Dear TIRF Colleagues and Friends,
On May 11, 2024, TIRF achieved a significant milestone in Chongqing, China, by collaborating with a local organization called SCIPE (The Service Consortium of Chongqing for International People-to-People Exchange). The Foundation worked with SCIPE to organize a joint event titled “Challenges and Opportunities in English Language Education: TIRF & SCIPE Forum in Chongqing, China 2024.”
As TIRF President, I delivered a speech on “Empowering English Language Teaching and English Teachers’ Professional Development with Generative AI.” Additionally, a TIRF DDG Recipient, Tracey Xu, gave a presentation on a similar topic; her talk was entitled “Empowering English Language Teaching and English Teachers’ Professional Development with Generative AI.” Ryan Damerow. TIRF’s Chief Operating Officer, provided an enthusiastic introduction of TIRF to the audience. We were also honored to have Professor Zhang Meng from Sichuan International Studies University speak on “Using AI Chatbots to Improve University EFL Students’ Speech Script Writing Quality and Critical-Thinking Skills.”
Although scheduled from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, the event extended until 6:30pm due to the overwhelming number of questions and the high level of enthusiasm and interest from the audience. Ryan and I were thrilled to witness TIRF making a meaningful impact in Chongqing, and we anticipate further impact through future activities across China.
Approximately 80 attendees from local higher education and basic education communities joined the event. Another 400 individuals joined the live stream, mostly from within Mailand China. And a recap of the afternoon activities from China Radio International resulted in nearly 600,000 learning about the event and about TIRF.
I would like to share two reflections:
Firstly, it brings me great joy to see our DDG recipients shining and actively contributing to TIRF’s outreach efforts, as exemplified by Tracey Xu. Tracey, now a Professor at the School of Foreign Studies of South China Normal University, has been recognized as one of the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists in 2023 by Stanford University, and she has consistently appeared as a highly cited scholar on Elsevier’s list from 2020 to 2023. Her research interests span teacher assessment literacy, online education, teacher identity and emotions, and parental involvement in education. I am immensely proud of her accomplishments. Her success story serves as inspiration, reinforcing TIRF’s commitment to advancing the field.
Secondly, TIRF’s vision transcends borders. I am hopeful that we can extend our reach to more countries, and that an increasing number of universities, schools, and educational bureaus will benefit from our research-based practices. I encourage all of us to proudly wear our TIRF Caps and actively engage with colleagues to identify opportunities for collaboration, leveraging TIRF’s support and services.
In a future Chair’s Report, I will share reflections from my time in late May in Bangkok, where I delivered a talk on EMI at Chulalongkorn University. It was wonderful connecting with our colleagues in Thailand to explore potential avenues for TIRF’s involvement.
TIRF is aiming to share the recordings from the presentations in Chongqing mentioned above. Please stay tuned for these updates and others from my time in Thailand.
Warm regards,
Jun Liu, Ph.D.
TIRF President