The Research Institute for RICH Foreign Language Teaching of Zhejiang Normal University, founded in 1999, represents a pioneering effort in foreign language teaching reform. RICH stands for Research-based learning, Integrated curriculum, Cooperative learning, and Humanistic outcomes, which was the foreign language education reform initiated in 1994 by the College of Foreign Languages at Zhejiang Normal University. It has been taken as whole-person education dedicated to broadening students' interdisciplinary vision and cross-cultural understanding through research-based foreign language learning, fostering their patriotism and global vision, enhancing their autonomous and cooperative learning abilities and critical thinking. At the heart of RICH is the belief that teachers are the cornerstone of the curriculum, and their professional growth is essential for advancing the quality of foreign language education.
In 2003, the Institute began enrolling full-time postgraduate students in Curriculum and Instruction, and in 2012 it launched a full-time master's program in Foreign Language Curriculum and Teacher Development. Over the years, the Institute has holding teacher development forums as a platform for the sustainable professional growth of teachers and graduate students.
As the result of years of exploration and research, RICH has been rewarded the Second Prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award, the First Prize of the Zhejiang Provincial Teaching Achievement Award. The institute has also incubated multiple high-impact projects, such as National First-Class Undergraduate Courses, New Century Education Reform Projects in Zhejiang Province, etc. Research outcomes from the Institute have been published in prestigious journals, including Foreign Language World, Teacher Education Research, and Teaching and Teacher Education. Notable publications include The RICH Teaching Perspective: Language Curriculum and Teacher Development and Teacher’s Knowing in Curriculum Change: A Critical Discourse Study of Language Study.
The practice and research of RICH have exerted a significant impact nationwide. Faculty members from the Institute have been invited to deliver keynote speeches and presentations on RICH education reform and teacher development at both international and national academic conferences. Specialized sessions have also been organized for national training programs for backbone foreign language teachers, as well as teacher development workshops organized by leading publishers such as Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Notable contributions include developing a national online training course for education administrators nationwide, and partnering with Unipus on a series of five lectures on “Critical Thinking Cultivation in Foreign Language Teaching”, which reached over 3,500 teachers across the country.
Professor Huang Aifeng has been the founding Director of the institute for years. The current Director Prof. and Dr. Hu Meixin is the Dean of the College of Foreign Languages at Zhejiang Normal University, and a member of the university’s Academic Committee. She has been honored with the First Prize of Zhejiang Province Teaching Excellence Award and recognized as a Leading Talent in Innovation in Zhejiang Higher Education. Additionally, she holds positions as Vice President of the Zhejiang Foreign Language Society and the Zhejiang Translation Association.