On May 30, 2026, Professor Hu Wenzhong, a senior professor in the School of English and International Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, received the Lifetime Achievement Award in English Language Teaching in China at a special forum marking the 45th anniversary of the China English Language Education Association (CELEA).
The forum was held during the 24th AsiaTEFL International Conference and the 11th International Conference on English Language Teaching in China, convened this year at Xi’an Jiaotong University. The award recognizes Professor Hu’s pioneering contributions to foreign language education in China, to the development of intercultural communication studies, and to the training of generations of scholars and teachers.
Professor Hu is widely regarded as one of the founding figures of intercultural communication studies in China. In 1988, he published what is often cited as the first book on intercultural communication in China’s English-teaching field, helping to open a new area of inquiry in Chinese higher education. He later served as the founding president of the China Association for Intercultural Communication and played a leading role in building the field’s academic foundations.
His influence has also extended far beyond the university classroom. In the early 1980s, he co-hosted the Chinese adaptation of Follow Me, the BBC-originated English-learning program broadcast on China Central Television. The program introduced English to a vast national audience and became an emblematic part of China’s early period of opening to the outside world.
Professor Hu was represented at the ceremony by Professor Sun Youzhong of Beijing Foreign Studies University, who accepted the award on his behalf. More than a thousand participants from China and abroad rose to applaud, paying tribute not only to an extraordinary academic career but also to the field of English language education that Professor Hu helped shape.
Yang Luxin, Dean of the School of English and International Studies, said the award was a source of pride for the entire School. She noted that the School would continue to draw inspiration from Professor Hu’s educational ideals and carry forward his commitment to teaching, scholarship, curriculum development, and the cultivation of future generations.
