Date: Thursday, October 8th
Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: Online via Zoom
RSVP: Via the form by 5pm Vancouver time, Monday October 5th, 2020
Thank you to all who attended this webinar! The presentation can be viewed on YouTube here.
Details:
With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. The beauty of Hanzi 漢字, the traditional form of Chinese characters, is worth preserving. The Chinese language is now one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and we are seeing more eager language learners! Students will find that some of the benefits of learning Chinese includes work, volunteer, and travel opportunities where you will be able to utilize and improve your Chinese skills. Studying overseas with the Chinese language program may be one of the most memorable experiences you can have (when it is safe to go abroad again), creating new friendships and learning the rich culture and traditions that go with it. Whether you are a beginner, novice or even fluent in Mandarin, UBC Asian Studies has Chinese language courses fit for your level, offering both non-native and native speakers courses. Even with remote learning, you have the chance to use and improve your Mandarin skills through interactions with your courses, peers and beyond.
Find out about even more exciting ways to learn Chinese such as the Chinese Speech Contest and going abroad with Li-jung Lee (UBC Visiting Lecturer, Chinese Language), Jennifer Packet (BIE’19, Senior Analyst at KPMG Canada) and Liam LaForce (Political Science/International Relations student minoring in Chinese Language and Culture). Prepare any questions you have for our panelists and get ready to get motivated in learning Chinese!
Key Takeaways:
- Mandarin Chinese language courses at UBC
- Overseas exchange experience in China
- Opportunities to work and volunteer to utilize and improve your Mandarin Chinese language skills
- Ways to learn Mandarin Chinese under the current Covid-19 pandemic
Moderator:
Aydin Quach, 3rd year, Double majoring in Honours History with International Relations and Chinese Language and Culture
Aydin Quach is a 3rd-year undergraduate student double majoring in Honours History with International Relations and Chinese Language and Culture. He is also currently a Teaching Assistant for the Chinese Language Program.
Born in Vancouver Canada, his parents both come from overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia (His father was born in Vietnam and his mother hails from Brunei). At home, he speaks Cantonese and Hakka — minority dialects of Chinese. Aydin’s areas of research is in global Chinese migrations. A core leading question is: What does it mean to be Chinese? More broadly, how do Overseas Chinese fit into the Chinese identity?
Panelists:
Li-jung Lee, UBC Visiting Lecturer, Chinese Language
Li-jung Lee is a visiting lecturer of Chinese and she is awarded “2019/20 Lecturer of the Year” in the Department of Asian Studies. She teaches non-heritage Chinese and heritage Chinese courses. Before joining the Department of Asian Studies at UBC, she taught Chinese at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA, and developed a new proficiency test and learning materials at the Division of Research and Development in the Steering Committee for the test of Proficiency – Huayu in Taiwan.
Li-Jung believes learning should be meaningful and fun. It will help learners overcome their frustrations and make them become life-long learners. For her, the satisfaction of teaching is that students immerse themselves in Chinese happily and share their ideas with people in Chinese confidently.
Jennifer Packet, BIE’19, Senior Analyst at KPMG Canada
Jennifer Packet graduated from UBC last year in International Economics. Jennifer is half Chinese and half Canadian, and can speak Mandarin and Cantonese. She started learning Mandarin when she was 13, and began taking Chinese classes with the UBC Chinese Language program since her first year of university, and continued until graduation. Throughout her years at UBC, Jennifer had the opportunity to intern in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and took a Chinese Summer Langauge program at Peking University in Beijing. She also had the unique experience of participating in the Chinese Bridge language proficiency competition in Hunan last year. Since graduation, Jennifer competed in the Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant and was crowned the champion in December 2019. Currently, Jennifer works at KPMG as a Global Transfer Pricing and Economic Services specialist.
Check out Jennifer’s story about her Chinese language learning journey below!
Liam LaForce, 4th-year Political Science/International Relations student, minoring in Chinese Language and Culture
Liam LaForce is a 4th year student studying Political Science/ International Relations with a minor in Asian Language and Culture with a focus in China. Liam has previous spent four months traveling and eating around China, and most recently participated in the 2019 GoGlobal Program Learning in a Living Classroom in Taiwan. After graduation, Liam is planning to return to Taiwan through Taiwanese government programs to live and study for six to twelve months. Liam enjoys learning about new cultures through traveling and food.
Liam and Teacher Lee at a dinner during the Living Classroom in Taiwan (Go Global Program) in 2019
