AskAsia.org > Chinese Language in the Schools > Newsletter > May 2007

Chinese Language Intiatives | A Newsletter
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In this Issue
 
 
Related Resources
 
 
 
Features of the Month

Delaware Governor's School for Excellence in Chinese Language and Culture Heads to China on June 16
The Office of the Governor of the State of Delaware, the Delaware Department of Education, the University of Delaware (UD) and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs are sponsoring Delaware's first Governor's School for Excellence in Chinese Language and Culture.  Its aim is to provide diverse, academically talented Delaware high school students with the opportunity to study Mandarin and Chinese culture in Beijing on the campus of UD's partner, the Beijing Normal University's 2nd High School.
Click here to read more.

Establishing K-12 Critical Language Programs Workshop a Great Success
Asia Society and The Center for Applied Second Language Studies at the University of Oregon jointly hosted this Workshop on April 25-27, 2007, at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. The goal of the workshop was to provide knowledge and consultation to new Chinese language programs, to create a community of practice, and to support existing programs. National experts and leaders in the world languages and Chinese language education fields shared expertise and offered practical advice to participants during plenary and breakout sessions.  The following links will take you to some Workshop highlights: Website, Program, PowerPoints, and Photos.


Chinese Production of "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" to Open in New York City
For the first time ever in U.S. history, a foreign production of an American musical will play in repertory with the show's American company.  The hit Chinese production of I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE opened at New York's Westside Theater (407 West 43rd St) on Wednesday, May 9 and will alternate performances with the American cast for four weeks only through Sunday, June 3.  The Chinese company will perform the show entirely in Mandarin with English supertitles projected above the stage.  Visit the English and Chinese versions of the show's website.  To test your Chinese from a snippet preview, click here.


Important Information about FLAP Grant 2007
Because a significant number of high-quality applications remain on the last year's grant slate and limited funding is available for new grant awards in FY 2007, the U.S. Department of Education will use the grant slate developed for the Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) for Local Educational Agencies (84.239B) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 to make new grant awards in FY 2007. This slate was developed using the selection criteria, competitive preference priority, and application requirements included in the May 19, 2006 notice. No changes to selection criteria, competitive preference priority, or application requirements are required by this action.  For more information, contact: Rebecca Richey at the U.S. Department of Education by phone: 202-245-7133, or by E-mail: rebecca.richey@ed.gov. For more information about the Foreign Language Assistance Program, visit the U.S. Department of Education's website.

$790 Million in AY 2006-2007 and Only Half is Awarded To Date
Academic Competitiveness (AC) Grants and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants: AC and SMART Grants are encouraging students to take more challenging courses in high school and pursue college majors in high demand in the global economy, such as science, mathematics, technology, engineering, and critical foreign languages.  These two grant programs would provide a total of $4.5 billion in aid, including $790 million in the 2006-2007 academic year. To date, institutions have awarded only half of the total amount available this year.  For details on the grants visit U.S. Department of Education's website on Student Aid.

The 2007 Symposium on Asia in the Curriculum
The 2007 Symposium on Asia in the Curriculum (AIC) will be held on September 27-28 at Columbia University in New York City. Two major themes of the symposium are: "Teacher Preparation in Chinese and Japanese Language in an Era of K-12 Immersion: Challenges and Solutions," and "The Digital Revolution and Asian Studies: Reaching More Teachers and Students with Better Methods and Materials."  For more information (registration and other details), please visit: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/eacp/aic/.


International Education and Foreign Languages: Keys to Securing America's Future is a report issued by the National Research Council of the National Academies. The Committee to Review the Title VI and Fulbright-Hays International Education Programs contends that a pervasive lack of knowledge about foreign cultures and foreign languages threatens the security of the United States as well as its ability to compete in the global marketplace and produce an informed citizenry.  The U.S. education system has, in recent years, placed little value on speaking language other than English or on understanding cultures other than one's own.  Language skills and cultural expertise are also urgently needed to address economic challenges and the strength of American businesses in an increasingly global marketplace.  Profession such as law, health care, social work, and education call out for an international dimension that reflects the changed world environment and increasingly diverse U.S. population.  The U.S. education system- from elementary and secondary school to higher education -- needs the capacity to provide the requisite training.  Click here to read the full text of the Executive Summary, or order the book online.
 


Where can I find easy-to-understand information about the Chinese Language?

  • Asia Society's website www.askasia.org is a comprehensive site for information about the Chinese language, cultures, language programs, related job opportunities, and Asia in general.  It serves as a clearinghouse of information that is constantly updated, so it is beneficial to visit it periodically.
  • About the Chinese Language is another informative summary about the language, recently published by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in support of the Discover Language Initiative sponsored by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.  Harvard University's Chinese Pronunciation Guide is one of the resources available at CAL's website.
 
  Chinese in the News

Music Training 'Tunes' Human Auditory System
(Science Daily, May 13, 2007) | Full Story
A newly published study by Northwestern University researchers suggests that Mom was right when she insisted that you continue music lessons -- even after it was clear that a professional music career was not in your future. The study, which appeared in the April issue of Nature Neuroscience, is the first to provide concrete evidence that playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brainstem's sensitivity to speech sounds. This finding has broad implications because it applies to sound encoding skills involved not only in music but also in language.

Picking What Foreign Language to Learn is Important
(Charles Osgood on CBS Radio, May 10, 2007) | Full Story
Time was when American kids could pick Spanish or French as a foreign language to learn in school. And in some places German or Italian. Then after World War Two in the Cold War era Russian became the language to learn.  And as Japan grew into such an economic powerhouse A lot of American kids tried to learn some Japanese. But NOW?

Florida District Launches Chinese Classes
(St. Petersburg Times, April 28, 2007) | Full Story
It [Chinese] is the second-most-used language on the Internet, behind English, and one of a handful of languages more Americans need to learn, according to the [Florida] State Department, which cites national security concerns.

Swedish Town Learns Chinese, Clawing Back Jobs Lost to the East
(Bloomberg, May 11, 2007) | Full Story
Kalmar's new Chinese accent underscores how the world's fastest-growing economy is having an economic impact in unlikely outposts. The city lost 10,000 jobs over the past decade as Electrolux AB and Bombardier Inc. shut factories and moved production east, turning Kalmar into a ``a region in crisis'' according to a 2004 government report.  Now Chinese companies are priming a recovery.  China was the biggest source of venture capital arranged by the Invest in Sweden agency last year, funding 32 of 193 projects.
For a complete archive, click here.
 
We welcome your feedback on this newsletter and encourage you to share information that would be of interest to the wider community.  Please pass this newsletter to others who are interested in Chinese language programs in the schools.

Sincerely,



Shuhan C. Wang, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Chinese Language Initiatives
Asia Society

email: chinese@askasia.org
web:   www.askasia.org/chinese

 

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