ND-Beijing Normal University Linguistic Research and Language Teaching Innovation Forum held at Notre Dame Beijing

This summer, the “Linguistic Research and Language Teaching Innovation Forum” was successfully held at Notre Dame Beijing. The forum was jointly organized by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (the Chinese Language Program) at the University of Notre Dame and the School of International Chinese Language Education at Beijing Normal University, and supported by Notre Dame Beijing. The hybrid-format forum attracted over 350 participants from 117 universities across 13 countries and regions, including Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, and Duke Kunshan University, as well as faculty and students from top Chinese high schools. Supported by Notre Dame Global’s Asian Research Collaboration Grant, the event fostered meaningful academic exchange in linguistics between Chinese and American scholars.

A man in a light blue shirt and tie gestures while presenting at a wooden podium bearing the University of Notre Dame seal in a room at Notre Dame Beijing. Two presentation slides are projected on the wall, one titled "主义语言学" and the other "一.教材与结构主义语言学". — Professor Yongping Zhu from the University of Notre Dame uses the “ba” construction as a case study to explore the application of the “network” from Construction Grammar in textbook design and language instruction.

A man gestures while presenting at a wooden podium with the University of Notre Dame Beijing seal in a classroom. A screen behind him displays text in English and Chinese. — Professor Chaofen Sun from Stanford University explains the grammatical features of the Chinese perfective marker le1 and argues that its use requires agreement in telicity.

The full-day event, divided into morning and afternoon sessions featuring 12 academic presentations, was hosted by Professor Jincheng Liu from the University of Notre Dame. Opening remarks were delivered in turn by the forum’s American chair, Professor Yongping Zhu from the University of Notre Dame, and the Chinese chair, Dean Liping Feng, who is serving as the dean of the School of International Chinese Language Education at Beijing Normal University. Both expressed a warm welcome and heartfelt gratitude to all attendees.

A man in a dark suit stands at a wooden podium with the University of Notre Dame seal, gesturing with a pen. He presents in a room at Notre Dame Beijing with two screens displaying Chinese text. — *Professor Jianming Lu from Peking University delivers an in-depth analysis of the multiple senses of words and the various types of semantic harmony.*

A man in a light-colored shirt presents to a group of people seated at tables in a conference room at Notre Dame Beijing. A screen behind him displays a presentation slide titled "An unusual instance." — Professor Jincheng Liu from the University of Notre Dame uses the emergence and development of the atelic Locative Topic construction as a case study to examine multi-source change within the framework of constructionalization.

Both the morning and afternoon sessions featured faculty from prestigious universities in the US and China. The forum covered a wide range of topics—including Construction Grammar, semantic studies, and the application of AI in Chinese language education—highlighting the latest developments and innovative ideas in linguistic research and language teaching. Following each presentation, scholars actively engaged with participants in lively discussions, fostering a dynamic and intellectually stimulating atmosphere.

The forum concluded at 5:30 p.m. with closing remarks delivered by Jingyu Wang, executive director of Notre Dame Beijing, Professor Chaofen Sun from Stanford University, and Professor Jianming Lu from Peking University. They congratulated the forum on its great success and expressed their hopes for continued academic exchange and strengthened collaboration between Chinese and American linguists in the future.

Participants listen to a talk given at the Linguistic Research and Language Teaching Innovation Forum at Notre Dame Beijing.

The forum’s American chair, Professor Yongping Zhu, and Chinese chair, Dean Liping Feng, recognized the event as a promising new model for academic exchange in Chinese language education between China and the United States. Bringing together renowned experts and emerging scholars, the forum highlighted cutting-edge achievements in language research and explored innovative approaches to language teaching. Its hybrid format—integrating on-site and online participation—enabled audiences worldwide to engage in meaningful scholarly dialogue. Both chairs expressed strong commitment to sustaining this interactive and complementary model of collaboration, with the shared goal of establishing a high-level platform for scholarly exchange in international Chinese language education research.

Originally published by ND Beijing at beijing.nd.edu on August 15, 2025.