The 9th International Symposium on English Language Teaching in China was held in Beijing from October 16 to 18. The Symposium was sponsored by the China English Language Education Association (CELEA), and invited scholars from various universities such as the University of Auckland (New Zealand), Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland), Roskilde University (Denmark), Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands), Hong Kong University of Education, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Shanghai International Studies University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Beijing Normal University, Central China Normal University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The theme of the Symposium was "Insight and Foresight: English Language Teaching for a Community of Shared Future for Humankind".

Sias University was represented by the Director of the Business English Department, Zhang Dexue, the Director of the Translation Department, Wang Yunhua, and the Director of the College English Teaching Department, Wang Lijuan. The topics covered the development of foreign language teachers, the nurturing of foreign language professionals, the exploration of foreign language teaching methods, and the production of foreign language teaching materials.

Prof. Sun Youzhong from Beijing Foreign Studies University spoke about the design of foreign language teaching materials from the perspective of ideological and political courses, in his speech. He said that ideological and political education had become an effective starting point for the implementation of new higher education standards. The fundamental goal of the curriculum, he said, was to answer important questions in higher education with regard to the selection, training, and nurturing of talent by the foreign language community. He also focused on the basic language courses and College English courses for foreign language majors. Finally, he investigated the principles and strategies used for the compiling of foreign language textbooks and gave guidance to teachers about how to combine ideological and political education with their own subjects in their classrooms.

Participants at the symposium exchanged views on foreign language teaching methods. Among the many views put forward was that the basic principle of cross-cultural English teaching is to ensure that language teaching and ideological and cultural teaching complement each other through methods drawn from Chinese education and Western education. Also, teaching designs based on an output-oriented method would emphasize "learning as the center", while focusing on promoting effective learning through classroom activities. Scholars agreed that the promotion of the concept of "integration of learning and application", that is, the integration of input learning and productive application should be channeled towards results.

The 1st International Symposium on English Language Teaching in China was held in Guangzhou in 1985. The conference has promoted the development of English language teaching and research in China and has enhanced the communication between English Language teachers and researchers in China and their international counterparts.