programs in U.S. schools. Michael Brodzik, a Vineland Public Schools Supervisor of Instruction, was one of 800 U.S. educators who traveled to China for a one-week tour this summer in an effort to build and expand Chinese language programs in U.S. schools.
In its second year, the Chinese Bridge Delegation aims to expose school decision-makers to the rich history and culture of a country whose language is the most widely spoken in the world. Ultimately, the sponsors who take part in this program aspire to foster a better understanding of Chinese culture and fluency in the language among U.S. students.
With more than 800 delegates, participation has doubled since last year. A variety of educators, including teachers, administrators and language coordinators, began their tour in Beijing and then traveled to other cities and provinces where they met with local education commissions.
Participants had an opportunity to talk with Chinese education leaders, build sister schools and network with other U.S. educators who are working toward the same goal of offering Chinese language programs to their students.
“We hope this program will eventually help to offer more students in our country the opportunity to become fluent in the most widely spoken language in the world,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “We’re building a bridge that will aid in strengthening our ties, our future economic partnerships and our appreciation of our respective cultures.”
Beyond cultural enrichment, the trip also provided incentives and strategies for educators to return to the United States better equipped to support the growth of Chinese language and culture programs in their own districts. Chinese is the national language of the more than 1.3 billion inhabitants of China and millions more ethnic Chinese around the world. While more than 200 million Chinese schoolchildren are studying English—often begun as early as the second grade—experts estimate no more than 50,000 U.S. students are studying Chinese.
“Without a doubt, China was the most interesting place I’ve ever visited,” said Brodzik. “The people we met, the schools and students we visited, the cultural sights we explored, the geography we experienced; everything had such a rich and interesting combination of historical importance and modern relevance."
“I’ve brought materials back for my teachers to use in their studies of China,” he said. “I’d also like to make myself available for in-class presentations in social studies when students study China."
“There was a wealth of information on starting Chinese language programs in a school district,” said Brodzik. “There is a 200 pound shipment of books being sent to Vineland that focuses on Chinese culture and language that we can use from K-12.”
“The greatest impression that trip made on me as an educator is that their entire society is focused on education as their top priority,” he said. “Educators are honored and school comes before everything else. I saw unbelievably poor people selling vegetables on the side of the road, reading Chinese-English primers with their seven-year-old so that their child (and the parent) could learn English. We met high school students who wouldn’t even think about dating until they were in their mid-twenties because they wanted to focus on school.”
“China will have the largest economy in the world within a generation which has a tremendous impact on the rest of the world in so many ways,” he said. “They have an entire generation of several hundred million students who will be competing for jobs with our students. I want to impress upon my teachers how important it is for them to teach their students about China. Our students need to know more about this society that they will spend much of their lives both competing and collaborating with.”
The Chinese Bridge Delegation is sponsored by Hanban, China’s Office of Chinese Language Council International, in partnership with the College Board, the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools, the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages, the National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages and Chinese Consulates in the United States.
In April 2006, the College Board and Hanban announced the formation of a partnership to build and expand Chinese language programs in U.S. schools. In addition to the Chinese Bridge Delegation, the partnership features other programs intended to help educators promote Chinese language and culture programs. For more information about these programs, visit : http://www.collegeboard.com/k12chinese.
Established by the Chinese government in 1987, Hanban is China’s official agency authorized to promote Chinese language and culture internationally, fulfilling a function similar to that of both the United Kingdom’s British Council and France’s Alliance Française.