In the summer of 2025, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China welcomed 24 rural English teachers from 13 provinces. These teachers completed a school year of online studies, then went through application and selection to come here from across the country, starting a 5-day offline training programme.
The courses were customized to meet the teachers' actual needs. They covered language teaching concepts and methods, and focused more on broadening horizons and inspiring ideas. After assessing the teachers' English proficiency in advance, the Centre for English Language Education (CELE) at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China designed targeted English proficiency improvement courses. The CELE teaching team also shared diverse classroom activity designs and teaching cases, enabling participants to reshape their vision of classroom possibilities through group discussions and classroom simulations.
The training also included special coaching courses and handicraft experience activities. The coaching courses allowed teachers to experience key aspects of being a coach, helping them enhance self-awareness, explore potential and improve classroom guidance skills. The immersive experience of intangible cultural heritage handicrafts not only let teachers feel the beauty of Chinese traditions, but also inspired them to think about integrating local culture into English classes.
CELE has run the Rural English Advancement Programme since 2017. Over eight years, it has built a platform for rural teachers in many provinces to connect with international educational concepts. This year's offline training programme not only continues this original mission, but also, through diverse courses and in-depth interactions, enables rural teachers to return to their classrooms and students with richer teaching ideas and stronger educational beliefs.