Introduction

In June 2005, the Connecticut State Department of Education and the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) signed a general agreement. Under this agreement, the Volunteer Teacher Program began in Connecticut schools. Connecticut schools hosted five teachers from China during the 2005-2006 school year in four school districts, and 11 teachers during the 2006-2007 school year in six public schools, one independent school and one state university.

The Connecticut Department of Education arranged the visas and certification, and it provided opportunities for professional development in collaboration with the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers. Hanban organized the teacher selection process and provided airfare, as well as some orientation and professional development. The teachers from China received their national salaries, but it was not enough to cover all costs in Connecticut. The hosting districts arranged for room, board, transportation to and from school, and health insurance.

In two years, enrollment in Mandarin in Connecticut public schools increased from 300 students to approximately 3000 students, in large part due to the Volunteer Teacher Program. In addition to the districts participating in the Volunteer Teacher Program, several other schools in Connecticut have begun Mandarin programs, and many more are in planning stages.

The project served as a model for Hanban initiatives with the College Board and United States Department of State’s Teachers of Critical Languages Program, and the expansion to other states through the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) project. Kentucky also hosted one teacher from Hanban during the pilot phase and expanded its program in the second year. Ohio joined in the second year, and other states currently are developing agreements through the NCSSFL network.

Evaluation

Two surveys were created to evaluate the second year of the Connecticut-China Volunteer Teacher Program. Both were made available online through www.surveymonkey.com and in paper form. The Administrator Survey focused on questions about overall program structure, the quality of Chinese language instruction, availability of materials and support for teachers, future intentions for the program, and suggestions for improvement. Seven administrators responded to the survey.

The Student Survey was a self-assessment survey. A student self-assessment survey is a highly effective instrument for both collecting data on student progress and affecting student motivation and metacognition about world language learning in a number of positive ways. Many assessment instruments being used in both Europe and the United States now contain a significant self-assessment piece. NCSSFL has been working on a United States version of the European Language Portfolio. Please refer to the Linguafolio project at www.linguafolio.org. That work guided the self-assessment for this project.

The Student Survey was created using the Connecticut World Languages Framework (2005), the national Standards for Chinese Language Learning (1999) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign (ACTFL) Languages Performance Guidelines (1998). The survey used for this program evaluation contained a series of “can do” statements for which students answered “yes” or “not yet.” Because most students began their Chinese study this year, the survey was created to gauge “Novice-Low” and “Novice-Mid” levels of language proficiency, according to the ACTFL Performance Guidelines.

For example, in the Listening Skills table below, the first two statements represent a beginning level of proficiency (“Novice-Low”). The second two statements represent slightly more complex tasks (“Novice-Mid”):

It should be noted that this survey was only a measure of students’ self-assessed levels of proficiency; teacher-reported data, oral interviews and other measures would be needed to definitively put students into one of these levels. In addition, the Student Survey contained questions about how students have used their Chinese outside of class, how they enjoyed the course, and their plans for future study.

Results – Administrators

Administrator results were in positive support of the program. 71.4% of administrators felt that the prospects for their district either continuing or expanding a Chinese program on their own in the future are either very good or excellent. Three districts and the state university will continue their participation in the Connecticut-China Volunteer Teacher program next year. Of the three districts that may not participate next year, one district indicated that it was interested in pursuing its own program in the future, and another district said it intends to hire its own Mandarin teacher for the upcoming school year.

Chinese teacher schedules in the various districts appeared to be well-rounded, with ample preparation time (at least 2 hours/week for all) and a manageable number of classes per day (not more than 6). Most of the Chinese teachers (71.4%) had the opportunity to work on curriculum during professional days, 85.7% of teachers had a curriculum model to follow, and 71% met with other world language teachers regularly for support. The areas that administrators most identified for future professional development for the Chinese teachers were in the areas of learner characteristics and classroom management (both recommended by 71.4% of administrators).

In terms of instruction, at least 70% of administrators reported that the Chinese teachers were “good,” “very good” or “excellent” in areas of initiation and closure, staying in the target language, clear objectives, student use of language, use of materials, and instructional activities. In the area of student enjoyment, 86% rated the classes in the “good,” “very good” or “excellent” categories.

One administrator commented, “The program is an excellent way of getting Chinese into the curriculum on a long-term basis. The teachers have been excellent.”

Results - Students

According to Administrator Survey, over 500 students were being served by the Connecticut-China Volunteer Teacher Program. Since some schools rotated schedules to maximize exposure, an estimated 1500 students were enrolled in Mandarin courses at some time during the school year. Students in every grade level K-16 (college), except for fourth grade, participated in the program. As expected, students with more language contact time (4-5 classes per week) scored higher (“Novice-Mid” on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines).

Of those students, 347 students completed self-assessment surveys about their Chinese language ability as of March of 2007. They were in second and third grade, sixth through twelfth grades, and college. Of those, 80% of students did not know any Chinese when they began classes through the Connecticut-China Volunteer Teacher Program. 5% of students were Chinese natives, learning the language at home or in Chinese language schools. The other 15% of students had done some studying on their own, or had begun in another Chinese program.

Many of the students met the “Novice-Low” level on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines in this short amount of time studying Chinese. In the areas of Listening Skills, Person-to-Person Speaking Skills, Presentational Skills and Reading Skills, at least 60% of all students felt able to complete most of the indicators of achievement in each area for the “Novice-Low” level. In Listening Skills and Person-to-Person Speaking Skills, 68% and 65% of students, respectively, reported that they met the “Novice-Low” level indicators. The percentage of students that said they could perform most “Novice-Low” tasks in Presentational Speaking was 60%, in Reading 75% and in Writing 53%. Considering the difficultly of Chinese characters, the percentage of students who felt they could perform at the “Novice-Low” level after a short period of Chinese instruction is noteworthy.

The online survey allowed students who felt they could do more to continue answering “can do” statements at the “Novice-Mid” level. (Students were not told the level names.) Of those students who did proceed to the higher level of proficiency, 67%-71% of respondents indicated that they could perform all of the functions at that higher level.

Even when the native Chinese students are filtered out of the data, the levels of achievement remain significant. Clearly, for next year’s evaluation, higher levels from the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines will need to be added; some students are potentially reaching “Novice-High” or even “Intermediate-Low” levels of proficiency. In addition, other indicators will also be examined to be sure they are being represented accurately to students.

These numbers represent a significant amount of learning in a brief amount of exposure to the Chinese language. Chinese is designated a “Category IV” language by the Defense Language Institute, meaning that Chinese takes much longer to master that more commonly taught languages (Spanish, French, etc.). Considering that the teachers also had to acclimate themselves to the United States school system, curriculum concepts, and standards, these levels of achievement among students are impressive.

Students overwhelmingly enjoyed their Chinese classes. 81% will definitely enroll in Chinese classes again if their schedules allow it. The classes helped 81% of students to “think more about my own language and how languages are similar and different.” 76% of students felt that the classes helped them to “think more about my own culture and how cultures are similar and different.” Some student comments included:

“I am very happy that I have this unique opportunity to learn this language. I’ve been interested in eastern cultures for a very long time and was very excited when I found out I could learn how to speak Chinese.”

“Chinese class has allowed me to express myself in many ways. EX (example) now when I go to a restaurant I ask what the waiters name is and then tell them my name. But that’s not all Chinese class has taught me how to be more respectful to others who do not understand our culture. Actually to tell you the truth it has taught me how to be more respectful all around. Ms. ... and Ms. ... are both amazing people. And they really have helped me in many more ways than anyone else could ever know. I feel as if they are my family and friends. They really opened my eyes to trying new thing and made me realize I am allowed to ask as many questions as I want (about the subject). To not have them in our school would be inconceivable and should not be allowed. I give them my total support and many, many, many thanks.”

“I really enjoyed this program, and I wish I could do it again! The teacher was wonderful and so was her culture. I look at Chinese in a whole different way now that I have taken the class.”

“I really thought that this was a fun and interesting program. I really enjoyed it and I believe that my classmates enjoyed it as well. I had fun learning all the new phrases and words like SHUI, which means water in Chinese.”

Conclusion

In two years, the Connecticut-China Volunteer Teacher Program brought Mandarin instruction to seven school districts, one independent school and one public university. Five of the participating schools in the first two years are continuing or planning to continue their own programs. Three of the current districts and at least two new districts will participate in the program next year. Meanwhile, several other public schools districts in Connecticut have started or will start Mandarin programs.

The Chinese teachers who participated in the Connecticut-China Volunteer Teacher Program helped their students build surprising communicative language proficiency in a short amount of time. As the program continues, the results of this evaluation can be used to improve Mandarin programs for students and tailor professional development for teachers. In addition, students can use the self-assessment tool to see their growth in the coming year(s).

Clearly Mandarin instruction has taken hold in Connecticut.

Mary Ann Hansen is the Connecticut State World Language Consultant. She is director of the Connecticut-China Partnership.

Jessica Haxhi is a Japanese teacher at Maloney Magnet School in Waterbury, Connecticut. She served as the project evaluator.

Ellen Russell Beatty is the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). She initiated Mandarin instruction at SCSU and developed a university agreement with Beijing Normal University as a result of this project.