On December 9, the 2013 Council of the Confucius Institute at Michigan State University (CI-MSU) was held simultaneously at the Open University of China (the OUC). The Chinese and American members of the Council and the working staff of CI-MSU exchanged and discussed ideas through both oral and written reports via a live two-way video-conferencing between the two sites.It was affirmed that in 2014 the CI-MSU would continue focusing on distance Chinese teaching as the primary means to drive growth, expanding the enrollment scale, developing teaching resources related to Chinese and Chinese culture in American K-12 schools, undertaking research on Chinese teaching methodology, the curriculum design of Chinese courses, distance training of Chinese teacher occupational development, organizing the “Chinese Bridge” Summer Camp in China, and other Chinese culture related activities.
Yang Zhijian, the President of the OUC and the Vice-Chairman of the CI-MSU, fully affirmed the achievements of the Confucius Institute, and expressed his hope that it can focus on online teaching and digital course development, gaining valuable experience and knowledge that will allow for further growth down the line. He also pointed out that the OUC will also increase its input in order to promote these developments, while at the same time desiring that the two sides, China and America, could establish a more permanent and regular system of distance communication.
Zhang Shaogang, the Chinese member of the CI-MSU Council and the Vice President of the OUC, Yang Yongbo, Director of International Cooperation and Exchange Department, Liang Xiaoqing, the former Chinese dean, and other Chinese and the American representatives attended this meeting, which was co-hosted by Li Fujia, the new Chinese President of the CI-MSU, and Richard Prawat, the American President. Both Ni Ruhui, the American Vice-President of the CI-MSU, and Li Fujia delivered reports on the development status of the CI-MSU in 2013 and the development planning of the upcoming 2014 projects.
The CI-MSU was co-established by the China Central Radio and TV University (CCRTVU, now the OUC) and Michigan State University in May 2006, and is the first online Confucius Institute in the world and the eighth one established by China in America. The CI-MSU has shown great innovation in its methodology, using the “shop-factory” cooperation model, establishing Chinese Your Way, Chinese Cultural Appreciation, Word of the Day and other web-based Chinese teaching resources on a large scale, carrying out the Chinese and Chinese culture teaching based on distance education, and focusing on the students' learning process monitoring, which guarantees learning quality. By the autumn of 2013, there were about 2,300 American students registered for the online courses offered by the CI-MSU. Additionally, the CI-MSU actively provides services for the local school districts, cooperating with more than 20 school districts in Michigan State, offering face-to-face Chinese teaching projects, from which over 5,000 students benefit, and making available to these communities various Chinese cultural activities, such as Chinese Summer Camp, The Itinerant Exhibition of Chinese Cultural Presentation, Chinese Traditional Festival Ceremonies, etc. Besides teaching Chinese and promoting Chinese culture, the CI-MSU also pays attention to Chinese teacher training, providing native Chinese teachers for school districts in America via the Chinese Normal College of Michigan State University. From 2007 to 2009 the CI-MSU was awarded the title of “Excellent Confucius Institute” for 3 consecutive years, and course material from Chinese Your Way won the title of “Excellent Teaching Material” conferred by the Confucius Institute Headquarters.
Article by Zhou Jinlan, the OUC
Photo by Yu Zhangli