More than 1,800 school English teachers and leading experts in English teaching from home and abroad gathered in Shanghai on Friday for an international conference intended to strengthen dialogue and exchanges between China and the world in English education.

More than 100 domestic and foreign experts in the field will address the three-day 2018 TESOL China Assembly, sharing their experience in academic research and practical teaching. Participants will discuss topics including the differences between first language acquisition and foreign language learning, information-based foreign language teaching and teacher development.

The assembly, with the theme “English Education in China: Striding into a New Era”, is jointly hosted by the TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) International Association, an organization based in the United States that is committed to advancing excellence in English language teaching, China Daily and Shanghai International Studies University.

Zhou Shuchun, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, said China has stepped into a new era in which great opportunities for English education have arisen.

“In the new era, China has been approaching the center of the world stage and the international community is now paying more attention to the country than ever before, which drives a growing demand for English talent,” Zhou said while addressing the opening of the assembly.

“China’s English education in the new era requires us to undertake new responsibilities with an emphasis on guiding the young to be dedicated to the achievement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the major initiative of ‘creating a common community with a shared future for mankind’,” he said.