21st Century Challengesto Teaching Chinese in the

U.S.

Lixing Frank TangNew York University

At2016 DCLT Chinese Educators’

Symposium

Why do we need many more …

Qualified Chinese language teachers

effective CL teachers

master teachersteacher leaders

The favorite condition

US-China Strong seeks to expand to 1 million the number of US K-12 students learning Mandarin by 2020.

Announced in 2015 by Presidents of the US and China, the goal of One Million Strong is to grow the next generation of leaders who have a deeper understanding of China by creating a pipeline of China-savvy employees in a range of critical industries, and ensuring that US students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to gain China-related skills.

The three pillars of US-China Strong Endorse widely-accepted Mandarin 

curricular norms at the K-12 level. Increase by more than double the

number of Mandarin language teachers in the United States through expanded teacher training and teacher certification.

Engage technology platforms to ensure the accessibility of Mandarin language.

The unfavorable climate: Lessons from the history

RussianJapaneseChinese

Top ten challenges to teaching Chinese

in public schools1. Lack of Chinese curriculum standards,

quality materials, & resources2. Lack of admin. understanding & support3. Alignment to DOE standards & test-

oriented instruction4. Large class size, mixed levels, &

differentiation instruction5. Student learning motivation (e.g.,

Chinese is hard)

Top ten challenges to teaching Chinese

in public schools

6. Discipline & class management7. Working with parents8. Heavy workload for teachers9. Effective teaching strategies10. Understanding of American culture:

student, school, family and social culture

Challenges of the 21st Century

A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule

the future-Daniel Pink

The defining skills of the previous era—the “left brain” capabilities that powered the Information Age--are necessary but no longer sufficient. And the capabilities we once disdained--the “right brain” qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness, and meaning—increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders.

Innovations in teaching Chinese language and culture

Chloe Guo of The Avenue School Sun Xi of Jing Mei Immersion School Ann Downey of Seven Hills Middle

School Wu Yin of Ethical Culture Fieldston

School Robin Harvey of NYU