Director-General of Hanban Madame Xu Lin: “Quantity and Quality of Chinese Promotion Are of Equal Importance”

With worldwide attention to China and Chinese culture surging, Chinese fever seems to be rising overseas. The rise in status of Chinese is in part due to the efforts of the Confucius Institutes across the world. On April 23rd, Director-General of Hanban Madame Xu Lin, who was attending the third National Chinese Language Conference in Washington, was granted an interview with our news reporter. She discussed the state of the US in regards to Chinese teaching and learning and introduced the plans for the future development of the Confucius Institutes and stressed that quantity and quality are both of paramount importance.

The Chinese economy has recorded its fastest growth in the midst of the worldwide financial crisis in 2009. The Confucius Institutes, aiming to promote Chinese culture, also have maintained their expansion on a global scale. To date, there are a total of 282 Confucius Institutes in universities and 272 Confucius Classrooms in primary and secondary schools in 88 countries, with an enrollment of 230, 000 students in total. In addition, over 250 institutions in 50 countries have applied to Hanban for establishment of the Confucius Institutes, among which include many top universities in the world. Madame Xu Lin said that the US has the fastest-rising number of Confucius Institutes overall compared to any other nation in the world.

Madame Xu Lin stated that the US has the most Confucius Institutes in the world and that it is her opinion American people have the strongest passion for learning Chinese. At present, there are 68 Confucius Institutes in the US and the number of new Confucius Institutes is increasing. The total number of Confucius Institutes has increased by more than 30 in the last year, and one-third of these new institutes are in the US.

The Confucius Institutes in the US account for nearly one quarter of the Confucius Institutes worldwide, and that these institutes have high teaching quality. Three Confucius Institutes in the US ranked among the top 20 Confucius Institutes of the Year 2009. Apart from the institutes, American primary and secondary schools also have a great interest in establishing the Confucius Classrooms. Madame Xu Lin said that 16 Confucius Classrooms in North Carolina and 15 Confucius Classrooms in Oregon were established during her visit to the US. "It is worthwhile to note that the number of Confucius Classrooms has increased rapidly in recent years. In the past two years, Chinese teaching has gradually gained approval from American education system, including some state education department and state government. Now, more than 20 states have reached agreements with Hanban for dispatching Chinese teachers and promoting student exchange programs. I am informed that over 40 states currently offer Chinese courses and have established the Confucius Institutes. ' In 2005, approximately 200 schools were offering Chinese courses, but now, including high schools, the number of schools is now over 2,000."

She stated that the rapid development of Chinese teaching in US can be attributed to the strong desire of Chinese and American people to understand each other. She believes that the friendship between the Chinese and American people have been strengthened in the recent years. She stated: "It seems as if Chinese-American relations can sometimes be controversial, at times our relationship is warm, and at times cooler. However, from the point of view of the American people, their belief is that our two nations should cooperate to improve things for future generations. It is my belief that the first step should be working towards mutual understanding of both cultures. Many people have said to me that educators are becoming increasingly interested in personal contact with China and the Chinese culture. Among some of the questions asked are 'is there a Chinese class available?', 'Have you been on a tour of China?' and 'Have you participated in the Chinese Summer Camps offered through the Confucius Institute?'" This demonstrates the sincere interest the American people have in China and the Chinese culture.

The procedures for establishing a Confucius Institute or a Confucius Classroom are made up of a series of steps first made by applicant universities or schools. Both sides will then sign a cooperative agreement and raise funds for establishing a Confucius Institute or a Confucius Classroom. Under the guidance of Hanban, the Confucius Institutes are sustained mainly by local universities and rendered assistance from Hanban. In addition, the institutes welcome the support of local government and other organizations.

Madame Xu Lin also stated that the quality of teaching in the Confucius Institute and Confucius Classrooms are of primary importance. If it is necessary to reduce the speed of development in regards to the Institutes to ensure quality, then that is what Hanban will do. When things are done in haste, they are often not done thoroughly, or as well as they should be, and that is unacceptable to Hanban.

Madame Xu Lin also stated that the bottleneck in the further development of the Confucius Institutes lies in the lack of Chinese teachers and reformation of teaching materials that is underway.

Madame Xu also stated that Hanban will continue to train Chinese teachers and to increase the number of volunteer teachers. Hanban is planning to increase the number of Chinese teachers to 1,000 more than were active in 2009. In addition, Hanban is working on developing new teaching materials and to innovating Chinese teaching methods towards localization, pertinence and effectiveness.