A lecture on “TEFL in the Age of Big Data” was delivered by Prof. Chen Jianlin from Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) to the teachers and students of the School of Foreign Languages (SFL) on Jan 21, 2015.
Lasting two and a half hours, the lecturer discussed what TEFL in China should do to meet the opportunities and challenges in the Age of Big Data.
Prof. Chen firstly introduced the basic concept and features of Big Data, and then pointed out three mind changes worth our attention: entirety instead of samples; efficiency instead of absolute accuracy; relevance instead of causality. It was against the backdrop of Big Data that MOOC emerged and developed, characterized by post-traditional mode, openness in education, grandstanding hypothesis and operation mechanism.
“The Age of Big Data has posed new challenges to individualized teaching and learning, to courses and resources, to administration and autonomy, so only by changing our mindset and giving full play to Big Data can we establish a better environment for TEFL,” said Prof. Chen.
The thought-provoking lecture ended in a question and answer session.
Chen Jianlin is one of the most distinguished professors and PhD supervisors in SISU. As president of SFLAPH and SFLEPH and associate editor-in-chief of Media in Foreign Language Instruction, Prof. Chen has published a number of great scholarly works in the field of TEFL theory and practice, focusing on language education policy and foreign language teaching administration, etc. He is also devoted to research on teaching plan, curriculum design, syllabus design and teacher training.
