Call for Special Issue Proposals

Chinese as a Second Language is inviting proposals for 2024 special issue from interested guest editors

Chinese as a Second Language (CSL), formerly Journal of Chinese Language Teachers Association, established in 1966, publishes peer-reviewed original articles in English or Chinese that make a significant contribution to the research and practices of teaching and learning of Chinese as a second language.

With this call for proposals, we are looking for (a) guest editor(s), who will produce a special issue that addresses a theme of interest to our readership, to be published in 2024. CSL serves a wide audience who may be concerned with Chinese language acquisition and pedagogy, Chinese applied linguistics, language program administration, curriculum design, as well as teaching Chinese culture and literature in Chinese language classrooms. In line with the scope of the journal, we especially welcome themes that connect theories and research findings with practice and/or address underrepresented areas of scholarship that is significant to the interdisciplinary field of teaching/learning Chinese as a second language. The special issue is expected to have four to five original articles that offer new perspectives, and the proposed theme should refine or challenge existing practices of teaching/learning Chinese as a second language. The articles should adhere to regular CSL journal manuscript preparation standards and guidelines. (https://www.clta-us.org/publications/jclta-style-sheet/).

            The special issue proposals should include:

  1. Rationale for the special issue topic, including a general description of the issue and its potential contribution to the field (maximum 700 words);
  2. A list of contributors and five original article abstracts (300–400 words each);
  3. Short CVs (3-page)/descriptions (maximum 300 words per editor) of qualifications of the guest editor – and in the case of multiple guest editors, qualifications of each of them––with particular emphasis on published research on relevant topics and editing experience;
  4. Overall issue should confirm to regular length of 100 pages;
  5. Proposals may be in English or Chinese and—per journal guidelines­­—the issue may contain manuscripts in Chinese, English, or both.

Proposals/inquiries should be sent to the editor (CLTA_CSL@byu.edu, Subject: CSL CFP) by September 30, 2023.  All proposals will be evaluated by the CSL editorial board.

Important dates:

  • September 30, 2023: Proposals due
  • November 15, 2023: Winning proposal to be announced.
  • May 31, 2024: Submission of first-draft manuscripts to the guest editor(s). Guest editor(s) arrange peer reviewers. (Manuscripts authored by the guest editor(s) themselves will be sent out for reviews by other field experts through coordination of the journal editorial board.)
  • Sept 30, 2024: All final manuscripts due.

2022 CLTA Annual Conference (Notice #3, posted date: 12/23/2021)

The 2022 CLTA annual conference, along with the 60th anniversary celebration of CLTA, will be held at the University of Notre Dame from April 7th to 10th, 2022. This annual meeting will be held primarily in person but will also offer the option of online participation. The conference registration site will open on 1/20/2022.

P Dec 2001

From the President

December 2001

Source: CLTA Newsletter 25.3. December 2001, p. 5. November 27, 2001

I write this at the conclusion of our 2001 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., impressed by the professional accomplishments of our colleagues in the Chinese language teaching field and “recharged” by their collective energy. This year’s conference demonstrated ongoing sophistication in the use of technol-ogy in Chinese teaching and research, continued concern about the factors that influence Chinese la n-guage learning, and increased attention to the development of reading skills in CSL learners. Every pres-entation generated discussion and reflection, and I look forward to sharing the experience with all of you at next year’s meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.This year is a special one for CLTA, for it marks the 40th anniversary of our organization. The Board of Directors is planning several initiatives to celebrate the occasion. We will working on a history of CLTA, a task for which we seek information and assistance from all of you. If you have information about the early days of the organization, and especially if you were one of its early members, please let us hear from you. Other projects include the creation of a Chinese language honor society for students at the college and university level to complement the high school honor society created by CLASS several years ago. We continue to be concerned about teacher training and will be exploring the possibility of developing CLTA sponsored teacher training workshops in the next few years. We are in the process of developing a CLTA mission statement that will help to focus and guide us as we move forward in the 21st century. We will ask for your feedback on this statement and for your approval in the coming months.

Finally, we continue to recognize the importance of links with other professional organizations whose missions overlap with ours. We maintain an affiliation with ACTFL and AAS, and are discussing a closer connection with MLA. In an earlier newsletter this year I described the role that JNCL-NCLIS plays in lobbying for support for language teaching on a national level. We value our ties with other Chi-nese language teaching organizations and will be participating with several of them in the Chinese Lan-guage Field Initiative project organized by NCOLCTL, the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages.

CLTA works for all of us. Thank you for supporting it with your membership, with your contribu-tions to the journal, and with your participation at our annual meeting.

Claudia Ross
Modern Languages (Box 11A)
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA 01610-2395
Phone: 508-793-3335
Fax: 508-793-3708
E-mail: cross@holycross.edu

P Dec 2009

From the President

December 2009

I am very proud to serve as the President of the Chinese Language Teachers Association this year.  I will try to follow in the footsteps of our outgoing President, Jerry Packard, in positioning CLTA to best meet the needs of the expanding ranks of Chinese language teachers in the United States and abroad. In this task I am joined by a very able Board of Directors and highly committed officers of the Association.  I look forward to working with Yea-fen Chen, our new Executive Director, and thank our outgoing Executive Director, Cyndy Ning, for nine years of dedicated service to the Association.

One of the most exciting developments in our field is the emergence of regional Chinese language teachers’ associations throughout the United States.  I look forward to continuing to work with the Regional Committee co-chair, Board Member Cathy Wei, and regional CLTA representatives, to develop a framework of affiliation between the regional and national organizations that supports the growth of regional organizations and increases our collective strength. We welcome the participation of all regional CLTA organizations in this process.

The CLTA Annual Meeting is an exciting opportunity to meet with colleagues from all over the country and the world to learn about developments in the field.  I look forward to working with this year’s Program Chair, Chuanren Ke, and Conference Chair, Janet Xing, to plan an exciting meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.  The Call for Papers is open, and I encourage you to submit a proposal and to plan to join us in November.

In closing, CLTA is striving to meet your needs as a Chinese language teacher.  We hope you find that the reviews and articles in our Journal and the field updates in our Newsletter help to keep you well-informed.  We are working to increase our service to the field through teacher training and regional conference support, and I look forward to progress in these areas over the coming year.  Please contact me if you have suggestions that you think will strengthen the organization.  My email address is cross@holycross.edu.

IPP Dec 2009

From the Immediate Past President

December 2009

Dear CLTA Members,

I am very proud to have served as CLTA President during such an exciting time in the life of our Association.  Our goals for the past year were to establish closer ties with the regional CLTAs, increase the number of member financial awards, ensure that our 2009 annual conference would run smoothly, and set up closer working relations with our sister organization — the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-elementary Schools (CLASS).

Thanks to the combined efforts of the members of our Association, I feel we performed well in achieving our goals.  We succeeded in formulating a set of principles relating the national and regional CLTA organizations, thanks to the efforts of Claudia Ross, Cathy Wei and Adam Ross.  New, continuing and increased award support was gained thanks to the benevolence of Cheng & Tsui, China Sprout and other generous funding sources.  The marvelous success of this year’s conference owes to the capable hands of Janet Xing and Sharon Wen, and our joint CLTA/CLASS Forum — at which CLASS President Chaomeng Yuan and I presided over presentations of K-12 and post-secondary articulation — served as a testament to our close positive working relation with CLASS.

I wish to extend a hearty welcome to CLTA’s new Executive Board members Derlin Chao, Julia Kessel, Sue-Mei Wu and John Jing-hua Yin, and my heartfelt thanks go to our retiring Board members Qinghai Chen, Chu Chengzhi, Audrey Li, Madeline Spring and Xiaohong Sharon Wen for all their service.  I am confident that our new Executive Director Yea-Fen Chen and incoming Vice President Chuanren Ke are more than equal to the tasks that lay ahead of them, and last but certainly not least, I offer a great vote of thanks to CLTA’s outgoing Executive Director Cyndy Ning.

In passing the CLTA leadership gavel to Dr. Claudia Ross, I feel I am leaving our CLTA in the capable hands of a leader who is extraordinarily competent, has an visionary view of where our Association should be headed and has the best interests of our organization at heart.  I have tried to leave our organization in good stead to implement Claudia’s vision. I am sure that, a year from now, we will all feel confident that such was indeed the case.

Sincerely,

Jerry Packard

P Jan 2008

From the President

January 2008

Source: CLTA Newsletter 32.1. January 2008, pp. 5-6. December 2007

Dear CLTA Members,

The 45 year-old CLTA is growing strong! The long list of achievements in the past year, as described in the report by the 06-07 President, Jennifer Liu, would not have been possible without the tremendous effort from the CLTA board, Executive director, Journal editor, Newsletter editor, Webmaster and the impressive leadership of the president. Please join me in thanking this great team.

In addition to looking back and celebrating a wonderful year, we also need to plan ahead and capitalize on the current
momentum, ensuring that the CLTA truly “represents Chinese language teachers in all educational settings… supports
establishing and sustaining quality Chinese programs, K-16 articulation, teacher education and professional development, and research relating to all aspects of teaching and learning about Chinese languages and cultures… [and]
is committed to providing leadership, scholarship, and service to its members and to all sectors of society.” (CLTA
mission statement).

We have many lofty goals and need the support and sacrifice from everyone. In the coming year, we will strive to

  1. Enhance collaboration with other national language organizations. In addition to co-sponsoring the CLTA-CLASS forum at the annual conference, we will actively seek collaboration opportunities with ACTFL, CLASS, heritage school organizations, other associations, institutions, agencies regarding articulation, assessment, standard, professional development and rigorous theoretical and empirical research in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. The effort will be headed by the Steering Committee (chaired by the President) and supported by the board and our very enthusiastic members.
  2. Establish strong links with regional CLTAs. For the last several years, we have witnessed the blossoming of regional organizations. It is important that experiences and resources are shared and that efforts are not duplicated. The CLTA will be the facilitating and unifying force that connects all CLTAs in a cohesive and strong network. Claudia Ross, our Regional Chapter Committee Chair, and Cathy Wei, our Regional Chapter Liaison, will be working tirelessly towards this goal.
  3. Encourage and strengthen research on Chinese language teaching and related studies; provide stronger support and better opportunities for professional development. This requires funding for research and workshops to share knowledge, experiences and results. There have been more awards, thanks to the hard work and continuing commitments from the Awards Committee (headed by Chengzhi Chu) and Jiede Committee (headed by Songnren Cui this past year and Xiaohong Wen in the new year). Jerry Packard expanded the funding resources last year and we have strong confidence that the new chair of the Fundraising Committee, Shengli Feng, will bring the achievement to an even higher level. The CLTA monograph #4 is in the very competent hands of Mike Everson and its successful completion will come soon.
  4. Strengthen the presence of the CLTA and make the CLTA more relevant to all its members. We need to continue to grow and brand CLTA so that our organization can be an effective galvanizing force uniting Chinese language professionals and all those interested in this profession. Members of the CLTA should be able to benefit from the organization uniquely and significantly. The board is already considering measures to increase membership privileges and promote greater communication among members. Theresa Chao, chair of the embership-drive Committee, will be working creatively to expand our organization. We look forward to reporting great results next year.

We will continue to strengthen and expand the great tradition of the CLTA so that it can serve all its members more efficiently and provide resources and leadership to the field of Chinese language teaching. We can meet our goals with important contributions from each of you. I look forward to hearing from you and receiving your support!

Y-H Audrey Li
President, CLTA
Professor
EALC, Linguistics
University of Southern California
email: audreyli@usc.edu

IPP Jan 2008

From the Immediate Past President

January 2008

Source: CLTA Newsletter 32.1. January 2008, pp. 6-7.

The year 2006-2007 continued to witness a “Chinese fervor” both in the United States and all over the world. At this historical juncture, it has been an honor and privilege to be the President of CLTA, the oldest leading professional organization in the field of Chinese teaching and learning, at levels K-16. I am proud to report that thanks to the amazing dedication of the Board and Officers, we have accomplished many ground-breaking and collaborative projects.

Our first effort was to re-assess the state, challenges, and opportunities of our times and revise our strategic plan. This process required months of hard work tirelessly led by Prof. Hong Gang Jin. The result is a well articulated CLTA mission and vision statement. Second, we initiated a new online voting, online membership renewal and update of information, and a new website (CLTA-US.org). All of the enhanced functions have helped to increase our operational efficiency and effectiveness. Third, CLTA expanded our research and professional development offerings through a pre-conference workshop (38 teacher trainers attended), a fruitful collaboration with the STARTALK program at NFLC, a post-conference workshop on Learner-Friendly Grammar for Chinese Instruction, and an empirical research workshop. In addition, CLTA was able to allocate dedicated funding and the Board approved an initiative to create biannual regional workshops starting 2008. Fourth, in our attempts to strengthen K-16 articulation and build coalition among the various Chinese teaching organizations, we offered the 3rd CLTA and CLASS joint forum, initiated the CLTA regional chapter meeting, and co-sponsored a luncheon with National Council of Association of Chinese Language Schools (NCACLS). Finally, recognition should be given to this years fund-raising campaign. As we mature we have decided to establish a new standing committee to support fund-raising. If it is numbers you are interested, it is exciting to note that for the first time in our 45 year history, our membership exceeded 500 and our annual conference included four concurrent sessions, totaling 46 panels and 171 presenters.

None of the achievements occurred overnight or could be realized by a single person; they are the result of months or years of planning, discussion, preparation, implementation, and incredible momentum. So I’m extremely grateful to all my predecessors, particularly the Immediate Past President Mien-hwa Chiang. I’m also indebted to the Program Chair Claudia Ross, Conference Chair, Madeline Spring, Nominating Chair and Vice President Audrey Li, Award Chair Chengzhi Chu, Jiede Chair Songren Cui, Finance Chair Hsin-hsin Liang, Fundraising Chair Jerry Packard, JNCL Representative Shuhan Wang, and all the Board members. Needless to say, my deep gratitude goes to our dedicated officers: Executive Director Cyndy Ning, Journal Editor Neil Kubler, Newsletter Editor Tianwei Xie, and Web-master Marjorie Chan. Their hard work and active contribution have helped the Board make great strides in many areas.

It is fair to say that together we are paving new ground for Chinese language education here in America. I would like to conclude by thanking all of you, our members, for your trust and support during the year. Through our effort to expand our ability to serve members, build and strengthen the field, define standards for teaching and learning, promote research in language acquisition, linguistic analysis, instructional design, technological advancement, teacher development, and assessment, we are elevating the Chinese teaching profession.

Best wishes to all for a productive and fulfilling year.

Regards,

Jennifer Li-chia Liu
Associate Professor
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Indiana University, Bloomington

P Sept 2006

From the President

September 2006

Source: CLTA Newsletter 30.2. September 2006, p. 4. September 2006

Dear CLTA Members:Fall 2006 is a season of harvest as many new Chinese programs and AP Chinese courses are being implemented. Those CFL educators who have spoken directly with policy makers addressing the value of CFL teaching have done substantive and important work for our field. To those seasoned teachers who have traveled all over the US to conduct workshops and disseminate AP information, thank you for getting the teachers ready for this new academic year. And to young teachers who begin either high school or collegiate teaching this fall, we congratulate you on your new positions.

I would first like to share with you a couple of things the board has worked on during the past few months. The Program Committee and Conference Chair have prepared for you 76 presentations, four workshops, and the second K-16 forum at our annual meeting. The workshops will be offered by Songren Cui (CFL empirical research), Michael Everson (Writing Research Proposal), Hong Gang Jin (Form-based and Task=based Teaching) and Hsin-hsin Liang (Lesson Plan Step by Step). If you are interested in these workshops, you may contact the respective presenters for details. I hope you all have registered for the conference and booked your hotel reservations. All paper presenters must pay dues for both CLTA membership and ACTFL conference registration.

Our web team is currently working on making CLTA membership renewal, payment, and databases available online. We hope these services will be a convenient way to save you both time and postage. If you have sons and daughters who are studying Chinese in local Chinese heritage schools, I encourage you to share CLTA newsletters and journals with their heritage school teachers and encourage them to join CLTA. The board has approved a special membership rate ($35 per year) for heritage school teachers to join us. Some of you might doubt that this will bring extra revenue to our organization and perhaps worry that this might even make our organization less professional. This decision, however, is meant to bring teachers in three CFL sectors together heritage schools, middle and high schools, and colleges and universities. Continuously marginalizing and undervaluing heritage Chinese instruction will disrupt the continuity of K-16 articulation and CFL research.

If you have other any suggestions for CLTA’s management and services, please do not hesitate to contact the officers or board members. Your votes have already allowed these motivated and professional members to serve our field. We are all here to serve our community with a certain sense of urgency, as it becomes increasingly important for CLTA to successfully diagnose its weaknesses while working hard to perfect the profession.

In closing, allow me to be a little old fashioned. For those who hope to squeeze in as much material as possible in one semester, or eagerly desire their students to master the Chinese sound system in one week, we must remember that steady, gradual growth is more lasting.

I hope you will continue to enjoy your teaching and wish all of you a successful new semester!

Sincerely yours,
Mienhwa Chiang

P Dec 2005

From the President

December 2005

Source: CLTA Newsletter 29.3. December 2005, pp. 4-5.

Dear CLTA Members:

I would like to start by thanking Hong Gang, Cyndy, Vivian, Tianwei, Mike Everson, Margie, the Board of Directors as well as members of CLTA Journal Editorial Board for everyone’s wonderful contribution to our organization in the year of 2005. Without their selfless service to our growing field, the fundraising initiative, the e­mail announcements, the qualitative newsletter and journal publication, the updating of the home page as well as the joint forum on K­16 articulation would not be possible. I would also like to thank CLTA members who supported the organization by purchasing T­shirts at the annual meeting. In total we raised $1,480 for future fundraising activities.

On the list of the Board’s 2006 agenda, are the following items: (1) how to transfer membership registration to an online system, (2) how to prepare future CFL researchers and teachers, (3) how to obtain foundation grants to make our organization better funded, (4) how to bridge pre­college and college­level Chinese language education. The headquarters and the board will work together to shape our future in response to the emerging “fever” of Chinese learning. However, an effective executive director and a forward­looking board alone could not make us strong. A strong and better Chinese teaching field should be grounded in our excellence in teaching and research as well as an increasing number of students at the advanced­level learning Chinese for different purposes. I ask all of you to step back and ask yourselves what we will do to strengthen our teaching and research skills in the next couple years. In my view, we could take action in three directions.

Joining more than one professional organization. In the past five years, the CFL­field landscape has become increasingly complex and multifaceted, shifting from a humanistic base to social science and professional Chinese language use. Our learners now include not only teenagers and young adults, but also adult learners in the governmental and business sectors. To enhance our teaching and enrich our content, we could consider joining more than one professional organization so as to draw new ideas from other related fields to innovate our teaching, such as AAS, ACTFL, MLA, and NCOLCTL*. As we engage with the different fields, we will add new dimensions to our teaching. We could also publish our research in different journals so that our research is more visible in the field of foreign language education.

Conducting collaborative research. In terms of research, we tend to think of the work of a single author, within our own discipline, and by observation of our own students. We have carried out research on beginning level CFL teaching and learning, but short of research regarding the learning at the intermediate and advanced level. We now could think about cross­disciplinary, multi­institution, multi­author research. We could engage with our local heritage schools, secondary schools, as well as study abroad programs in China, to conduct longitudinal study. When we work with colleagues and teachers from different sectors, we combine diverse views and strengthen each other. By conducting research together, we are able to achieve what we could not possibly achieve on our own. Professor Vivian Ling reported that the Journal received 31 manuscripts in 2004 and 23 in 2005. We hope to have more submissions in the coming years.

Thinking of long­term Chinese learning results. Regarding our students, we tend to think only about immediate results. We tend to picture students shop ping and traveling in China. Now that AP Chinese and study abroad programs extend learners’ learning experi ence and provide opportunities to practice the language with native speakers in the target culture, we need to think of how to teach our students to reach the advanced level and picture them using their advanced proficiency and accuracy in academic and professional settings. Furthermore, our learners are able to converse intelligently on the Chinese films, culture, and history with their counterparts in informal settings. We have to make up our minds that we will offer diverse courses for students with different interests and learning goals.

Chinese language education is essentially interdisciplinary, drawing on Chinese history, social science, culture, literature for building students’ humanistic prospective and on Chinese linguistics, applied linguistics and CFL­specific research as the scientific evidence supporting our pedagogy. Since we want our class content to be of depth and our methodology effective, it is necessary that we bear in mind that we must have an interdisciplinary vision.

CLTA is the place where all Chinese language teachers belong. I assure you that the officers and the board of directors possess expertise, compassion, and collaborative spirit. I joyfully ask you to join in the Board’s endeavor to build a better and stronger Chinese language teaching field for the coming generations. We will live up to the current opportunity and steadfastly march toward the mainstream of the American language teaching field.

I wish you a very happy New Year.

Sincerely,
Mien­hwa Chiang
University of Pennsylvania

AAS: Association for Asian Studies
ACTFL: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
MLA: Modern Language Association
NCOLCTL: National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages

IPP Dec 2005

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

P Sept 2005

From the President

September 2005

Source: CLTA Newsletter 29.2. September 2005, pp. 12-14.

CLTA President’s Mid-Year Summary

各位CLTA的会员及朋友, 各位老师:

一年一度的暑假很快就过去了,相信现在大家都在紧张的开学准备之中,或者已经投身于繁忙的教学工作了。

日月如梭, 转眼我们已经进入2005年的第九个月。 在过去的八个月当中,中文教学领域又目睹了许多可喜的发展变化。自年初到现在,到处可以看到有关中国的报导评论,随时可以听到学习中国语言文化的呼吁。据 有关媒体报导,美国国内今年一下子掀起了一股“中文热”(纽约时报、NPR News、世界日报等)。

首先、大学理事会 (College Board) 2004 年的调查表明,到目前为止,有 2400 多所学校对开设中文AP课程及考试表示有兴趣。据亚洲协会 (Asia Society) 预期,到 2015 年,美国 5% 的中学生将有可能选修中文课;第二、由大学理事会 (College Board) 主持的中文AP考试及课程计划已经顺利展开。自中文AP工作小组 (Task Force) 成立来,小组成员初步考察了中文AP的学生来源、教师需求等,确定了考试形式、基本内容、文字(繁/简体字)及方式(电脑打字)等。在此基础上成立了中文 AP发展委员会 (AP Chinese Development Committee) 专门负责下一步课程、考试大纲以及考试题库的设计与发展,以便在 2006 年与考生见面;第三、今年二月美国教育部 (AED) 及国家安全教育项目 (NSEP) 宣布提供专款资助中文K-16旗舰项目 (Chinese K-16 Pipeline Flagship Program),六月正式公开招标,近期宣布由俄勒冈大学 (University of Oregon ) 的项目中标;第四、今年五月由参院议员李博曼 (Senator Lieberman) 发起,提出了促进美中文化交流的议案,简称 “China Bill”,该议案特别强调政府拨款资助培养中国语言文化的专门人才; 第五、为了响应中文领域紧缺中文教师的需要,许多大学纷纷在今年筹备或开始增设中文教育硕士学位项目及教师证书授于项目 (teaching certification program)。总而言之,中文领域的发展异常迅速。前景十分光明,但面临的挑战也不少。

在这一大好形势的鼓舞下,本届理事会全体成员在各自繁忙的工作之上,积极投身于理事会的各项工作。下面,我谨代表CLTA理事会向大家汇 报一下我们上半年的工作,以使本会会员更多地了解理事会的奋斗目标及日常工作,并恳请各位会员为我们的工作出谋划策,使中文教师学会的工作更上一层楼。

  1. CLTA 总部执行主任的续任:今年一月,理事会责成审评委员会 (ED Review Committee, 由白建华教授担任组长)开始对CLTA执行主任 (Executive Director) 进行续任审评工作 (Reappointment Review)。三月,经审评委员会推荐,理事会一致通过任命任友梅 (Cyndy Ning) 教授继续担任CLTA的执行主任,任期四年。CLTA 理事会十分感谢任友梅教授过去多年来为学会所做的贡献,并深信在今后的工作中她将更大限度地发挥自己的优势及特点为学会总部工作。
  2. “外语之年”的捐款活动: 2005年是“外语之年” (Year of Languages),对我们从事外语教学的人来说有着特殊的意义。为了在各界全面展开“外语之年”的活动,在本年初ACTFL曾向各语言学会募款。 CLTA 全体理事一致认为 CLTA 对此责无旁贷,并讨论通过向此活动捐款 $1000,为推动美国及全球的外语学习作出中文教师学会应有的贡献。
  3. 成立 CLTA 基金募捐委员会:理事会在今年三月正式成立了基金募捐委员会 (CLTA Fund-raising Committee),由副会长蒋冕华老师主持募捐委员会的工作,成员包括前任会长白建华,现任会长靳洪刚,执行主任任友梅,两个理事成员:崔颂人、 Michael Everson 教授及两个资深会员:赵智超及 Claudia Ross 教授。自成立以来,募捐委员会讨论热烈,理事会的成员也献计献策。到目前为止,募捐活动已有一定的成效。其中两项在此值得一提,其它详见基金募捐委员会的 报告:
    • Cheng & Tsui 出版社的社长 Jill Cheng 向 CLTA 提供一次性捐款 $10,000 ,为CLTA现有的两个重要大奖: Walton Lifetime Achievement Award 及 Walton Presentation Prize 建立了专项基金 (endowment),使其有了长期保障
    • CET 为 CLTA 现有的『皆得实验研究奖』(Jiede Empirical Research Grant) 提供 $2000 基金,此后,『皆得实验研究奖』的原捐赠人又为该项基金补充款项 $6000,使得此研究基金可延续至 2011 年。
  4. 2005 年年会的议程及筹备已基本完成:由齐德立教授主持的CLTA年会 筹备委员会 (Conference Program Committee) 已完成了2005年年会的会议议程 (2005 CLTA Conference Program) 及会议筹备工作(详细年会议程表请见本期会员通讯)。今年在巴尔迪摩市(Baltimore)举行的年会将是 CLTA 年会史上最大的一次。除了论文报告 (panels) 以外,还增设了 poster sessions。论文报告将在三个分会场同时进行,分别在11月 18, 19, 20 三天完成。感谢各位会员的热心投稿,感谢年会筹备委员会组长及组员无私的时间奉献及不懈努力,相信今年的年会一定圆满成功。欢迎各位前来巴尔迪摩市参加 2005年CLTA的盛大年会。
  5. CLTA 及 CLASS 将举办联合研讨会:中文教师学会 (CLTA) 及全美中小学中文教师学会 (CLASS) 将在本届年会期间举办一个联合研讨会 (joint forum),邀请各中小学、大学教师及行政人员、大学理事会代表、AP中文发展委员会成员等进行中文教学各层面的纵向沟通 (vertical articulation) 及相互了解。时间定在11/19日,星期六下午4:30-6:00,欢迎各位踊跃参加!
  6. CLTA 将在年会期间举办两个工作坊:为了继续推动中文领域的实验研究和教学交流,CLTA理事 会将继续举办 『皆得实验研究短训班』 (Jiede Empirical Research Workshop),时间定在 11/18 日晚 8-10 点。由 Michael Everson 教授主持本届短期班的专题讨论,有兴趣者请与主持人Michael Everson教授直接联系 (michael-everson@UIOWA.EDU)。此外,本会执行主任任友梅教授将举办中文教学工作坊,时间定在11/17日,机会难得,有兴趣 者请与任教授联系 (cyndy@HAWAII.EDU)。
  7. 其它工作:除了以上工作外,理事会成员还完成了或正在完成以下工作:
    • 皆得实验研究基金委员会 (Jiede Committee) 的全体成员在今年五月完成了审理竞选论文的工作,并经过讨论选举出 2005 年获奖者:美国维吉尼亚大学的曾妙芬老师。曾老师,祝贺你!
    • CLTA 理事提名委员会 (Nominating Committee) 将在下一步汇总选票并向理事会及全体会员汇报理事及会长选举的结果
    • CLTA 奖励提名委员会 (Award Committee) 也在积极征集今年的CLTA各奖励的获奖人名单
    • 今年五月,理事会在原会标的基础上确定了新的 CLTA 会标 (CLTA logo),见下页。
    • 今年五月周淑涵老师代表CLTA第一次参加了“全美外语教学联合会” (JNCL) 在华盛顿召开的年会
    • 今年五月李艳惠 (Audrey Li) 教授受理事会委托,组织了一个 CLTA 论文小组,将在明年三月的 AAS年会上代表CLTA发表有关中国语言文化方面的论文
    • 在CLTA财务委员会负责人 (Finance Committee) 的协助下,理事会投票通过今年拨给募款委员会募款基金 $2000 元。目前该款项主要用来制作带有CLTA新会标的T-恤衫。在崔颂人教授的积极协助下,T-恤衫将在年会上与大家见面,欢迎大家踊跃购买!

以上为本届理事会上半年的工作报告,如有不妥或疏漏之处,纯属我个人的责任,请见谅。我们全体理事成员将在下半年继续努力,竭诚为我们的学会及中文教育服务。

中文教师学会2005会长
靳洪刚
Hong Gang Jin
Professor of Chinese
Dept of East Asian Languages and Literatures
Hamilton College

P Dec 2004

From the President

December 2004

Source: CLTA Newsletter 28.3. December 2004, pp. 3-4. 在此辞旧迎新之际,我谨向全体CLTA会员致以节日的问候。

对中文教师学会(CLTA)来说,2005年将是一个有着特殊意义的一年,也是中文教学(Chinese as a Foreign Language) 领域发展关键的一年。这一年,我们外语教学全体同仁将在美国展开“外语之年”(the Year of Languages)的 庆祝活动。中文教学界当借此东风,吸引更多的人学习中文,了解中国文化。同时推动更多的人参与中文教学,投身 于中文教学(CFL)的学科建设及理论研究。

2005年也将是AP中文项目在美国全面开展的第一年。很多学者预测,AP中文的发展将对美国的中文教学领域有着不可估量的影响。这是因为:首先,AP中文将成为整合全美大、中、小学中文课程的中枢纽带;其次,AP中 文将成为联合各层次中文教学组织的桥梁,促进全美中文教学的交流与合作;再次,AP中文将为中文教学领域提供 多种研究素材,成为中文教学理论及实验研究的基地。

2005年还将见证中文教学领域已进入一个新的发展阶段。在过去十年中,中文学生的注册率有了大幅增长, 中文教师队伍不断扩大,各种中文教学资料层出不穷,地方性及专门性中文教学组织大量发展,中文教学理论及实验 研究亦逐步成熟。这些发展及变化证实中文教学领域经过几十年的奋斗,已经从一个边缘外语学科进入主流学科。中 文在全球正在成为一个令人瞩目的强势外语。

作为一个独立的外语学科,中文教学(CFL)一方面在逐步成熟、发展;另一方面,也将面临诸多新的挑战。 中文教师协会是一个具有40年历史的中文教学组织,在新的挑战面前应起到学科的带头作用,确立CLF学科意识,设定CFL的长期发展方向,加强CFL本学 科内及学科外的交流与合作。做为本届CLTA的会长,我希望在前任会长白建华教授及其他前任会长所创业绩的基础上,在全体理事会成员的协同帮助下,不负全 体会员的重托,在以下几个方面做出努力:

  1. 确立CLTA的学科研究目标。理事会将从明年开始讨论CLTA的学科发展方向,建立相对统一的CFL学科意识,有目标,有系统地进行CFL理论及实验研究。为促进这一目标,本届理事会决议拟定在2005-2006期间开始编纂第一套CFL实验研究专辑。专辑文章将采用公开征稿,专家评审的方式进行。此项工作由本届副会长蒋勉华老师负责。此外,CLTA在第一届实验研究工作坊的基础上,将在2005年会期间向全体会员提供第二届实验研究工作坊,此项工作将由皆得学术研究基金负责任人崔颂仁教授安排,具体专题将在下期会员通讯通知。
  2. 积极配合AP中文的发展,开展与之相关的课题讨论及研讨会。在2005年期间,围绕AP 中文,本会鼓励会员及语言中心在网上或在各地组织专题性研讨会,邀请专家为本会通讯及杂志组稿或投稿,系统介绍AP中文的设计理论及对中文教学领域提出的新挑战。
  3. 继续加强与其它中文教学组织及外语学科的联系,交流与合作。具体做法包括:(1) 为加强本会与其它外语教学组织的联系,今年理事会决定任命周淑涵为四年一任的CLTA学会代表参加全美外语教师协会(JNCL)在华盛顿举办的年会,以为本会争取应得利益及支持;(2) 为继续加强CLTA与其它中文教学组织的联盟及合作,本届理事会决定在没有CLASS理事成员的情况下,将邀请CLASS派代表列席参加CLTA理事会的例行讨论及例会。
  4. 大力发展中文教师学会的会员。除了进行例行的会员发展活动外,本会也要通过不同的电子通讯方式联络更多的中文教学机构及教学人员加入本会。
  5. 配合ACTFL的倡议,在中文教学领域展开2005年的”外语之年”活动。本会决定将明年CLTA年会的主题定为“中文教学领域的新挑战及新起点”(Taking TCFL to a New Level: Challenges and Prospects)。除了现有的专题研究报告外,本会年会负责人齐德立教授正与ACTFL 协商,增设中文教学研究展示组 (poster sessions),欢迎会员踊跃参加与同仁分享教学及研究成果。
  6. 积极开展各种募款活动,吸引各方资金支持学会活动,保持并建立专项研究基金及奖励项目。

最后,在新的一年里,我们将尽全力为学会及全体会员服务。再次感谢大家的信任与支持。祝大家节日愉快,来年诸事如意!

靳洪刚

Season’s Greetings to all CLTA members. As 2005 is fast approaching, we know that it will be an exciting and significant year for CLTA as well as the field of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) has designated 2005 as The Year of Languages to celebrate and communicate the power of language learning. Our Association will work in concert with ACTFL to promote and celebrate the learning of Chinese language and culture, and at the same time, attract more professionals engaging in CFL teaching and research.

The year 2005 will mark the first stage in the development of AP Chinese programs in the USA. Many scholars expect AP Chinese to make a profound impact on the CFL field. Not only will AP Chinese serve to bridge the curricular and instructional gap between K-12 and post-secondary schools, it will also help bring together Chinese teaching organizations representing both academic and heritage sectors. In addition, AP Chinese will form an important base for more serious and rigorous theoretical and empirical research in CFL.

The year 2005 may also mark a significant step in our field’s progress from the margins to the mainstream. In the past ten years, the field as seen a significant growth in enrollments, an increasing number of new and exciting Chinese programs and expansion of existing programs at all levels. The field has also produced an unprecedented number of high quality teaching materials and incorporated the most advanced technology into our daily teaching. At the same time, many in-depth and systematic theoretical and empirical studies of CFL are emerging. As CFL merges into the mainstream and becomes more mature, it faces new challenges and new responsibilities in taking leadership among less commonly taught languages.

At this important juncture, CLTA with its history of over forty years must take the lead in better understanding the field of teaching CFL and in advancing it to a new professional level. As the in-coming CLTA president, I look forward to continuing the traditions and constructive contributions established by the Immediate Past President Bai Jianhua and many other previous CLTA presidents. I will also work closely with the elected Board of Directors as well as the appointed officers. In the next year, we hope to achieve the following objectives:

  1. Systematically identifying needs for CFL research and practice. Throughout the coming year, the Board will engage in on-line discussions on needs, building strategies, and research agendas for the field of CFL. At its November meeting this year, the Board voted to undertake two specific projects in connection with the Jiede Grant: to publish a monograph dedicated to empirical studies in CFL, and to conduct another workshop on empirical research. Vice President Mienhwa Chiang will chair the Monograph Committee, which will seek a publisher, issue a call for papers, and evaluate them for publication. Songren Cui, as Chair of the Jiede Committee, will offer the workshop at next year’s CLTA annual conference in Baltimore. The theme of the workshop will be announced in the next issue of the CLTA newsletter.
  2. Actively supporting the development of AP Chinese. During 2005, the Board will work closely with the AP Chinese task force appointed by the College Board. We hope to initiate various on-line-discussions on issues related to AP Chinese tests and curricular requirements, to invite AP specialists and AP task force members to give lectures and contribute articles to CLTA newsletters and journals, in order to inform CLTA members of developments in AP Chinese and their potential impact on our future teaching.
  3. Further strengthening communication and collaboration with other language teaching organizations in the USA and in the world. The CLTA Board of Directors will continue to participate in organizations such as ACTFL, AAS (Association of Asian Studies), JNCL-NCLIS (Joint National Committee for Languages-National Council for Languages & International Studies), and NCOLCTL (National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages). At the same time, CLTA will continue our close alliance with such CFL organizations as CLASS (Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools), CSAUS (Chinese School Association in the United States) and NCACLS (National Council of Associations of Chinese Language Schools). This year, since no member of CLASS was elected to the Board, the Board voted to strengthen our longstanding association by inviting a representative from CLASS to participate as a nonvoting member in our routine discussions and meetings. The Board also voted to appoint Shuhan Wong to a four-year term to represent CLTA at JNCL.
  4. Planning for a vigorous membership drive. In addition to our regular annual membership drive, we hope to use different electronic and other devices to reach out and to attract more CFL professionals to join CLTA.
  5. Celebrating The Year of Languages. In conjunction with ACTFL’s celebration of The Year of Languages, CLTA has adopted a theme for next year’s conference: “Taking TCFL to a New Level: Challenges and Prospects”. Next year’s Program Chair, Professor Richard Chi, is working closely with ACTFL on the addition of poster sessions. A Call for Proposals appears in this issue of the Newsletter.
  6. Organizing fund raising campaigns. In 2005, we hope to approach different organizations and business groups to raise funds for long term CLTA endowments in support of continuing awards and research scholarships

I will conclude with my sincere hopes that through my hard-work and the collective efforts and wisdom of the Board, CLTA will better serve its members and its field. If you have any questions and suggestions during the year, please feel free to contact me or any of the board members and officers. Once again I thank you for your trust and support. Best wishes to you all for a fruitful and peaceful year!

Hong Gang Jin

IPP Dec 2004

From the Immediate Past President

December 2004

Source: CLTA Newsletter 28.3. December 2004, pp. 3.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you. It has been a busy and rewarding year. At the conclusion of my term as President I want thank the Board of Directors, the CLTA officers for their hard work on behalf of our organization. Our Association enters 2005 with the exceptionally able leadership of President Hong Gang Jin (Hamilton College) and Vice President Mien-hwa Chiang (University of Pennsylvania) and a very dedicated Board of Directors.

It is gratifying to share with you some of the exciting events that have happened during the last year. First, we have just had another well attended conference in Chicago. Professor Hong Gang Jin and the Conference Program Committee did a superb job and put together a high-quality program. The number of paper proposals increased by 20% in comparison to last year. Secondly, the Jiede Committee chaired by Boar Member Mien-hwa Chiang worked hard and inaugurated our first CLTA workshop for members who want to conduct empirical research. The workshop was conducted by Board Member Michael Everson who has done extensive empirical research on CFL and other L2 acquisition issues. Thirdly, we continue to reach out and work with other professional organizations such as CLASS, JNCL, NCOLCTL and AAS to promote the teaching, learning and research and the building of our field. Board Member Gloria Bien organized and will chair an AAS panel on Cinema in the Chinese Language Classroom, April 3 at the 2005 AAS Annual Meeting in Chicago. Professor Bien also secured a room for April 2, 2005 for CLTA members and other interested people to meet and talk about “Teaching Asian Languages: What do we have in common?” at the AAS conference. Board Member Yea-fen Chen is working on possible sponsors of the round table discussion, which will be moderated by Board Member Julian Wheatley. If you plan to attend the AAS conference please come to these events. Another important event last year was that the College Board started the AP Chinese Program under the guidance of a task force of 12 members from our field. The first AP Chinese courses will be offered worldwide in the fall of 2006, followed by the exam in May of 2007. The AP Chinese Program will have a significant impact on the teaching and learning of Chinese. In order to ensure the success of the AP Chinese Program I would encourage all to visit the web site of the AP Chinese regularly ( http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/), and send your comments, suggestions and advice to any of the task-force members that are listed on the AP Chinese web site. Finally, the Year of Languages, another exciting event, has been started to advance the teaching and learning of world languages. ACTFL created a web site: www.yearoflanguages.org/, which consists of important happenings throughout the country and many ideas that we can use to expand our professional enhancement and to promote the study of Chinese. I would like to urge our members to take the opportunity of Year of Languages to convince more people to join CLTA.

In 2004, CLTA designated the Walton Award for lifetime achievement in Chinese language education to Professors Yeh Te-ming and John Montanaro. Congratulations, Yeh Laoshi, and Montanaro Laoshi, and thank you for your outstanding contributions to our profession. The 2004 Walton Travel Award was given to Ms Alice Lee; the Cheng&Tsui Award to Ms. Peng Wang; the Jiede Award to Dr. Meng Yeh. Congratulations to all!

The best of the season and a bright and fulfilling Year 2005 to all!

Jianhua Bai
November 25, 2004

P Dec 2003

From the President

December 2003

Source: CLTA Newsletter 27.3. December 2003, p. 3. December, 2003

Greetings, it is my turn and my distinct pleasure to serve this year as president. As I begin my message, let me start with some good news: foreign language education is gaining more attention in the United States.

MLA’s recent survey has shown “more college students studying foreign languages than ever before” and the number of students studying Chinese in U. S. institutions of higher education increased by 20%, from 28,456 in 1998 to 34,153 in 2002, a 5.5 times increase since 1970. Secretary of Education Rod Paige stated at this year’s ACTFL annual conference, “foreign language instruction is an important part of education and vital knowledge for every child. … our students need a working knowledge of languages to compete in the future …” ACTFL and co-sponsoring organizations proclaim 2005 The Year of Languages.

As we enter the 21st century, we can look forward to exciting changes. CLTA is devoted to advancing the worldwide mission of education in Chinese and advocating the advancement of scholarship in Chinese language, literature, culture, pedagogy, and applied and theoretical linguistics. We have made great strides over the past 40 years in professionalizing our field and we are building success from a strong base. During our progression, we have acquired much better understanding of the nature of Chinese language acquisition and Chinese language pedagogy. We have achieved a great deal of success in curriculum and material development, assessment, and the integration of technology. Yes there is still much to do. We need to explore new horizons to make language, literature and linguistics integral components of a strong Chinese program. We need to create new opportunities for teacher development and for action research that helps teachers understand more about the teaching and learning process, reflect on the effectiveness of their work, and make informed instructional decisions. At this year’s board meeting we decided to initiate a plan for empirical research workshops led by Board Member Professor Michael Everson.

As the result of the generosity of an anonymous member, CLTA has recently established the Jiede Empirical Research Grant to support empirical research in Chinese pedagogy and applied linguistics that contributes to building a sound understanding of teaching and learning Chinese as a Foreign Language. We also have the following awards for competition: Walton Award for overall contributions to the field of Chinese language pedagogy, the Walton Presentation Prize to recognize the best presentation by teachers at the pre-college level and graduate students at the annual meeting, and the Cheng & Tsui Professional Development Award to support the attendance of pre-collegiate and collegiate teachers to training workshops and seminars. For more information on these awards, visit our website https://www.clta-us.org/awards/ [URL updated]. This year’s Walton Award goes to Prof. Yuehua Liu, and the Jiede Grant to Dr. Helen Shen. The Cheng & Tsui Award will be held over until next year. Congratulations to all! Our challenge is to ensure that similar funds continue to grow, so that we can recognize and serve the most deserving members of our community, as we ought. If you can, please contribute and encourage others to make similar contributions. I also encourage all CLTA members to work to make our organization stronger and broader by providing a membership form to your colleagues and invite them to join.

I conclude by thanking our Immediate Past President Dana Bourgerie and our outgoing members of the Board of Directors Martha Wang Gallagher, Claudia Ross (IPP for 2002-03), Richard VanNess Simmons, and Zheng-sheng Zhang for their dedicated service. As always, we are most grateful to our hardworking Executive Director, Cyndy Ning, and to Prof. Marjorie Chan and her web team for providing us with the most updated and relevant information. Our thanks also go to our new journal editor Vivian Ling, our new book review editor Michael Everson and our new Newsletter editor Tianwei Xie. They are working hard to enhance our publications. As you may notice from the recent issue of our journal, more features were added to make it more user-friendly and reaching out to a larger readership. I look forward to a productive and fulfilling year with you all and I hope you will feel free to share your thoughts and views with me at <bai@kenyon.edu>.

Best wishes to all for 2004!

Jianhua Bai, President of CLTA, 2003-04
Kenyon College

P Dec 2002

From the President

December 2002

Source: CLTA Newsletter 26.3. December 2002, p. 4. December, 2002

On the occasion of our 40 th Anniversary I have been naturally reflecting on how things have changed. I first started coming to CLTA meetings in 1988—not so long ago—but long enough to see some great changes. When I started attending CLTA it was not generally expected that a non-native would use Chinese professionally. Scholars had to know their fields, to read the literature, to comprehend a lecture—but a non-native would not typically give a formal talk in Chinese. Those who started learning Chinese with me were among the first to confront the expectation of professional use of Chinese. On a recent trip to China, I saw on television a young Kodak executive briefing the press in Chinese about his company’s plans for the 2008 Olympics. I am sure that people noted he was a foreigner but it was not the curious spectacle it might have been not so many years ago; He was simply doing his professional duty.

Now each time I present I consider whether or not to make my remarks in Chinese or English. If I use English it would be more comfortable but less appropriate to a Chinese teachers gathering, if I were to use Chinese the weaknesses in my Chinese would be exposed. The bar has been raised for our students and for those non-native teachers among us. My students now expect to use their Chinese language skills professionally. The days of satisfaction with general expertise are past.

This change was brought to light again recently as I was analyzing data for a long-term attrition study. We administrated a battery of tests to some 80 students between 1982-86 and the same battery during 1999. Of the 55 or so students we were able to locate and retest nearly twenty were using Chinese regularly in their professions, thus making them ineligible for our attrition study. Bad for our study, good for them

The scope and range of teaching materials has expanded dramatically as well. When I began my own study of Chinese my teachers debated between Speak Chinese and DeFrancis’ Beginning Chinese. Now we have a multitude of materials from which to choose, from traditional texts to multimedia to web-based courses. We have computer-based and on-line texts and dictionaries. In my role as JCLTA review editor, I have at this moment a half a dozen recent and yet-to-be reviewed texts and CD-ROM courses on my desk— just a small sample of what our field is now producing.

The range of topics presented at this year’s conference is also a testament to the growth of the field, including linguistic analysis, teaching classical Chinese, web and computer-aided instruction, program development, film, materials development, language acquisition, and testing.

As our special guests Professors George Chao, Chauncey Chu, and C.P. Sobelman delivered their remarks to an overflow CLTA banquet, I was impressed by what has become of the vision of these and others of our first members. We are all in their debt. And though much lies ahead for the organization—- indeed we have just begun to realize our growth—we have come far in 40 years. May the next 40 be as productive.

With thanks for your contributions to the association,

Dana Scott Bourgerie
Provo, Utah

IPP Dec 2002

From the Immediate Past President

December 2002

Source: CLTA Newsletter 26.3. December 2002, p. 3.

I write this at the conclusion of the CLTA annual meeting and at the completion of my term as President. It has been a busy and rewarding year, and I thank the Board of Directors, and the CLTA officers, especially Dr. Cynthia Ning, our Executive Director, for their hard work on behalf of our organization. The year also marked a transition in the CLTA journal. After eight years of dedicated and professional service as Editor, Dr. Shouhsin Teng is stepping down and I am happy to announce that he will be succeeded by Dr. Vivian Ling, who brings with her extensive expertise in Chinese literature, pedagogy, and program management. Our Newsletter Editor, Ted Yao, will also be stepping down after eight years of service, and we are undergoing a search for his replacement. On behalf of our Board of Directors and our membership, I thank Dr. Teng and Dr.Yao for their service and contributions to our Association.

For me, the highlight of the Annual meeting was the CLTA banquet and special 40 th anniversary roundtable. Our special guests, George Chao [University of Chicago], Chauncey Chu [University of Florida], and C.P. Sobleman [Columbia University], recalled for us the history of CLTA and shared their advice as we move forward. We learned, for example, that the organization is actually 42 years old, that the first newsletter appeared in 1965, edited by C.P. Sobelman and a graduate student with the help of an IBM selectric typewriter, a razor, and glue. We learned that in those days, some students were more conversant in literary Chinese than in spoken Mandarin. How far we have come! Finally, we were advised to continue to insist that we be treated as professionals on par with faculty in other disciplines in the academic community.

The last official survey of our profession was completed by the Modern Languages Association in 1998. At that time, almost 23,000 students were enrolled in Chinese classes at the college and university level. The National Foreign Language Center reports that over 75% of overall Chinese language enrollment is at the high school and heritage school level. The MLA is currently compiling up-to-date enrollment figures which will be released next year. The National Foreign Language Center is about to begin a comprehensive survey of the field as part of a Chinese Language Field Initiative. The figures they compile will be provided by us, the teachers and administrators in this field. We know our field is growing, and it is important that those outside of the field receive an accurate picture. Please respond promptly to the NFLC request for information, so that our strength is as clear to those on the outside as it is to us on the inside.

Claudia Ross]

P Sept 2002

From the President

September 2002

Source: CLTA Newsletter 26.2. September 2002, p. 3. September 2002

The Chinese language teaching field is facing a challenging and exciting time. For many reasons, we can anticipate a significant growth in enrollments over the next decade. Enrollment in heritage schools has already skyrocketed. The economic vitality of the Chinese speaking world is attracting increasing numbers of students to Chinese language programs at the college and high school levels. U.S. government support for Chinese language study through the National Security Education Program (NSEP) for graduate and undergraduate students will contribute to this growth. The U.S. government has designated Mandarin Chinese as a critical language for diplomacy and defense, and recent publications from the U.S. General Accounting Office report that most government agencies with foreign language needs have a shortage of personnel with Chinese language skills. This well-publicized need will also contribute to the growth of enrollments in Chinese language.That is the excitement. Here are some of the challenges. 1) Demand for Chinese language programs is not easily satisfied. Language positions at the high school and college level are difficult to create, even in the face of student interest and national need. In most cases, language programs operate on a ‘zero sum’ principle: a position is added in one language at the expense of another, and it is often difficult if not impossible to eliminate existing positions. 2) Heritage learners often enter high school and college with different skills from students whose language is acquired entirely in the class-room. The advanced skills of many heritage learners provide them with an excellent chance of reaching high levels of language proficiency, but most high school and college programs lack the staffing and flexibility to accommodate their needs. 3) Chinese language skills are typically not a marketable commodity in and of themselves. Students who wish to use their language skills in their future career typically must combine language study with study in a non-language discipline. But many programs at the college level do not encourage or require language study within the non-language major. Thus, a history major focusing on Chinese history often need not study Chinese. At the graduate level, language study often may not fulfill degree requirements. Students often choose to forgo time-consuming language study, discovering too late that they lack the skills to continue in their field.

How do we meet these challenges? We can begin by working with our administrators and colleagues at our institutions. We must convince our administrators of the importance of Chinese language study in to-day’s world, and work with them to expand overall language offerings to accommodate Chinese language programs. We must convince our administrators of the need to provide the resources for heritage students, and we need to encourage these students to see the relevance of advanced language study in their future careers. We must work with our colleagues in other disciplines to create a model for the integration of language study into all relevant disciplines so that students are fully prepared to participate in the China field of their choice. These are difficult tasks, especially if we try to accomplish them alone. So don’t do it alone. Go to meetings attended by colleagues in other disciplines such as the national and regional meetings of AAS and help to shape the vision of Chinese studies. And of course, come to the CLTA annual meeting and share your experiences with your colleagues at other institutions. See you in November in Salt Lake City.

Claudia Ross, Beijing

P March 2002

From the President

March 2002

Source: CLTA Newsletter 26.1. March 2002, pp. 3-4. March 2, 2002

We are in a post-9/11 world, in which the United States has been forced to recognize the need to understand the languages and cultures of other nations and peoples. President Bush has shifted the focus of his presidential priorities, and national diplomacy has moved higher on his list. Congress is considering the allocation of additional funding for the study of critical languages, including Chinese, to create an incentive for students to pursue advanced study in these languages. Our responsibilities as Chinese language teachers and researchers are clear. We must prepare our students to understand the Chinese speaking world by building language skills and cultural knowledge, and we must motivate them to continue their studies in our classrooms and beyond.

The presentations at our most recent Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. demonstrated that we are focused on these tasks, and that we are teaching the micro- and macro-level skills necessary for the mastery of language and culture. We continue to stress the accuracy of discrete skills (as was clear, for example, by the lively discussion in the panel devoted to the particle le, as well as in the papers devoted to the acquisition of tones.) We are confronting the unique difficulties involved in Chinese reading and writing. We continue our innovative use of multimedia to enable multi-skills learning. We focus on outcomes and performance based learning. We use the web to broaden the context of language use. We make the language immediate, relevant, and fun for our students through our use of real, “out of textbook” language (as seen, for example, in the paper on liuxing expressions.) Presentations continue at the upcoming Annual Meeting of the Association of Asian Studies in Washington, D.C., where CLTA member and former Board member Professor Jane Parish Yang has organized a roundtable discussion entitled “Asian Languages in the Area Studies Curriculum: Challenges Ahead.” I want to remind you all of the importance of maintaining links to the broader Asian Studies academic community. Please try to attend the AAS conference and Professor Parish’s panel.

The Olympics have concluded their visit to Salt Lake City and we are preparing to move in for our Annual Meeting in November. Dana Bour-gerie, our Program Chair for 2002 and Vice-President of CLTA, is working with his committee to prepare a program which will enable us to share our research and expertise again and to choose the recipient of the Walton Presentation Prize. We look forward to the publication of the papers of our 2001 recipients, Jun Yang of the University of Arizona (the author of the above-mentioned paper on le) and Song Jiang of the University of Hawaii (the author of a fine paper on Chinese word associations), in our Journal. On behalf of you, the CLTA membership, I thank the CLTA Board members for their ongoing participation in the management of this organization. I give special thanks to the officers of the organization who have worked so hard for all of us this year. Professor Marjorie K. M. Chan, the immediate past president, set high standards and clear tasks for the Board. She continues to serve the organization as its Webmaster, maintaining and developing our informative, well-designed web site. Professor Shou-hsin Teng, the Editor of the Journal, has been responsible for the high quality of the journal. He will be stepping down from his position and we are in the process of a search for a new editor. Professor Cynthia Ning, our Executive Director, has demonstrated her professionalism, care, and strong organizational skills in her first year of service. Professor Ted Yao, our Newsletter Editor, continues to produce a high quality, informative newsletter. Professor James Dew is Chair of the Nominating Committee this year and will be presenting a quality slate of candidates for election to office and to the Board for the coming year. Professor Zheng-sheng Zhang chairs our Awards Committee, responsible for selecting recipients of the Walton Award for overall contributions to the field of the Chinese language pedagogy, and the Walton Presentation Prize for the best conference presentation by a first-time presenter. Professor Jianhua Bai is chairing our newest committee, the Finance Committee, which provides oversight for CLTA’s financial operations.

Watch for your CLTA ballots later this spring and don’t forget to vote. Watch for conference information for our annual meeting and take advantage of the early bird registration fees. I look forward to seeing you all in Salt Lake City in November.

Claudia Ross

P Dec 2000

From the President

December 2000

Source: CLTA Newsletter 24.3. December 2000, p. 3.

The year 2001 is fast approaching, with December the remaining month in the year of transition between millennia. Some of us were old enough to have watched Stanley Kubrick’s movie, 2001: Space Odyssey, when it was shown in 1968. I was then still very much a product of the small, cloistered world of Vancouver’s Chinatown in Canada, where, back here on Earth, well-intentioned educators prohibited immigrant children from using their native language at the elementary school and on the school playground, and where only twenty-one years earlier Chinese Canadians were finally allowed to vote in federal elections and allowed to work in such white-collar professions as law, pharmacy, and accounting. As we moved out of our sequestered communities to the world beyond, we found that not only did we need to study English and French (in bilingual Canada), but we ought also to learn standard (Mandarin) Chinese, and were thus your early ‘heritage’ learners. The idea of learning multiple languages from different language families — Sinitic, Germanic, Romance, and so forth — was taken for granted.

The United States is a multilingual nation inhabited by millions of people who speak more than one language, but it often vacillated in its attitude toward multilingualism during the course of its history that affected policy-making. Today, the importance of multilingualism and international education is recognized and highlighted in the declaration of 13-17 November 2000 as International Education Week, the first ever in U.S. history. As educators and scholars of Chinese in linguistics, literature, and pedagogy, we can look forward to much exciting changes in the 21st century, as we stand poised to enter year 2001 and explore new horizons, meet new challenges, and create new opportunities that will open up.

Some of these new opportunities are already upon us. For example, founder and President of Boston-based Cheng & Tsui Company Jill Cheng has generously established a Cheng & Tsui Professional Development Fund to help language teachers defray their costs of participating in teacher training workshops. Our deepest gratitude to C&T President Jill Cheng for her generosity, as well as for her confidence in our language teaching profession and her support of the teachers educating learners of Chinese in the 21st century.

As the incoming CLTA President, with the responsibility of being “the Association’s chief spokesperson and representative,” as per Article 5 of the CLTA Bylaws (online at <https://www.clta-us.org/about-clta/clta-by-laws/clta-by-laws-article-v/> [URL updated]), I look forward to serving the Association during my year in office, and to work with fellow Board members as well as elected and appointed officers. My thanks in advance on behalf of the Association to outgoing Executive Director Madeline Chu on helping to make a smooth transition between CLTA headquarters during this month of December 2000.

With new headquarters at U. of Hawaii under new Executive Director Cynthia Ning beginning 1 January 2001, the CLTA Board is planning a number of changes, some of which will be reflected in the revision of the CLTA Bylaws, to be voted upon by the CLTA membership later in the year, and others include dissemination of information on the Association to the general membership. We thank the membership for giving us the opportunity to serve the Association, and look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it to D.C. next year. If you have any questions and/or suggestions during the year, please don’t hesitate to contact me, or any of the other members of the Board of Directors and officers. Happy holiday, and have a great 2001, whether in cyberspace or solidly planted here on planet Earth enjoying the sights, smells, and sounds of the physical world around us!

Marjorie K.M. Chan
5 December 2000

P March 2001

From the President

March 2001

Source: CLTA Newsletter 25.1. March 2001, pp. 3-4.

Happy New Millennium to all!

January 2001 saw a smooth transition of CLTA Headquarters, from Kalamazoo College to the University of Hawaii, thanks to the efforts of outgoing Executive Director, Madeline Chu, and incoming Executive Director, Cynthia Ning. The new Executive Director, nominated by last year’s CLTA President, Chuanren Ke, and approved by the CLTA Board of Directors, will serve a four-year term ending 31 December 2004, with renewal possible, as per Article VI of the CLTA By-laws concerning appointed officers of CLTA (URL: <https://www.clta-us.org/bylaws/art6.htm> [URL updated]). Our hearty welcome to Cyndy Ning in her new role as CLTA Executive Director.

The move of CLTA Headquarters to the University of Hawaii is accompanied by other changes. One major change affects the Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association. Beginning with 2001, services related to printing of the Journal and to sales of back issues will be managed by the National East Asian Languages Resource Center’s Foreign Language Publications & Services at the Ohio State University (URL: <http://flc.ohio-state.edu/flpubs/>). The contract between CLTA and OSU’s NEALRC/FLPubs was signed in March 2001 by CLTA President, CLTA Executive Director, FLPubs Executive Director, and FLPubs Managing Editor. With the delay in contract-signing, there is the inevitable, concomitant delay in the printing and distribution of the February 2001 issue of the Journal. Our sincere apologies for the publication lag for the February issue, but aim to have the Journal back on schedule for the May issue.

While the official move of CLTA Headquarters to University of Hawaii took place on 1 January 2001, changing of the guard with respect to Board of Directors and elected officers of CLTA took place upon the adjournment of the Annual Meeting of the CLTA Board of Directors and Officers on 16 November 2000 in Boston, as part of the 2000 Annual Meeting of CLTA. See, in this issue, Board member, James Dew’s summary report of that board meeting, based on reports prepared for the meeting and the minutes of that meeting. Since the November meeting, chairs and members of standing and ad hoc committees have been busy. For instance, Zheng-sheng Zhang, Program Chair, and committee member, Tianwei Xie, are working on various stages of the CLTA program and scheduling of meetings and the annual banquet. Martha Gallagher, Nominating Chair, together with Chih-p’ing Chou and Dana Scott Bourgerie, is working on nominations for the upcoming CLTA election. Xiaohong Wen, Awards Committee Chair, and her committee members, Claudia Ross and Tianwei Xie, are drafting a set of general procedures and guidelines for new and existing CLTA awards. (See the announcement on the awards in this issue.) The newest set of awards to be administered by the CLTA Awards Committee comes from the Cheng & Tsui Professional Development Fund. (See C&T President, Jill Cheng’s speech delivered at the 2000 CLTA General Membership Meeting. URL: <https://www.clta-us.org/awards/ct-fund-speech.htm> [URL updated].) The Steering Committee, consisting of the President, Vice President, Immediate Past President, and two Board members, James Dew and Jing-heng Ma, have been taking care of various matters pertaining to the move of CLTA Headquarters to University of Hawaii, and working out an agreement between University of Hawaii and the Chinese Language Teachers Association, including “buying” release time for CLTA’s new Executive Director to perform her duties, using what had been an annual stipend for the CLTA Executive Director.

Other major changes to launch the new millennium include revision of the CLTA By-laws, which will be submitted to the CLTA membership for ratification. In charge of this task that was begun in November 1999, is our very capable Vice President/President-Elect, Claudia Ross. Most important among the proposed changes to the By-laws is the creation of a Finance Committee, which is charged with reviewing the budget of the Association and all of the Association’s investments, and with advising the Board of Directors annually on the financial condition of the Association. Other changes include the addition of CLTA Webmaster as an appointed officer position, alongside those of Journal Editor and Newsletter Editor, and changes on the dates of the Association’s fiscal year. As ratification of the CLTA By-laws revision requires a vote from the general membership, the Board plans to conduct this process via mail ballot. This will take place in spring or early summer, so please watch for the ballot in the mail and cast your vote.

The start of the new millennium also marks the 25th anniversary of our CLTA Newsletter. To celebrate this occasion, our CLTA Newsletter Editor, Ted Yao, has graciously prepared a short history of the Newsletter for this issue. The new millennium and the Newsletter’s 25th anniversary also serve as timely reminders that our Association has a history, albeit a fairly short one, with establishment of CLTA only since 1962. Thus, while we look forward to many exciting challenges in the Chinese language teaching profession in the new millennium, we need also to look back to our Association’s past and to reclaim its history. Ted Yao’s “reconstructing” of the Newsletter’s history is part of that endeavor. And CLTA’s homepage will be adding information on the Association’s past, including past CLTA Headquarters, and Board of Directors and Officers. A web page highlighting CLTA activities and accomplishments over the years will also be added to our CLTA website (URL: <https://www.clta-us.org> [URL updated]).

Before ending this presidential message, for those going to the 2001 AAS meeting in Chicago (22-25 March 2001), do plan to attend the CLTA-sponsored panel (Session 126, Saturday, March 24, 8:30 a.m.): “Acquiring Competence: Chinese Language Study in the Asian Studies Curriculum.” Organized and chaired by CLTA Board member, Jane Parish Yang (Lawrence University), other panelists are: Chuanren Ke (University of Iowa), Honggang Jin (Hamilton College), Galal Walker (Ohio State University), Joseph Fewsmith (Boston University), and Yanfang Tang (The College of William and Mary).

Enjoy the springtime and happy teaching! Our students may know that English is the lingua franca of our global economy, but learning of a foreign language such as Chinese is increasingly becoming a career plus, and oftentimes a career must.

Marjorie K.M. Chan
08 March 2001

P Sept 2001

From the President

September 2001

[Note: The September 2001 issue of the CLTA Newsletter was sent for publiation before the 11 September 2001 tragedy in the United States, with loss of over 6,000 lives. The Chinese Language Teachers Association extends its deepest sympathies to all those who have lost friends and loved ones. — Marjorie Chan, CLTA President]

Source: CLTA Newsletter 25.2. September 2001, pp. 4-6.

Demographic changes impact a nation socially, economically and politically. The Chinese-language teaching field is no less affected. Statistics from Census 2000 in the United States are posted at the U.S. Census Bureau website (<http://www.census.gov>), with more information placed online from time to time. In Census 2000, 281.4 million people were counted in the U.S. (as of 1 April 2000). While that figure represents a sizeable increase of 13.2% from the 1990 census figure of 248.7 million, a much more dramatic growth rate is seen in the Asian American population, namely, a 48.3% increase, spurred mainly by immigration, creating a community that is predominantly first- (and second-)generation. The Asian American population in the 2000 census is 10.2 million, representing 3.6% of the total U.S. population. Chinese Americans, totaling 2.43 million, form the largest subgroup, constituting 23.7% of the Asian American population, and 0.9% of the nation’s total population.1

As one might expect, the Chinese American population is not evenly distributed across all fifty states. The Organization of Chinese Americans’ 29 May 2001 news release (<http://www.ocanatl.org/news/pr05292001.html>) notes the ten states with the largest Chinese American populations: California (980,642), New York (424,774), Texas (105,829), New Jersey (100,355), Massachusetts (84,392), Illinois (76,725), Washington (59,914), Hawaii (56,600), Pennsylvania (50,650), and Maryland (49,400). In terms of percentage of population, the ten states with the largest Chinese American communities are: Hawaii, California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, Maryland, Nevada, District of Columbia, and Illinois.2

For the Chinese-language teaching field, the shift in demographics has increased student enrollment in Chinese at probably every level; it has added to the need for solutions in teaching Chinese to heritage and non-heritage learners in the K-16 range; it has made more urgent the need for articulation between schooling levels; and it has increased the need for Chinese-language teachers and teacher-training programs. These are some of the challenges for our profession.

It is therefore very timely that Chinese educators have just now begun a three-year project: a field-wide research and development program to strengthen Chinese language instruction in the United States. Funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and awarded to the National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL), with Scott McGinnis the Principal Investigator, the project, designated “The Chinese Language Field Initiative,” is led by the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA) and the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS), with administrative support provided by NCOLCTL and with consultative expertise from the National Foreign Language Center (NFLC). Also represented are the two national Chinese-heritage school associations, the National Council of Associations of Chinese Language Schools (NCACLS) and the Chinese School Association in the United States (CSAUS). These four organizations represent Chinese-language teachers of some 200,000 students enrolled in Chinese language instruction in K-12, community, and collegiate school settings. For further information on this project and the inaugural meeting held in Washington, DC on 3-5 August 2001, see <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/clta_clfi.htm>. Updates on the project will be posted there.

Also timely with respect to teacher training is our announcement in this newsletter of the procedures for applying for the Cheng and Tsui Professional Development Awards for teachers of Chinese-made possible through the generosity of Cheng & Tsui Company-to support attendance at training workshops and seminars. Information and updates will be posted at <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/awards/chengtsui-awards.htm>. This award and two others-the Walton Award and the Walton Presentation Prize (formerly known as the Ron Walton Young Scholar Award)-are administered by the CLTA Awards Committee, currently chaired by Professor Xiaohong Wen. Information on these three awards and their recipients is posted at our CLTA website, linked to the Awards webpage at <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/awards.htm>. Our thanks go to Professor Wen and her committee for their hard work in setting up the eligibility requirements and the procedures for administering these three awards.

CLTA’s Awards Committee had until now been an ad hoc committee. But with its annual administering of three awards at this time-the Walton Award, the Walton Presentation Prize, and the Cheng and Tsui Professional Development Award-the revised and newly-ratified CLTA Bylaws makes the Awards Committee a standing committee.

One other newly-created standing committee, as included in the 2001 revised and ratified CLTA Bylaws, is the Finance Committee, charged with the responsibility of reviewing the Association’s budget, its finances, and its investments, and to advise the Board of Directors annually on the financial condition of the Association. (See the report in this newsletter on the revised CLTA Bylaws by Professor Claudia Ross, Chair of the Bylaws Revision Committee; you will also find here a full text of the 2001 revised Bylaws if space permits-an online version of which is available at <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/bylaws>. An earlier version of the Bylaws, that revised and ratified in 1996, is archived at <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/bylaws/bylaws1996.htm>.)

Other committee chairs and committee members have also been busy at work during the spring and summer following the March 2001 issue of the CLTA Newsletter. The Nominating Committee, chaired by Professor Martha Gallagher, solicited nominations for a slate for the Vice President, and for the incoming Board of Directors. Ballots were sent out from CLTA Headquarters at the University of Hawaii, accompanied by a return envelope. Results of the votes will be posted in early October at the CLTA website at <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/new.htm>. Our thanks go to all those who graciously agreed to be placed on the ballot.

Our Program Committee Chair, Professor Zheng-sheng Zhang, has been busy throughout the year with preparing the program for CLTA’s 2001 annual meeting, to be held in Washington, DC on 15-18 November 2001. A copy of the program can be found in this Newsletter, and at our CLTA website. The URL to link to the program webpage, and to the homepage of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)-for hotel reservations and registration to attend the CLTA annual meeting and ACTFL activities-is: <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/meeting.htm>.

CLTA is officially affiliated with ACTFL: CLTA pays annual dues to ACTFL, and organizes its annual meeting in November, in conjunction with ACTFL and with the ACTFL co-operating organizations. CLTA is also a dues-paying member of two other national-level foreign-language organizations, namely, the National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL) and the Joint National Committee for Languages-National Council for Languages & International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS); you will find in this issue a report by Professor Claudia Ross on JNCL-NCLIS. CLTA is also currently a (non-dues-paying) affiliate of a fourth organization, the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). CLTA’s affiliation with AAS is maintained as long as ten percent or more of our members are concurrently AAS members. Professor Jane Parish Yang, for two years in a row, has organized a CLTA-sponsored panel at AAS, one that took place in March 2001 and one for the coming spring. Online information concerning our affiliated associations can be found at <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/associations.htm>.

As noted in the March issue of the Newsletter, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the CLTA Newsletter. Our Newsletter Editor, Professor Tao-chung Yao, will be reporting on its history in December; if you have any interesting tidbits of information on the Newsletter’s earlier history, please email him at <tyao@hawaii.edu>, so that in his report he might share them with all of us. Professor Yao is also soliciting pre-June 1988, back-issues of the CLTA Newsletter so that CLTA Headquarters will have one full, archived set. Especially needed are issues published before June 1988. CLTA Headquarters is drawing up a list of those issues currently in hand; to avoid any duplication, members are advised, before sending anything, first to contact our Executive Director, Professor Cynthia Ning <cyndy@hawaii.edu>, to determine which back-issues CLTA might still need to complete a set.

As to the Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, we are very fortunate in being able to pull together two complete sets, thanks to the generous donation this spring of personal sets, one each from Professors John DeFrancis and John Young. As suggested by Cyndy Ning — in recognition of the fact that Professor DeFrancis, Professor Young, and CLTA Headquarters have all at one time or another found a home at the University of Hawaii — one set will reside permanently at the UH’s Center for Chinese Studies, with the second set travelling to wherever the current CLTA Headquarters might be located.

We are also pleased that our Journal is now back on schedule: both the February and the May issues have been published and sent out to members and institutional subscribers. JCLTA Editor, Professor Shou-hsin Teng, informs us that the review by Professor Xiaohong Wen, omitted from the May issue, will be published in the October 2001 issue. We thank CLTA members and institutional subscribers for their patience during this year of transition to the National East Asian Languages Resource Center’s Foreign Language Publications & Services at The Ohio State University (URL: <http://flc.ohio-state.edu/flpubs>); OSU FLPubs will be managing services related to printing the Journal and to the sale and distribution of back-issues.).

The next major JCLTA project will be the digitizing of back-issues-a task that first requires obtaining a full set of back-issues that can be set aside expressly for that digitizing project-I am also hoping (1) that we will have a complete set of back-issues in PDF format which then can be searched in both English and Chinese, and (2) that a CD ROM set can be produced to celebrate the CLTA’s upcoming 40th anniversary. Details remain to be worked out between the CLTA and the OSU FLPubs, but … once digitizing is done, requests can then be made for individual back-issues in hardcopy or in PDF format. Stay tuned!

Moving the CLTA Headquarters to the University of Hawaii, as of 1 January 2001, has gone smoothly overall, with the basic financial and legal documents needed to “set up shop” at UH having been received during the transition period; i.e., December 2000 and into the new year, although other CLTA records (viz., financial and accounting), have yet to be received. Shipments of various back-issues of JCLTA and the CLTA Newsletter were received in spring, with some back-issues of JCLTA also received at the OSU FLPubs.

Since her appointment as our CLTA Executive Director, Professor Ning has been swamped with setting up the new headquarters at University of Hawaii and performing a zillion tasks such as building up a membership database, sending out the ballots for Bylaws revision and the election, and coordinating with ACTFL, with the Board of Directors and especially — in preparing for the annual meeting in November — with our Program Chair, Professor Zhang. Thanks, Cyndy, from all of us!

We look forward to seeing you all at the 2001 CLTA annual meeting in Washington, DC!

Marjorie K.M. Chan
30 August 2001

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1The population figures are higher still if Asian Americans with multiracial backgrounds are included. For instance, Genaro C. Armas of the Associated Press wrote, on 12 March 2001 when the national-level population figures were released, that “the Hispanic population surged 57.9 percent since 1990, from 22.3 million in 1990 to 35.3 million in 2000 … while the non-Hispanic Asian population grew by as much as 74.3 percent to 11.5 million.” (See <http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/census010312.html>.)
2Similarly, in Canada, while statistics from the 2001 census are not yet available, the 1996 census at Statistics Canada (<http://www.statcan.ca>) indicates that the Chinese Canadian population is the largest among the Asian ethnic community; of the 2.07 million Asians in Canada, 0.86 million (41.5%) are Chinese. Residing primarily in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, in 1996 they constitute 3.02% of the country’s total population of 28.5 million.

IPP Dec 2001

From the Immediate Past President

December 2001

Source: CLTA Newsletter 25.3. December 2001, pp. 6-8.

Invoking the image of 2001: Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 movie, the theme of ACTFL 2001, the 35th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), was “A Professional Odyssey: Exploring New Spaces.” The theme of this year’s convention is indeed apt, as we usher in the new millennium with year 2001, and explore new spaces in acquiring greater professional knowledge of foreign language studies, foreign language education, and international communication.

Among ACTFL’s oldest member organizations is our Chinese Language Teachers Association, established since 1962 and affiliated with ACTFL since the formation of ACTFL out of the Modern Language Association (MLA) in 1967. (See <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/clta_actfl.htm>.) CLTA has thus benefited from several decades of collaboration with ACTFL on issues of interest and concern to foreign-language teachers and foreign-language teaching organizations throughout the United States. One very important ACTFL-initiated project is the “New Visions in Action” project, involving PreK through 16+ foreign language educators nationwide. The project is a collaborative effort to improve the foreign-language teaching profession, by identifying and implementing the actions necessary to improve foreign language programs throughout the United States. Thus, the new millennium promises to continue CLTA’s critical role in collaborating with other organizations dedicated to foreign-language teaching and foreign language education.

CLTA is a professional organization whose purpose is to advance the teaching and learning of the Chinese language, and to encourage and disseminate study and research in Chinese language pedagogy, Chinese linguistics, and Chinese literature. Over the years, papers presented at our annual meetings have reflected topics relevant to all three areas of teaching and research. At the same time that we, as an organization, reach out to other foreign-language organizations, we also need to maintain dialogue with scholars and colleagues in the three related fields of Chinese studies, fields that are reflected in the teaching and research at East Asian languages departments in the country, namely: Chinese language pedagogy, Chinese linguistics, and Chinese literature. CLTA’s continued affiliation with the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) also bespeak our recognition that linguistics, literature, and language pedagogy are, in turn, part of the larger arena of East Asian culture and East Asian history. Thus, we enter the new millennium, ready to meet new challenges in exploring new spaces in the galaxy of international communication, foreign language studies, literary studies, linguistic studies, and cultural studies.

In this first year of the new millennium, changes that have been taking place at the Association level as well as at the national level have been reported to the membership in the CLTA Newsletter via messages from the President, the Vice President, the Executive Director, as well as via other means of disseminations, such as printing of the full text of the newly-voted upon and ratified 2001 CLTA By-laws (in the September 2001 issue of the Newsletter). We look back to the past year’s activities of the Chinese Language Teaching Association with a brief reporting of the information disseminated at the 2001 CLTA General Membership Meeting in Washington, DC. Chairing the meeting as the CLTA President, I was accompanied by my trusty notebook, connected to an LCD projector, and thus taking advantage of the technology and hardware available, so that the meeting agenda could be displayed for easy viewing on the screen.

The meeting opened with an introduction of the (2001) Board of Directors who were elected by the CLTA membership, together with the four incoming Directors: Jianhua Bai, Mien-hwa Chiang, Stephen Fleming, and Lucy Lee. (The new slate of officers and directors is online at: <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/officers.htm>.) Each of the Directors had an opportunity to introduce himself/herself in front the audience, and in some cases, to make some announcements concerning this year’s program changes, welcoming members to the 2002 CLTA meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, and so forth. Those introductions were followed by corresponding self-introductions (and announcements) by the appointed officers of the Association.

With time constraints, only some of the activities of the board over the past year were reported or touched upon at the general membership meeting. These activities are expanded upon in the following paragraphs. In any event, at the conclusion of the meeting, the President thanked all the appointed officers, committee chairs, and Board of Directors for their diligence. Special thanks went to Cyndy Ning for her hard work and dedication at CLTA’s headquarters in University of Hawaii. Also thanked was the audience for taking time to attend the general membership meeting, despite the late hour when all must be starved by then. The meeting adjourned just after the scheduled 8:30 p.m. end of the meeting.

One of the activities at the general membership meeting was the announcement of Dr. John Young as this year’s recipient of the Walton Award, with Awards Committee Chair, Xiaohong Wen, presenting, amidst the warm applause from the audience, the award to Dr. Young, a founding member of CLTA and for many years also the CLTA Secretary-Treasurer (today’s CLTA Executive Director). (For more on Dr. Young as the recipient of this year’s Walton Award, see the separate announcement in this issue of the Newsletter.) Jane Parish Young, as our liaison with our affiliate organization, the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), invited everyone to attend the CLTA-sponsored, border-crossing session, entitled “Asian Languages in the Area Studies Curriculum-Challenges Ahead,” which will be take place at the 2002 AAS meeting in Washington, DC. Ted Yao reported in his capacity as elected co-chair of the Chinese Language Field Initiative’s National Chinese Language Commission (see <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/clta_clfi.htm>), and alerted all to a field-wide survey that will be administered through the Commission. (Cornelius Kubler, the other elected co-chair of the Commission, was unable to attend the CLTA annual meeting this year.)

The CLTA board, including elected and appointed officers, chairs of the standing and ad hoc committees and committee members, has been working extremely hard during the past year, with CLTA business conducted via email correspondence, including voting via email ballot. Nominating Committee Chair, Martha Gallagher, together with help from committee members (Chih-p’ing Chou and Dana Bourgerie), Cyndy Ning, and others on the board, took care of the 2001 elections. Zheng-sheng Zhang worked on the 2001 CLTA program, with help from board member, Tianwei Xie, and CLTA member, Hongyin Tao. Special thanks go to CLTA member, Professor Chung-wen Shih, for making local arrangements for this year’s CLTA banquet. Everyone enjoyed the social get-together and feast at Tony Cheng’s Seafood Restaurant.

Awards Committee Chair, Xiaohong Wen, and her committee members (Tianwei Xie and Claudia Ross) drafted guidelines for the three awards that are currently administered by the CLTA Board of Directors, namely: the Walton Award, the Walton Presentation Prize, and the Cheng & Tsui Professional Development Award. Detailed guidelines for the administration of the awards were submitted to the board and approved by the board via email ballot in spring. The awards and information on eligibility, etc., were then announced in the September 2001 issue of the CLTA Newsletter and was placed online as well (URL: <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/awards.htm>). The Awards Committee will, beginning with the new Board of Directors, be a standing committee, as per the 2001 CLTA By-laws. The ad hoc By-laws Revision Committee, chaired by Claudia Ross, drafted the revision of the 1996 bylaws that were ultimately approved by the board of directors in spring, and then sent out from CLTA Headquarters for membership vote. The 2001 revision of the CLTA By-laws, ratified as of 15 June 2001, was published in the September 2001 issue of the CLTA Newsletter, with a corresponding online copy also available at the CLTA website (URL: <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/bylaws/>).

The Steering Committee, composed of the elected officers and two board members (James Dew and Jing-heng Ma), worked with Cyndy Ning on various aspects of the move of CLTA Headquarters to University of Hawaii, including repeated communication with old CLTA headquarters for past book-keeping and financial records. (To date, CLTA headquarters at U.H. has only received the Association’s past three years of income tax information.) The Steering Committee also took on the task of updating the CLTA Handbook for Officers and Directors, a handbook first created by Cynthia Ning when she was CLTA President in 1999. As she indicated in her presidential message in the September 1999 issue of the Newsletter (also available online <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/prez/prez_1999-09.htm>, she had taken, as her major charge for CLTA, “the production of an officer’s handbook, so that procedural knowhow and institutional records of the association can be readily accessible in writing.” In recognition of the importance of the Handbook for guiding the Board of Directors in their work for the Association, I made it a task for the Steering Committee to update the Handbook. The 2001 edition of the Handbook is the result of that commitment. Now 102 pages in length, it contains 29 more pages than the original 1999 edition. The Table of Contents was shown to the general membership at the November meeting. Included, for example, are past minutes of the CLTA Board of Directors (1991 through 2000), budgets and financial statements from recent years, and guidelines for standing committees and their chairs. Cyndy Ning, in her September 1999 presidential message and at the 1999 CLTA general membership meeting, invited members to contact her for requests of a copy of the Handbook. Rather than follow her footstep in responding to individual requests, current and previous copies of the Handbook can be accessed at <http://clta.deall.ohio-state.edu/handbook/>.

At the general meeting, since not everyone in the audience had visited the CLTA Homepage, as CLTA Webmaster, I took the opportunity to display some of the webpages from the CLTA website (e.g., the main page, the CLTA 2001 Program, etc.). The general membership meeting concluded with a display of the 2001 CLTA Financial Statement, and a brief reporting by Cynthia Ning, elaborating on some of the figures shown in the Excel spreadsheet on the screen, including 2001 income (as of 11/13/01) and CLTA assets (as of 10/31/01).

The first year of the move of CLTA Headquarters to the University of Hawaii required much patience from the membership, and we thank you all. We also appreciate your understanding in the late publication of issues of the Journal this past year, while we settle into a new routine. There were also some matters that had to be placed in the back burner during this year of transition to the new headquarters. These include looking into online and offline membership payment via credit card, and reduced registration rates from ACTFL for retirees in the profession. These matters, along with next year’s 40th anniversary activities, and other exciting things, are in the capable hands of our new President, Claudia Ross, and her new team.

My personal thanks to the CLTA Board of Directors and appointed officers for their hard work and dedication during the past year of my term as President. Our gratitude to outgoing Directors, Chuanren Ke, Tianwei Xie, Xiaohong Wen, and Jane Parish Yang, for their service during their term on the Board of Directors. No one walks alone, as ACTFL keynote speaker, Ronan Tynan, noted; for me, the road was paved with teamwork from a great group of team players on the board. My sincere thanks go to the CLTA membership for giving me the opportunity to serve the Association as its President during the past year. The experience has been a deeply rewarding one for me, as I tried to do my part in taking our Association into the 21st century, into the new millennium, and in contributing to the professionalization of our Association.

I’ll end with a brief mention of my presentation on “Concordancers, Concordances, and Chinese Language Teaching” at the 2001 CLTA meeting. Due to time delay in setting up the computer and LCD projector, my presentation was semi-completed. While an article-length paper is forthcoming, a Powerpoint version of the presentation is now online for interested souls. The URL is: <http://deall.ohio-state.edu/chan.9/conc/chan_clta_2001.pps>.

Season’s greetings to all!
With my usual “thump and zap,” glitches and all, due to having missed our CLTA Newsletter Editor’s Nov. 30 deadline,

Marjorie K.M. Chan
The Ohio State University
4 December 2001

P Dec 1999

From the President

December 1999

Source: CLTA Newsletter 23.3. December 1999.

We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Immediate Past President Cynthia Ning and our outgoing members of the Board of Directors, as well as to this past year’s Program Chair Xie Tianwei and Nominations Chair Audrey Li, for their efforts and excellence. And as always, we are most grateful to Executive Director Madeline Chu, JOURNAL editor Teng Shou-hsin, NEWSLETTER editor Ted Yao, and WEB MASTER Marjorie Chan, for their dedication and contributions to our association.

As we enter the 21st century, we thank our founders, including John Young, for bringing our association from what Dr. Young has dubbed a “cottage industry” to the status of an emerging field. We have made great strides over the past decades in such areas as curriculum and material development, assessment, classroom learning and teaching, and technology. Increasing attention has also been paid to classroom-oriented research and teacher development, and to bridging the gap between CFL acquisition research and instructional practice.

To continue building our field, not only do we need a more systematic and planned approach to study CFL learning and teaching from the perspectives of linguistics, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics and to continue to integrate culture and literature into our curriculum, we also want to work more closely with all other sectors of our field. The First Chinese Language Summit, held in the spring of 1999, involved the leadership of CLASS and CLTA, and has provided new momentum for our efforts. In this connection, one of our CLTA projects for the new year is to conduct a national survey on issues regarding articulation between pre-college and college Chinese language instruction. Input from each one of you for this survey will be important for our field advancement efforts.

The theme for next year’s ACTFL annual meeting — Language Learners in the 21st Century: Every One, Every Day, Every Where — seems to be a most appropriate one for us as well. Knowledge of other peoples’ language and culture is crucial in one’s understanding of how other peoples construct their version of reality. With a language of more than 1.2 billion native speakers that is also a less-commonly-taught one in the western hemisphere, our challenges are daunting. To push our mission forward, we must continue to think globally and act locally and continue to create the best possible conditions for the learning and teaching of Chinese language, literature, and culture. It is through our daily individual and collective efforts that we will be able to make a difference in tackling the challenges ahead.

With thanks for your contributions, and all good wishes for the coming year,

Ke Chuanren

November 28, 1999

P March 2000

From the President

March 2000

Source: CLTA Newsletter 24.1. March 2000.

Greetings GEWEI from Iowa.

You should all have received a copy of the CLTA Articulation Project Survey recently. If you have not done so, I urge you to take a moment to fill out this important survey and mail it to CLTA Headquarters as soon as possible, in the envelope provided. As Chinese becomes more widely taught, the success of our instructional efforts increasingly relies on rational coordination among curricula at different instructional levels in different settings. This national survey is aimed at collecting data on the perceptions of pre-college and college Chinese instructors on curriculum areas that may need better coordination. The survey also solicits information about the strengths and weaknesses of students coming from pre-college programs and on any perceived adjustments that might need to be made in programs at both the pre-college and college levels. Data collected in this survey will serve as an important guide for our national and local/regional articulation efforts. The articulation committee will make a report on the results of this survey at the 2000 CLTA annual conference in Boston in November. Thank you very much for your input.

In addition to this national articulation survey, the CLTA Board of Directors is also engaging in a number of important tasks this year for the purpose of reaching out to other national organizations in and related t our field. One of them, led by Professor Jane Yang, is to strengthen connections with the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). CLTA has been holding its annual conferences in conjunction with those of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), a practice that has served us well in our efforts to deal with issues in second language acquisition and pedagogy in general while at the same time focus on issues of purely Chinese concerns. While we will continue to be affiliated with ACTFL for our annual conferences, we think it is also important for CLTA to strengthen its ties with AAS. AAS is a most appropriate setting for us to bring together area studies faculty and faculty in Chinese language instruction to discuss how Chinese language study can be better integrated into the Asian studies curriculum. Efforts are being made to put together a proposal for a CLTA-sponsored panel for the 2001 AAS annual meeting in Chicago.

Another task currently being taken on by the CLTA Board of Directors is the revision of sections of the CLTA By-Laws in order to allow ex-officio representatives from all three major pre-college Chinese language teacher associations to attend the Board meetings. These three associations are the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS), the Chinese School Association in the United States (CSAUS), and the National Council of Associations of Chinese Language Schools (NCACLS). Representatives of CLASS and NCACLS have been invited to sit in on our Board meetings over the past few years. As more students are taking Chinese at the pre-college levels, in either high schools or community schools, than at the college levels, it is important for CLTA, the oldest association for Chinese language education in North America, to reach out to all these major pre-college organizations. Led by Professor Claudia Ross, the Board is currently examining the Bylaws carefully and exploring feasible options to accommodate this by-laws revision. As changes to the By-laws will need to be voted on by the membership, you will be hearing from the Board in the months ahead regarding this matter.

Best wishes for a productive spring semester.

Ke Chuanren

P Sept 2000

From the President

September 2000

Source: CLTA Newsletter 24.2. September 2000.

Greetings GEWEI from Iowa:

It is my official duty to announce the shocking news of Professor Madeline Chu’s resignation as CLTA Executive Director. On August 9th she submitted her, and on August 12, after several days of unsuccessful efforts to persuade her to reconsider, and with my deep regret, I accepted her resignation on behalf of the Board.

Professor Chu has graciously agreed to extend her service as the Executive Director until December 31, 2000, for the purpose of facilitating a smooth transition of the position. She has also expressed her earnest desire to do her best for a smooth transition.

On behalf of the Association, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude for Professor Chu’s enormous contributions and excellent service to the Association over her decade-long period of service. She has served as the CLTA Executive Director since 1992, and before that had served as President of CLTA. Among her most recent significant contributions to the field is her leadership role in organizing and directing the two CLTA Leadership Seminars in the summers of 1996 and 1997, and her editorship of a well-received proceedings of the Seminars published in 1999. Professor Chu is a life member of CLTA. We wish her all the best for her continued contributions to our field.

I am delighted to report that Professor James Dew, Chair of the CLTA Executive Director Review Committee, has agreed to take charge of our new ED search mission. Responsibilities of his ED Review Committee will now be extended to include the new ED search and overseeing the transition. This is truly a major operation. We are grateful to Professor Dew and his Committee for their dedications and contributions to our Association.

In this issue of the Newsletter, you will find results of this year’s hotly contested election. My warmest congratulations to the new officers. I look forward to working with you. Many thanks to the Elections Committee.

My best wishes for a productive fall semester. I look forward to seeing you all in Boston in November.

Ke Chuanren
August 22, 2000