In a week marked by a high-profile meeting between President Bush and China鈥檚 President Hu Jintao, the College Board signed an agreement with the government of China intended to boost the numbers of Chinese-language teachers in American public schools through teaching exchanges, professional-development programs, and new instructional materials.
The agreement, announced April 19, is expected to help build Chinese-language programs in some 2,000 public schools over the next five years. Currently, only a few hundred schools in the K-12 sector offer instruction in the language. (鈥淪tudents Taking Spanish, French; Leaders Pushing Chinese, Arabic,鈥� March 29, 2006)
鈥淭his is about helping more students learn about the language and culture of China,鈥� College Board President Gaston Caperton said in an interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a breakthrough. 鈥� This will boost [American schools鈥� capacity for] Chinese-language instruction tremendously.鈥�
The New York City-based College Board operates the Advanced Placement program.
Under the agreement, 150 guest teachers from China will teach in U.S. schools over the next several years. Some 300 American teachers will receive financial support and other resources to pursue certification for teaching Chinese, and several hundred others will have the chance to travel to China to learn more about the language and culture.
鈥楢 Great Leap鈥�
Advocates of international studies and improved foreign-language instruction called the agreement historic.
鈥淭his is a very bold plan, and it鈥檚 going to take a lot to implement it,鈥� said Michael Levine, who directs the international education program for the New York City-based Asia Society. 鈥淏ut if implemented well, this plan, with a lot of help from others, could make possible a great leap forward in America鈥檚 understanding that this is a critical language and culture.鈥�
The Asia Society promotes international studies鈥攁nd teaching about Asian cultures and languages, specifically鈥攊n public schools as essential for building the nation鈥檚 global competitiveness.
The College Board previously collaborated with the Chinese Ministry of Education to design the Advanced Placement course and test in Chinese language and culture, which will be offered for the first time next school year.
A College Board survey found that at least 2,400 high schools were interested in offering the AP course, but that most lacked the resources and staff to do so.
China鈥檚 education minister, Zhou Ji, called the agreement a 鈥渞emarkable effort in promoting the Sino-American educational cooperation and exchanges, and strengthening the mutual understanding and friendship between our two nations,鈥� according to a statement from last week鈥檚 event. China has similar projects in other countries.
Lengthy Process
While the initiative is a positive step toward building a pool of well-qualified teachers and expanding Chinese-language offerings, it will not make a dent in the need or demand for such programs nationally, said Cynthia Y. Ning, the executive director of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, housed at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
鈥淭his is a big step up from what is currently the case, but far below what is happening overseas鈥� to provide Chinese-language offerings, Ms. Ning said. 鈥淓ven to meet this demand, we鈥檙e highly stressed. People shouldn鈥檛 have overblown expectations 鈥� that this will begin to give us everything we need鈥� to build strong Chinese programs.
The university鈥檚 Center for Chinese Studies has received a grant from the Education Ministry to train teachers from China who are also fluent in English to adapt their skills to American classrooms. That program, Ms. Ning said, could possibly produce 20 qualified teachers a year.
鈥淭he whole thing about language is that [teaching a foreign] language is really, really hard to do well,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are no quick fixes.鈥�
