On April 24^th 2024, the appointment ceremony of Professor Frank Lixing Tang and invited the lecture on "Humanizing teaching: A humanistic approach to teaching languages" were held at the University International College (UIC) of Macau University of Science and Technology (M.U.S.T.). As one of the activities in celebration of the 24^th anniversary of M.U.S.T. , the lecture attracted over a hundred graduate students from the UIC. Chair Professor Zhang Hongming, the Dean of the UIC, Associate Professor Hu Bo, Assistant Professors Zhang Jing, Chen Yaoyao, and You Shuxiang attended the event.

Dean Zhang Hongming (right) presents the appointment letter as a distinguished professor to Professor Frank Lixing Tang (left)

Professor Frank Lixing Tang has previously served as the Director and Co-Director of the Chinese Language Teacher Development Center at New York University, Director of the English as a Second Language/Bilingual/Foreign Language Education Department, and Acting Director of the Chinese Department at Shanghai New York University. He is a Professor and doctoral supervisor at New York University and possesses extensive teaching experience. He is recognized as one of the leading figures in the field of language education.

During the appointment ceremony, Dean Zhang Hongming of the UIC delivered a welcoming speech. Dean Zhang expressed that it is a valuable opportunity for the UIC to invite Professor Frank Lixing Tang to join M.U.S.T. and engage in academic exchange activities, especially during the 24^th anniversary celebration of the university and the 5^th "International Chinese Language Day." This opportunity will greatly contribute to the development goals of the UIC in "language, education, culture + internationalization." Subsequently, Dean Zhang presented Professor Frank Lixing Tang with the appointment letter as a distinguished professor and took a photo together.

Professor Frank Lixing Tang giving a lecture

In the lecture following the appointment ceremony, Professor Frank Lixing Tang combines his teaching experience, renowned perspectives from academia, and various case studies to deeply analyze the essence of language teaching. He gradually leads the audience to understand that "language teaching is not just about teaching the language itself, but also about learning how to interact with people (students) in a more humane way". Professor Tang starts by discussing the theory and practice of language acquisition, emphasizing the learners' subjective agency. Drawing from personal experiences, he explains how teachers can establish connections and deepen understanding through brief conversations with students, helping them towards success. This prompts the audience to reconsider the role of teachers. Additionally, Professor Tang highlights the importance of cultivating students' adversity quotient (AQ) and further elucidates theories and teaching principles such as positive psychology, humanistic approaches, and social-emotional learning (SEL). He explained how language teachers should establish emotional connections with learners and the target language, creating a relatively comfortable and ideal learning environment for students. This ensured that students not only benefit from the instructional content but also apply what they have learned to real-life situations.

Professor Frank Lixing Tang's explanations greatly inspired the teachers present and students aspiring to become language teachers. They deeply admired his years of dedicated research and exploration in the field of teaching, as well as his commitment and support for students. During the lively Q&A session at the end of the lecture, Professor Tang engaged in in-depth discussions with the audience regarding practical issues in language teaching.

The lecture attracted over a hundred faculty and students from Macau University of Science and Technology

On April 25-26^th, Professor Frank Lixing Tang also conducted a series of teaching exchanges and sharing activities at M.U.S.T.. This included holding discussions and exchanged with doctoral students and teachers from the UIC on topics related to language education. As part of the "East Asian Culture and World Civilization" lecture series in the field of humanities and arts, Professor Tang delivered a lecture titled "Brain research and its implication to L2 teaching & learning."