On April 26, the 2025 Shandong Provincial Seminar on Innovation and Development of College English Teaching was successfully held at the International Academic Exchange Center of Qingdao Binhai University. The seminar was jointly organized by the Shandong Provincial University Foreign Language Teaching Steering Committee for Undergraduate Education, the University Foreign Language Education Professional Committee of the Shandong Association of Foreign Linguistics, and the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, and hosted by Qingdao Binhai University.

The seminar, themed "Smart Foreign Language Teaching to Serve the Construction of the 'Four New' Domains", brought together more than 120 experts, teaching managers, and frontline teachers from over 50 universities across the province. The participants gathered to explore innovative paths for college foreign language teaching in the era of digital intelligence, aiming to promote high-quality foreign language education.

During the opening ceremony, Professor Wang Guangcheng, Chairman of the Shandong Provincial University Foreign Language Teaching Steering Committee and Professor at Qufu Normal University, Professor Su Yonggang, President of the University Foreign Language Education Professional Committee of the Shandong Association of Foreign Linguistics and Professor at Shandong University, and Feng Tao, General Manager of the International Talent Development Center of FLTRP, delivered keynote speeches. The ceremony was hosted by Zhang Xiufang, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Qingdao Binhai University.

Professor Wang Guangcheng emphasized that college foreign language education must keep pace with the digital intelligence era, exploring new models and methods of smart teaching. He advocated for building innovative courses tailored to each university’s unique context to support the "Four New" Construction and cultivate high-quality foreign language talents with global vision and cross-cultural communication skills.

Zhai Mingge, Vice President of Qingdao Binhai University, introduced the university's educational philosophy and mission. He shared the university's strategies to address the challenges of the digital era, promoting the transformation of college English education, and expressed his vision to collaborate with provincial universities in deepening the intelligent transformation of foreign language teaching and innovating the talent cultivation system.

During the academic report session, experts and scholars exchanged ideas on the theme and shared their experiences.

Professor Su Yonggang from Shandong University delivered a presentation on "Exploring the Path of AI-Powered Foreign Language Talent Cultivation".

Professor Mao Haoran from China University of Petroleum (East China) discussed the application scenarios and deep precision dialogue of Deepseek in college English teaching.

Professor Wang Yao from Ocean University of China presented on "Blue Mission, Language Integration: Innovation and Practice of College Foreign Language Curriculum System to Serve the National Maritime Strategy".

Associate Professor Wang Lianlian from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Qingdao Binhai University shared insights on "Smart Empowerment, Platform Symbiosis: Reconstructing the Smart Teaching Model for College English".

Additionally, Liu Bingge, Marketing Operations Specialist from Beijing FLTRP Online Digital Technology Co., Ltd., introduced an AI-upgraded panoramic digital solution aimed at facilitating the digital transformation of foreign language teaching in universities.

The successful hosting of this seminar has laid a solid foundation for updating and upgrading foreign language teaching concepts and models in Shandong universities. It also contributes to cultivating high-quality talents with international vision and cross-cultural communication abilities. Attending teachers expressed that they gained valuable insights from the seminar, which they plan to implement at their respective universities to promote the practice and application of smart foreign language teaching, injecting new vitality into the innovation and development of college English teaching in Shandong Province.

(Written by Wu Junyi)