Two teaching innovation initiatives finalists for the UN International Chinese Language Day

Two teaching innovation initiatives for Chinese language education, carried out in recent years by a team of professors from the Department of Translation, Interpreting and East Asian Studies, have been selected as finalists among the five teaching innovation projects chosen by the UN for International Chinese Language Day.

e·Chinese Tools is a multilingual open-access platform (Catalan, Spanish, English, and Chinese) offering a curated database of almost 500 digital resources—including apps, websites, and social media tools—for teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language. Each entry is meticulously described and evaluated by experts to ensure its quality. Users can filter resources by type, proficiency level, skill, among others, catering to both learners and educators for classroom use or self-study. The platform is regularly reviewed to keep entries up to date and to incorporate new resources. This is an ongoing project which started in 2021. Team members are Sara Rovira-Esteva, Mireia Vargas-Urpí, Helena Casas-Tost, and Antonio Paoliello.

e·Chinese Plus

is an open-access platform designed to enhance Chinese language learning through interactive activities. Recognizing the shortage of self-learning resources for Chinese in languages other than English or Chinese, e·Chinese Plus addresses a critical need for structured, proficiency-tailored resources within the Spanish-speaking world. The platform offers an extensive range of digital activities aligned with CEFR levels (A1, A2, B1, and B2), covering a wide variety of language skills, including listening, reading, speaking, graphemics, writing, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, as well as two areas where digital resources are often limited such as cultural and translation skills. With its intuitive interface, e·Chinese Plus empowers learners, allowing them to personalize their educational journey, selecting activities that match their proficiency levels, learning objectives and interests. The project started in 2024. Team members are Helena Casas-Tost, Lourdes Gay-Punzano, Xiaoyan Guo, Lingzhi Nie, Antonio Paoliello, Sara Rovira-Esteva, and Mireia Vargas-Urpí.

Both pedagogical resources strive to democratize access to high-quality online Chinese L2 resources, focusing primarily on Spanish-speaking and Catalan-speaking learners while remaining open to users worldwide. By bridging the gap in language-learning resources through an inclusive platform, it fosters equitable access to education, regardless of the digital literacy of educators. This approach aligns with the principles of the Universal Design for Learning framework, which advocates for flexible, adaptable learning environments that accommodate individual differences and promote inclusivity.