About ChinGram

Chinese Grammar Platform is a transnational initiative to enhance the quality and accessibility of Chinese language education across Europe. Co-funded by the European Union Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Program (ID 2023-1-CZ01-KA220-HED-000157248), ChinGram is developing a digital, multilingual platform that supports both learners and educators of Chinese through:

• comprehensive grammatical descriptions of about 100 grammatical points,
• interactive exercises,
• practical teaching resources,
• possibility to choose among 5 EU languages (German, Danish, Czech, Italian and
  Polish),
• insights grounded in linguistic diversity and applied pedagogy.

By integrating research and classroom experience, the platform responds to the growing need for
accessible digital learning materials for Chinese as a foreign language.

Project partners

• Palacky University, Olomouc (Czech Republic) – project coordinator
• Aarhus University, Aarhus (Denmark)
• Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan (Poland)
• Humboldt University, Berlin (Germany)
• University of Naples L’Orientale, Naples (Italy)

Project team

1. PALACKY UNIVERSITY, OLOMOUC, CZECH REPUBLIC

Michaela Zahradnikova received a PhD in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University in 2017. She is an assistant professor at the Department of Asian Studies, where she contributes to the development of Chinese language curriculum and is responsible for all activities related international relations. Her research focus is on Chinese pedagogy, Chinese linguistics, Chinese character learning strategies and teacher training.

Yixuan Jandová Chen received an MA degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University in 2013. She worked as a Chinese language lecturer at Masaryk University (CZE) and Palacky University. Currently she is a senior lecturer at the Department of Asian Studies, responsible for Chinese language teaching, teacher training, class monitoring, and teaching material development.

UPOL student assistants: Markéta Koklarová, Tereza Švarcová, Patricie Rozehnalová, Tereza Turnová

2. AARHUS UNIVERSITY, AARHUS, DENMARK

Chun Zhang received a MSc in IT, Language Teaching and Learning from Aarhus University, and a PhD in Teacher Education from Aalborg University, Denmark. She holds a position of a teaching associate professor at Aarhus University, Denmark. Chun has been teaching Chinese for over 20 years at Aarhus University. Her current research interests are about Chinese didactics, Chinese as a second language acquisition, digital online Chinese language teaching and learning. She teaches translation, text comprehension, and Chinese characters to beginners and intermediate students. Her participation adds expertise in the translation of the exercises and in the design of grammatical exercises.

Lene Sønderby Bech received a Ph.D. in Chinese literature at Aarhus University in 2001 and has been teaching Chinese language and culture for over 25 years. She has been teaching at university and high school levels and established Chinese as a subject at the open university in Aarhus. She has compiled numerous textbooks and digital materials for teaching Chinese. She holds a position as part-time lecturer at Aarhus University. Her expertise will help the project with both theoretical and practical aspects of digital education planning and implementation.

Wisława Szkudlarczyk-Brkić received her PhD in Chinese linguistics in 2019 at University of Warsaw. Her research interests focus on Chinese grammar, particularly on acquisition of non-canonical structures in Chinese, discourse analysis from a linguistic perspective, and Chinese language pedagogy at the academic level. In her PhD dissertation she focused on issues related to the acquisition of topicalization, particularly the acquisition of grammatical and pragmatic competencies by Chinese language learners. She has also developed a teaching model for topicalization at the university level, as well as pedagogical methods and techniques that facilitate students’ acquisition of this complex phenomenon. Since 1991, she has been involved in the field of Chinese language pedagogy. Her teaching primarily focuses on practical Chinese language courses, specifically introductory courses for first-year Chinese major students, as well as Chinese descriptive grammar for third-year Chinese major students. In addition to university-level courses, she has also taught Chinese language courses for various age groups at different proficiency levels, often using her own self-designed curriculum. She is also the author of Chinese language teaching programs for various educational stages, as well as textbooks and other teaching materials.

Halina Wasilewska received a PhD in Chinese linguistics at Adam Mickiewicz University in 2003. Her research interests focus on Chinese linguistics, various sinographic scripts of East Asia and language policy. She has nearly 30 years experience in teaching various Chinese language courses including Chinese script, conversation and phonetics as well as Chinese-Polish translation (literary texts) and Chinese text comprehension.

Zuzanna Wnuk received a PhD MA degree in linguistics at Adam Mickiewicz University in 2025. She works as Chinese language lecturer at AMU, teaching beginner and intermediate learners Chinese phonetics, listening comprehension, and Chinese descriptive grammar. Her current research interests center on teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language, with a particular focus on needs of Polish learners of Chinese as foreign language. She grounds her research in Polish school of glottodidactics, which aims to study various aspects of process of teaching and learning foreign languages as well as the developement of learners’ language competence.

HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN , BERLIN, GERMANY

Henning Klöter is a Professor of Modern Chinese Languages and Literatures. Before his appointment to Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in 2015, he was the first holder of the chair of TCFL (Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language) in Germany at the University of Göttingen (2013-2015). He has published widely on Chinese linguistics, TCFL and the history of Chinese language teaching in Europe. His research interests cover different aspects of societal multilingualism and language variation in Chinese contexts. From 2010-2022, he has served as the vice president of the German Association of Chinese Language Teachers; he is also a member of the editorial board of CHUN – Chinesischunterricht. His expertise that is relevant to the project includes twenty years of experience in teaching all aspects of Chinese (i.e. grammar, conversation, translation Chinese-German) and Chinese linguistics and his interest to enhance situational Chinese language teaching through the use of digital devices.

Chin-hui Lin received a Ph.D in Chinese linguistics at Leiden University in 2014. She has worked as a lecturer in Chinese at three European universities (Netherlands, Germany) for over 20 years. Her current research interests are in Chinese pedagogy, course design, autonomous learning, and digital learning. She has been teaching Chinese language courses at all levels, including grammar lectures for beginners and intermediate-level learners. In 2020, she and Henning Klöter were shortlisted for the annual award for excellent teaching (Preis für Gute Lehre) with a focus on digital teaching at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her textbook Paint Feet on a Snake (Leiden University Press), co-authored by Maghiel van Crevel, is used by Chinese language programs in the Netherlands and Germany.

UBER advisor: Dr. Heribert Lang; UBER student assistants: Tom Heumann, Ronny Karol, Xia Xinmeng

5. L’ORIENTALE UNIVERSITY OF NAPLES, ITALY

Luisa M. Paternicò, received a PhD degree in Civilizations, cultures e societies of Asia and Africa at Sapienza University of Rome, is currently Full Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the Department of Asian, African and Mediterranean Studies of “L’Orientale” University of Naples, where she teaches Chinese Language at both bachelor’s and master’s degree levels. She is also Program Coordinator for the Degree Course in Oriental and African Languages and President of the Area Council for Asian and African Studies. Her research interests include history of sinology, history of Chinese linguistics and of Chinese language teaching, together with modern didactics of Chinese language (both Mandarin and Cantonese). She is co-founder and has been Vice-President of the Italian Association of Chinese Linguistics (2017-2024) and Vice-President of the European Association of Chinese Teaching.

Yao Qiong has taken several post-lauream specialization courses in Teaching Chinese as a second/foreign language. She has been teaching Chinese language at “L’Orientale” University of Naples since 2015, and previously also in other Italian Universities and schools. She has a large experience in testing Italian learners’ grammatical competence with online and offline methods. She is a proficient user of the Moodle online learning platform.

Serena Di Fusco is a PhD student (41st cycle) in the Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean Department at the “L’Orientale” University of Naples. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the same institution with a thesis focusing on the cultural and social impact of China’s family planning policy. She worked as an adjunct lecturer of Italian as a foreign language at Huaqiao University of China. She subsequently completed a second-level Master’s program in Teaching Chinese Language and Culture, and works as an adjunct lecturer of Chinese at the University of Naples “Federico II” and at an SSML in Rome. She also worked as an academic tutor for the first-level Master’s Program in Global Management for China and co-authored the textbook Il cinese per il lavoro (职场实用汉语, 2024).

UNIOR’s student assistants: Maria Vitiello, Grazia Altamura, Francesca Adalgisa Cirillo

Contact: michaela.zahradnikova (at) upol.cz