Washington State Coalition for International Education announces:
 

EXPANDING CHINESE LANGUAGE CAPACITY IN WASHINGTON STATE

What would it take to have 5 percent of high school students learning Chinese by 2015?

The Washington Council on International Trade, Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, and Associates in Cultural Exchange hosted sixty business and education leaders and elected officials at an International Education Leadership Summit on January 30, 2006 to explore what it would take to expand Chinese language capacity in Washington state. Dr. Shuhan Wang, Supervisor of World Languages and International Education in Delaware and coauthor of the Asia Society report "Expanding Chinese Language Capacity in the United States," was the keynote speaker at the morning Summit.

"English will continue to be an important – even dominant – language in the years ahead. But most of our fellow humans will continue to be non-English speakers. Our ability to communicate effectively is directly related to our ability to speak the language." said Bill Center, President of the Washington Council on International Trade, explaining his organization's interest in supporting the expansion of Chinese language capacity.

Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, was quoted in the 12/25/2005 Seattle Times as saying, "If my kids were of very young ages today, I would be asking them, and encouraging them, to learn Chinese."

"Everyone is talking about Chinese," stated Dr. Michele Anciaux Aoki, project director for the Summit, "but now it's time to see if the business and education communities in our state are ready to work together to make it happen. Then, we need to look to our resources in the community and in our universities, as well as partnerships with China, to help us develop effective programs with excellent teachers and innovative curriculum."

One important source for teachers of Chinese in this state are the many Chinese speakers in our communities. In the afternoon, Dr. Wang and Betty Lau, a well-known educator in Seattle schools and the Chinese community, presented a workshop for over ninety participants from higher ed, K-12, and community schools on "Heritage Language Learning and Teaching" at the University of Washington, followed by a reception and resource fair. This event, co-sponsored by the UW Early Language Learning Group, Language Learning Center, East Asia Resource Center, and Dept. of Asian Languages and Literature, highlighted the importance of providing training to potential teachers of Chinese in how to teach languages well, especially to young children. Dr. Wang outlined a new resource being developed by Asia Society to help schools and school districts plan effective Chinese language programs.

Major funding for the January 30 events came from a State Innovations Grant to the Washington State Coalition for International Education from Longview Foundation. This is the third International Education Summit sponsored by the Washington State Coalition for International Education. The morning Summit was hosted by Alexander Hutton at the Rainier Club.

The Washington State Coalition for International Education is a network of community leaders, non-profit organizations, schools, colleges, and individuals committed to preparing all students for today’s interconnected world. The grassroots organization, founded in 2003, helps promote activities and events related to international education through its E-Newsletter. The expansion of world language education, with an emphasis on early childhood education and improving second language proficiency outcomes, is one of the Coalition's key goals.

For more information about the Coalition and international education efforts in Washington state, please visit the International Education Washington website: http://internationaledwa.org and Expanding Chinese Language Capacity in Washington State http://internationaledwa.org/resources/wl/chinese/.

Contact:
Michele Anciaux Aoki, 206-234-4029, michele@internationaledwa.org

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