The UCD Irish Institute for Chinese Studies (IICS) successfully hosted a public lecture entitled "Reshaping Language Teaching, Policy, and Teacher Education Programmes: The Role of Second Language Acquisition Theory and Research" on 3 October 2024, at the UCD Confucius Institute. The speaker was Professor Alessandro G. Benati, Head of the UCD School of Education and a renowned scholar in language education. Professor Colin Scott, UCD Registrar and Deputy President also attended the forum.
One of the highlights of the forum was the launch of Professor Benati's new book, SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION: A Cognitive and Evidence-Based Perspective. In his lecture, Professor Benati, from the perspective of second language acquisition theory, provided an in-depth explanation of the nature of language, its representation in the brain, and the complex process of language acquisition. He also explored in detail how these theories influence the design and implementation of language teaching and teacher education programs. He specifically pointed out that many language teaching programs lack the deep involvement of linguistics experts, leading to misunderstandings about the nature of language teaching. For example, treating language learning merely as the mastery of grammatical rules or overemphasized the role of error correction in improving language proficiency.
In a lively Q&A session, students actively asked questions related to second language teaching. Professor Benati, drawing on the latest research in second language acquisition, provided specific suggestions for improving teacher training. He also called on educators and policymakers to reflect on and adjust current language teaching practices and educational policies.
At the end of the lecture, Professor Liming Wang, Director of IICS, presented Professor Benati with an honorary certificate and a commemorative gift to express his gratitude on behalf of the Institute.
都柏林大学爱尔兰中国研究院公共讲座暨第56届孔子博士论坛圆满举行
爱尔兰都柏林大学中国研究院于2024年10月3日在都柏林大学孔子学院成功举办了以“重塑语言教学、政策与教师教育项目：二语习得理论与研究的作用”为主题的公共讲座暨第56届孔子博士论坛。此次讲座的主讲嘉宾为都柏林大学教育学院院长、著名语言教育学者亚历山德罗·G·贝纳蒂教授（Professor Alessandro G. Benati）。都柏林大学常务副校长Colin Scott教授出席了本次论坛。
论坛的一大亮点是贝纳蒂教授新书《SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION: A Cognitive and Evidence-Based Perspective》的发布。在讲座中，贝纳蒂教授从二语习得理论角度出发，深入阐述了语言的本质、语言在大脑中的表现形式，以及语言习得的复杂过程，并详细探讨了这些理论如何影响语言教学和教师教育项目的设计与实施。他特别指出，许多语言教学项目缺乏语言学专家的深入参与，导致对语言教学本质的误解。例如，将语言学习错误地仅视为语法规则的掌握，或过度强调纠错在提高语言能力中的作用。
讲座的问答环节气氛热烈，多位学生就二语教学相关问题积极提问，贝纳蒂教授结合最新的二语习得研究，提供了具体的教师培训改进建议，并呼吁教育工作者和政策制定者对当前的语言教学和教育政策进行反思与调整。
讲座最后，孔子学院院长王黎明教授代表学院向贝纳蒂教授颁发了荣誉证书，并赠送了纪念礼物，以表感谢。