From the Immediate Past President
December 2005
Source: CLTA Newsletter 29.3. December 2005, pp. 5-6.
The year 2004 2005 has been an extremely exciting and significant one, marking a turning point in the history of Chinese language teaching in the USA, as the field expands and joins the mainstream. At this historical moment, it was my great privilege to serve as President of CLTA and to have the opportunity to work with a highly talented and dedicated Board of Directors and officers. The year thus has been unquestionably meaningful and rewarding for me.
In addition to routine work by our subcommittees and teams on the conference program, nominations, awards, finance, and other business, the Board also responded to changes and challenges with field initiatives and projects throughout the year. These included: initiation of the CLTA and CLASS joint forum on K16 articulation in Chinese language education; organization of professional development workshops, such as the empirical research workshop led by Michael Everson and the pedagogical workshop led by Cyndy Ning; formation of a fundraising committee and launching of fundraising campaigns, the activities of which prompted a $10,000 Walton Endowment by Cheng Tsui Company, $2000 Jiede contribution by CET, and $6000 dollar matching fund by the original Jiede donor to promote excellence in research and teaching Chinese as a second/foreign language.
All these achievements were the result of the Board’s collective wisdom. Each and every officer and Board member offered unconditional support and contribution in the form of continued brainstorming, constructive discussions, effective implementation, and incalculable amounts of volunteered time. I am especially indebted to Immediate Past President Jianhua Bai, this past year’s Program Chair Richard Chi, Nominating Chair Julian Wheatley, Award Chair Hsinhsin Liang, Jiede Chair Songren Cui, Finance Chair Gloria Bien, FundRaising Chair and Vice President Mienhwa Chiang, JNCL Representative Shuhan Wang, and all the Board members for their tremendous support and dedication. And as always, my deepest gratitude also goes to our dedicated and hard working officers, Executive Director Cyndy Ning, Journal Editor Vivian Ling, Newsletter Editor Tianwei Xie, and Webmaster Marjorie Chan. Without their tireless efforts and active involvement, the board could not have achieved what we achieved this year.
I would like to conclude with a famous Chinese idiom “ 未雨绸缪” (Repair the house before the storm comes). While we are enjoying the exciting and rapid development of the Chinese language teaching field, we must keep in mind that it takes careful planning and a solid infrastructure to ensure that our field continues to grow and expand. I believe that, as an association which aims to provide better service to its members, CLTA and its Board must, first of all, lead the field in seizing the momentum of current “Chinese fever,” and in meeting the challenges of taking the field into the mainstream of foreign language instruction. At the same time, CLTA must work closely with CLASS and other related associations to make longterm strategic plans and construct careful road maps for a necessary and long lasting infrastructure in field research, program building, teacher development, curricular implementation, material development, and assessment. With our joint efforts and a solid infrastructure, our field not only will grow and expand steadily, but also will sustain any unexpected twists and turns in the future.
2004—2005年在中文语言教学史上是一个具有 重大转折意义的一年。这一年也标志着中文教学开 始向主流外语教学领域发展。在此历史关键时刻, 作为会长,我能为全体中文教师学会会员服务,并 与本届理事会成员及工作人员共同工作一年,深感 到万分荣幸。
在过去的一年中,CLTA理事会全体成员 除 了 进 行 CLTA“ 年 会 ” , 年 度 选 举 , 颁 奖评 选,财务管理等日常事务外,还就本年度领域 的变化及挑战组织了各种活动及项目,其中值 得提及的有:1. CLTA及CLASS联合讨论会: 美国K16中文教育在新时期面临的挑战;2. 为 提高领域专业水平而组织的两个专题工作坊: a. 由Michael Everson主持的实验研究工作坊, b. 由 Cyndy Ning 主 持 的 教 学 法 工 作 坊;3. 成立 CLTA募款委员会并进行各种募款活动。到目 前为止,募款委员会已收到来自Cheng & Tsui 公司的一万元Walton 捐赠基金,来自CET 的 2000元及“皆得”原始捐赠人的6000元。
这一年来的工作成就都是本届理事会及工 作人员集体智慧的结晶。没有理事成员的无私 奉献,出谋献策,有效实施,没有本会全体会 员的支持信任,今年的任何工作都无法完成。 本人在此特别鸣谢前会长白建华,本年度“年 会 ” 负 责 人 齐 德 立 , 年 度 选 举 负 责 人 Julian Wheatly,颁奖评选负责人梁新欣,皆得委员 会负责人崔颂人,财务管理负责人卞荣青,募 捐委员会负责人及副会长蒋冕华,以及本会 JNCL 常任代表周淑涵。与此同时,本人再度 感谢在CLTA 各种岗位上无私实干的工作人 员:总部执行主任任友梅,学报总编陵志蕴, 学会季刊谢天蔚,以及网络负责人陈洁雯。
最 后,我谨借用一句中国著名成语“ 未雨 绸缪”来结束本文。在中文教学领域突飞猛进 的时刻,我们切不能忘记,一个领域的发展及 成熟需要审慎周密的计划以及坚实的基础建 设。CLTA是一个以服务学会成员为宗旨的专业组织,本人认为,此刻CLTA不但要利用全球“中文热”这一大好形势带领学会及中文教学领域迈向主流外语, 而且要与CLASS及其它有关中文教育组织联合起来共同制作长期领域发展计划,绘制领域基础建设的蓝图,其中包括:领域基础研究,中文项目发展,师资培 训,课程设计,教材发展,能力测试等。只有大家携起手来,我们的领域方能不断发展,在将来的不测风云中成长壮大。
Respectfully,
Hong Gang Jin 靳洪刚
Professor of Chinese
Department of East Asian Languages and Literature
Hamilton College