Li Yuan
China

Biography 

Li Yuan is a German studies scholar and expert in German as a foreign language. She heads the Faculty of Asian and European Languages, the Institute for German Studies and is responsible for the Centre for Global Competence at Zhejiang University. 

Li Yuan received her doctorate from the Technische Universität Berlin and completed a post-doctoral programme there with a Humboldt Fellowship. 

She carries out pioneering work in the field of foreign language acquisition research by applying modern methods of empirical data analysis to continuously improve the didactics and methodology of German teaching in China. In addition to the development of innovative formats, the promotion of young talent is at the centre of her work to meet the enormous interest in the subject of German as a foreign language in China. To continuously develop the subject, she organises many training seminars. A research colloquium she initiated promotes exchange between German and Chinese scholars. She also builds bridges between China and Germany and Austria for the DAAD and the programme “Culture and Language” of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. 

Her research and teaching achievements have been honoured several times in China. 

Justification of the award 

With her research projects, numerous monographs and textbooks and the founding of three national competitions for students of German, German studies scholar Li Yuan has profoundly influenced and advanced the curriculum and teaching practice at Chinese schools and universities. She is responsible for the creation of the largest learner language corpus — a collection of texts and spoken language from foreign language learners. The aim of the corpus is to identify common errors and develop didactic concepts based on these findings. Her work contributes significantly to intercultural understanding, the promotion of young academics and the strengthening and preservation of German as a foreign language in China.