin in an environment where traditional Chinese characters and Cantonese were the dominant Chinese teaching. This shows that The founders of both schools had vision and insight!
3. From the perspective of teachers:
As Principal Rong of the Montreal school said: "If you are not morally strong, your character will not be high and your behavior will not be up to standard." Chinese schools in the two places The principals are strict in selecting teachers. They not only have experience in professional education such as Chinese, but also have domestic or overseas teaching experience. They also require teachers with excellent character.
One thing is very interesting: Montreal schools never advertise in the media to recruit teachers, but many teachers come here because of their reputation, and everyone is full of hope to enter this "big family".
Whether in Montreal or Toronto, teachers are passionate about teaching. Although each class is only two hours a week, everyone prepares carefully and fully. The teachers are full of praise for "the infinite charm hidden in Chinese characters". Everyone hopes to bring overseas students closer to the Chinese language and inspire students to feel and love the profoundness of Chinese culture.
4. From the perspective of teaching management:
Chinese schools in both places rent classrooms in convenient local colleges for teaching, and they are all "Saturday schools".
The school in Montreal is composed of a management group with a strong sense of responsibility and high efficiency - the Jiahua School Committee, which includes the principal, provost, treasurer and general secretary. In terms of teaching management, the school has also established a number of teaching and research groups to discuss specifically the teaching of various subjects such as Chinese, mathematics, English and art. The group leaders will lead the teams to communicate and coordinate to improve the teaching level bit by bit.
Chinese schools in Toronto also have rigorous and scientific teaching management, which allows the schools to develop healthily and vigorously.
5. From the perspective of preserving and inheriting traditional culture:
As disseminators of overseas Chinese culture, I think the two Chinese schools in Montreal and Toronto have done a very good job. good. Every year during major Chinese traditional festivals in Montreal schools: Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, teachers are unwritten requirements to share special cultural explanations with students in class. In terms of curriculum, there are traditional Tai Chi, Tai Chi Sword, Mulan Quan, martial arts, calligraphy, children's folk dance, etc., to inherit the essence of traditional Chinese culture as much as possible.
In Toronto’s Chinese schools, in addition to major Chinese traditional festivals, teachers study Chinese history and related culture with students. During the Spring Festival, there are traditional lion dance performances, homework exhibitions, or traditional song and dance performances on campus. Let the children feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture even though they are in a foreign country.
It is worth mentioning that traditional lion dance performances no longer exist in domestic schools, which is a sad thing for many Chinese people. Some good traditional Chinese culture has been preserved and developed overseas, which is gratifying to us.
In summary, I really want to thank the two female principals of the Chinese school for their persistence, hard work, practicality and forge ahead. They not only have harmonious families, but also have meaningful careers, which makes us feel... Sincere admiration and pride.
They have worked hard and sweat to become the most beautiful messengers of Chinese culture overseas. Not only Chinese teachers are grateful to them, but more overseas tourists are also grateful to them for their immeasurable merits!
?2014 in Toronto
Zheng Ling: Sagittarius, from Guangzhou;
Pen name: Wutongyu, Tongtong Xiaoyu. Bachelor of Chinese Language and Literature from Peking University, Bachelor of Science from Guangzhou University, and Master of Management from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
I am obsessed with writing and Chinese education, recording every detail of my work and life in Canada, feeling the scenery along the way, and meeting warm people and things.
In 2008, he resigned from domestic public service and began to work in overseas Chinese education. Currently living in Canada.
In 2014, the "Heritage Chinese School" was founded in Toronto to promote traditional Chinese culture.
Published a collection of essays "Encounter".
Welcome to forward, please indicate the source.