Chinese Language Teachers Association of South Australia

Registrations are now open for the 2026 OZCHIN Quiz Bowl! (Second/Background Language)

DATE & VENUE
17:30-20:00 Friday 12th June 2026 (Week 8, Term 2)
McGREGOR Hall, McGregor Campus (Junior School), Seymour College

REGISTRATION
For event registration, please use our Trybooking link: https://www.trybooking.com/DJMQG
Make sure to register by Monday, 1st June 2026 (Week 7 Term 2)

For more information, please visit CLTASA website: https://www.cltasa.org/2026-term-2-ozchin-quiz-bowl

CLTASA 2026 Term 1 EduStream Hybrid Professional Development Successfully Held

On Friday, 27 March 2026, the Chinese Language Teachers’ Association of South Australia（CLTASA）successfully held its Term 1 Chinese teachers’ professional development event, EduStream Hybrid Professional Development. The event was delivered in a hybrid format, with 43 teachers participating either online or in person.

This professional development event offered a rich and engaging program, focusing on areas closely connected to classroom practice, including Chinese language assessment, cultural experiences in primary contexts, curriculum resources, and senior Chinese teaching. It provided participating teachers with valuable opportunities for professional reflection and collegial exchange.

We were honoured to invite Ms Huiling Yu, IB Diploma Programme Consultant and Senior Examiner, to deliver a workshop titled “Managing Target and Medium Language Use in Chinese Assessment.” Drawing on her extensive professional expertise, Ms Yu shared research findings on the use of target language and medium language in Chinese assessment, and explored the role of English in Chinese assessment within English-medium schools. Using the NSW Higher School Certificate（HSC）and IB Chinese examinations as examples, the presentation encouraged teachers to consider how Chinese and English can be managed more effectively in teaching and assessment practice.

In addition, Mrs Shelby Baker from St Peter’s College Junior School delivered a presentation titled “Launching the Year with Purpose: Designing Rich Chinese New Year Cultural Experiences and Meaningful Language Assessment at the Start of the School Year.” Mrs Baker highlighted that the beginning of the academic year is an important opportunity to establish classroom culture, set learning expectations, and ignite student engagement. Drawing on examples from primary teaching practice, she explored how Chinese New Year celebrations can combine rich cultural experiences with meaningful Chinese language assessment. Her presentation included authentic cultural activities such as tongue twister competitions, performances, calligraphy, storytelling, and collaborative tasks, demonstrating how listening, speaking, reading, and performance-based assessments can be embedded within these activities. While grounded in primary classroom practice, her sharing also offered valuable and transferable ideas for secondary Chinese teaching.

Furthermore, Ms Mingxia Wei from Seymour College led a discussion on how current affairs can be used in language teaching to design intellectually rich learning tasks that enhance students’ critical thinking and engagement. Drawing on contemporary issues such as “AI Poisoning” and examples of student work, Ms Wei shared learning resources and examination insights for senior Chinese first language students. Her presentation demonstrated how teachers can support students throughout the two-year SACE course to develop critical thinking, language expression, and intercultural understanding, helping them grow into learners with contemporary competencies and soft skills.

The success of this professional development event would not have been possible without the active participation and support of all teachers involved. We sincerely thank the 43 participating teachers for their engagement and contribution. Special thanks go to Ms Fang Liu for liaising with Pembroke School and coordinating the venue for this event. We also extend our appreciation to all committee members who contributed their time and effort to the preparation, organisation, and logistical support of the event.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work. It is thanks to everyone’s collaboration, generosity, and dedication that this professional development event was successfully completed. CLTASA will continue to provide a platform for professional exchange and shared growth for Chinese language teachers in South Australia. We look forward to seeing everyone again at our upcoming events.

Mingxia Wei
President of CLTASA

SA OZCHIN Quiz Bowl Brings Together Young Chinese Language Learners

On Friday 20 March, 66 students from six South Australian schools gathered at Seymour College to participate in the fourth SA OZCHIN Quiz Bowl. Established by Seymour in 2020 and officially supported by CLTASA since 2023. This year’s participating schools were Glenunga International High School, Norwood International High School, Pembroke School, Pulteney Grammar School, Seymour College and St Peter’s College.

The evening was honoured by the presence of Seymour College Principal Vanessa Browning, who delivered the welcome address to students and teachers. In her speech, she acknowledged the remarkable growth of the competition and encouraged students to appreciate the many benefits of language learning. She noted that since its inception in 2020, the OZCHIN Quiz Bowl has reflected the strong and growing interest in language learning across schools. At Seymour, she said, language learning is valued not only for the vocabulary and grammar it develops, but also for the understanding, connection and broader perspective it fosters. She also highlighted the significance of holding the first round of the competition during Harmony Week, a time to celebrate and embrace the diversity that enriches our community and brings people together.

The first round of the 2026 competition was designed for Chinese First Language students and selected Chinese Background Learners. As participants from all six schools were closely matched in ability, and because the competition demanded careful time management, students were divided according to language category and year level, with two language categories and six different year-level papers. The event featured four Individual Challenge groups and one Team Challenge group. Across three exciting rounds, the competition was intense and highly engaging, with students demonstrating impressive Chinese language proficiency and quick thinking under pressure.

After two hours of spirited competition, the following outstanding results were achieved:

Individual Challenge

Years 7-9 Background Language
First Place: Year 8, Zoey Zhu (Glenunga International High School)
Second Place: Year 9, Max Wu (St Peter's College)
Third Place: Year 9, Sixuan Lv (Glenunga International High School)

Years 10–12 Background Language
First Place: Year 11, Ping (Vivian) Jiang (Seymour College)
Second Place: Year 11, Zhangjingzhe (Elfie) Li (Seymour College)

Years 7–9 First Language
First Place: Year 9, Mingxin (Selina) Cai (Seymour College)
Second Place: Year 9, Haorui Sun (Pembroke School)
Third Place: Year 9, Ruihan (Catherine) Luo (Seymour College)

Years 10–12 First Language
First Place: Year 10, Jasper Yu (Pulteney Grammar School)
Second Place: Year 10, Ziyu (Lindsay) Lin (Pembroke School)
Third Place: Year 10, Kate Deng (Pembroke School)

Team Challenge

First Place: Norwood International High School
Year 10 Panny Guo
Year 10 Ruiqing Wang
Year 10 Xiutong Xie

Second Place: St Peter's College
Year 11 Alex Pang
Year 12 Matthew Wong
Year 11 Lucas Ye

Third Place: Glenunga International High School
Year 8 Dingchen Guo (Darwin)
Year 9 Tsz Ki Lin (Amanda)
Year 7 Yimeng Sun
Year 11 Yiyang Wang

These achievements reflect not only the students’ strong language ability, but also their confidence, resilience and willingness to challenge themselves.

Another highlight of the evening was the return of Old Collegian and event host Alice Liu (’24). During her time at Seymour, Alice served as International Student Wellbeing Leader and was a highly valued student leader within the Seymour community. She is now studying a double degree in Education at Adelaide University. Since graduating, Alice has remained closely connected with Seymour and continues to contribute actively to the work of the CLTASA Committee, where she has become one of its key members. Through her enthusiasm and commitment, she continues to support Chinese language activities for Seymour students, international student programs and the broader work of CLTASA.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of this event. In particular, we thank the teachers from the six participating schools, who gave up their personal time outside work to encourage and accompany students throughout the competition, assist with marking, and help compile the results.

List of teachers from the participating schools:
• Xinying (Carol) Li (Glenunga International High School)
• Yue Huang (Glenunga International High School)
• Xiaomei Li (Norwood International High School)
• Lihua (Jenny) Jin (Pembroke School)
• Fang Liu (Pembroke School, CLTASA Committee Member)
• Lan Ye (Pulteney Grammar School)
• Mingxia Wei (Seymour College, CLTASA Committee Member)
• Jin You (Seymour College)
• Siew (Angie) Ng (St Peter's College)
• Fangfang Qiu (St Peter's College)

At the same time, we would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the following CLTASA Committee and Sub-Committee members who supported the SA OZCHIN Quiz Bowl for their selfless dedication and contribution. Special thanks go to Ms Xiaolin Zhang and Ms Wenxi Xia, who went to great effort to purchase delicious chicken wings and sushi for the students, which were greatly enjoyed by all.

Participating Members of the CLTASA Committee and Sub-Committee
• Shiyi Li (St Peter's Girls' School, CLTASA Committee Member)
• Huayu (Alice) Liu (Pre-service Teacher, Adelaide University, CLTASA Sub-Committee Member)
• Sihan Mi (Pre-service Teacher, Adelaide University, CLTASA Sub-Committee Member)
• Chengsheng (Alex) Sun (CLTASA Committee Member)
• Ting Sun (Glenunga International High School, CLTASA Committee Member)
• Wenxi Xia (CLTASA Sub-Committee Member)
• Xiaolin Zhang (CLTASA Sub-Committee Member)
• Jiuliu (Julie) Zhao (St Joseph’s School, CLTASA Committee Member)
• Jiahui (Julia) Zhong (Highgate School, CLTASA Committee Member)

Special thanks also go to the Seymour team for their generous support. Seymour Junior Years kindly provided the venue, while the Seymour Kitchen team, Groundstaff and IT Department ensured that catering, event setup, and reliable technical and Wi-Fi support were all in place. Seymour teacher Jin You took responsibility for overall backstage coordination and competition setup. It was the dedication, teamwork and generosity of this wider community that made the event such a success.

Congratulations to all students who participated with such enthusiasm, skill and spirit, and thank you to everyone who helped make the evening memorable.