On the afternoon of March 9th, HZAU organized the English Campus Tour, titled by “Bilingual World Exploration: Uncovering the Secrets of Nature” at the museum. As a part of the campus culture project, the tour attracted nearly 40 international students who had just arrived on campus. Eleven sophomores were selected to interpret the exhibits of five halls in the museum. Nearly 40 international students attended the museum exhibition with 11 docents of sophomores elaborating on five halls of exhibition for them in English.
Group photo of the participants
The Museum English Guided Tour Workshop was initiated by five teachers from the College of Foreign Languages, Wang Yingzhen, Zhang Yangjing, Yang Yamin, Yang Cui, Yuan Yinfeng, based on the 2022 Campus Cultural Construction Project. The trainees, attending the workshop, consisted of 30 undergraduates from College of Economics and Management, College of Food Science and Technology, College of Plant Science and Technology, College of Information, College of Fisheries, College of Resources and Environment, College of Foreign Languages etc.
In the autumn semester of 2022, the teachers of the workshop worked with the museum guide and her teammates to introduce the trainees to the knowledge of the exhibits and of the route, positioning, and etiquette during the tour. Subsequently, the teachers and students cooperated to translate the tour script into English. Each student customized the translations according to their own knowledge and interests and then went into the museum for physical practice many times. Teachers helped students with full guidance of translation, pronunciation, on-site explanation. After a semester of repeated practice, the students have successfully transformed from mere visitors to skilled guides, showcasing their ability to fluently convert from Chinese to English.
Over the past three years of the pandemic, offline international exchanges have sharply decreased worldwide. During the training process, some students questioned the need for learning English to guide museum tours. In response, teacher Wang Yingzhen said, “Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared. Only with the proper skills, can one dare to take on a difficult task. In modern society, our young university students must not only excel in their specialized knowledge but also enhance their cross-cultural communication skills to tell China’s story well so as to make the world understand China and let international students know about their college.”
All the participants said they gained fruitful results though the training was hard. Xiao Dandan, an English major from College of Foreign Languages Class 2103, said the training is very different from the practical work, and only with a good knowledge reserve and language ability can they cope with the on-the-spot interaction. Sun Yumeng, from College of Economics and Management Class 2101 said, “Working as a museum tour guide for international students made me realize the importance of English as a communication medium. The need for communication brings out my penitential of English communication.” Zirui, from College of Economics and Management Class 2101, said, “It is happy to share interesting things to others. Although our pronunciation is not perfect, international students are listening to us carefully. The communicative function of language is realized.”
A girl explains bone specimens.
A girl introduces butterfly specimens.
The international students who participated in this activity gave a favourable assessment to the museum tour. Mahan, a PhD student from Iraq in the class of 2021 at the College of Food Sciences and Technology, said,“Visiting this museum is an fantastic activity for both international and Chinese student. Chinese students are well-prepared. The museum is a real treasure trove for human beings and reveals a long history of science and international communication and scientific exchange. This tour is a unique chance to know more about biological history and diversity as well as a good chance for cultural communication and language practicing between all students.” Wu Shaocheng, a 2022 master student from Pakistan at the College of Animal Sciences & Technology, acknowledged the difficulties in listening and speaking foreign languages for the real communication that were found by both Chinese and foreign, and the room that was needed to be improved in the future. Wu said, “Just as we are very poor in listening and understanding Chinese, they feel a little bit difficult to understand our questions, but less difficult than we face in understanding what a Chinese person is saying. ”
Mrs. Wang said HZAU will launch a series of “Bilingual World Exploration” activities in the future to provide students with more interdisciplinary English practice opportunities.
Resource: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2023/0316/65894.shtml
Translated by: Zhao Bowen
Supervise by: Jin Bei
