Supply and effectiveness of chinese language teachers
1. Supply and Effectiveness of
Chinese Language Teachers:
What Have Accomplished and
What Are the Next Steps?
Shuhan C. Wang, PhD
Deputy Director
National Foreign Language Center
University of Maryland
2012 NCLC
2. Overview
• Look back to some issues and data regarding
Chinese language teachers from a historical
perspective
• Share STARTALK data on Chinese language
teacher preparation
• Discuss the characteristics of effective teacher
programs
• Suggest strategies to enhance institutional
capacity for teacher development
3. 2005 Asia Society Report: Planning Chinese:
What would it take to have 5 percent of US high
school students learning Chinese by 2015?
1. Tap into major developments and initiatives to
advance the field
2. Take both short- and long-term approaches to create
a supply of qualified Chinese language teachers
3. Leverage growing interest to expand and improve
Chinese language programs
4. Incorporate research and technology to develop
effective curriculum, materials, assessment and
delivery systems
5. Make a long-term commitment to invest in the
future (Asia Society Report, 2005) 3
4. 2005 AS Report: Urgent Needs
• A comprehensive set of data on student enrollment, teachers,
programs, and schools
• Analysis on students (the type and levels of students, goals of
learning, proficiency attainment levels); teachers (number of
all and certified teachers in various educational sectors,
educational background and pedagogical training of teachers;
and programs (types, geographical location, funding source,
evaluation)
• Teacher education/training programs that are flexible and
portable across states, which can meet the needs of multiple
groups of prospective and practicing teachers
• Teacher trainers who know about teaching Chinese as a
second/heritage/foreign language
4
6. 2006: Chinese Teacher Training Programs
State Approved: 4 Undergraduate; 5 Graduate
1. California State University at East Bay
2. California State University at Long Beach
3. George Mason University
4. University of Hawaii
5. University of Iowa
6. University of Kansas
7. University of Mass, Amherst
8. New York University
9. Ohio State University
10. Rice University
11. Rutgers University
12. University of Pennsylvania: Summer Chinese Teachers’ Institute
(College Board & Asia Society Meeting, May 31, 2006 )
6
7. Chinese Field National Accomplishments:
2005-2012
• Launched federal, state, local initiatives
• Increased student enrollment in all levels
• Increased K-12 school programs
• Began to develop curricular, materials, and
assessment resources
• Increased the numbers of teachers and
teacher education programs
7
8. STARTALK Chinese Programs: 2007-2011
Year Student Programs Teacher Programs
Number of Number of Number of Number of
Programs Participants Programs Participants
2007 18 681 17 292
2008 37 2079 27 702
2009 45 3143 33 776
2010 54 4242 44 991
2011 63 5737 49 986
Total 217 15882 170 3747
9. Key Findings: STARTALK 2011
Teacher Participant Data
• Only 11% of respondents were born in the
United States.
• Female participants (84.3%) outnumbered
male participants (15.4%).
• Half (50%) had graduate degrees.
• About 67% of Chinese teachers have taught
for fewer than 5 years.
10. Age of STARTALK
Teacher Program Participants
# of Respondents
(N=1181)
20-29 253 (21.4%)
30-39 317 (26.8%)
40-49 354 (30.0%)
50-59 194 (16.4%)
60-69 41 (3.5%)
70 and over 5 (0.4%)
No response 17 (1.4%)
11. Highest Degree Attained:
All STARTALK Languages
# of Respondents (N=1181)
Doctorate 78 (6.6%)
Master's 517 (43.8%)
Some graduate school 76 (6.4%)
Bachelor's (4yr) degree 425 (36.0%)
Associate’s or vocational (2yr) 38 (3.2%)
degree
Some college 31 (2.6%)
High school 8 (0.7%)
No response 8 (0.7%)
12. Aggregated grade levels in which respondents
have taught the target language
Chinese (N=774)
Pre-Kindergarten 128
Elementary (K-5) 339
Middle School (6-8) 221
High School (9-12) 225
Post-Secondary 94
13. Aggregated settings in which respondents have
taught the target language
Chinese (N=774)
Public PreK–12 291
Private PreK–12 180
Heritage PreK–12 215
(incl. afterschool)
14. Number of participants who are certified
to teach the target language (All STARTALK)
# of Respondents (N=1181)
Yes 253 (21.4%)
Not yet, but I plan to 537 (45.5%)
become certified
No 371 (31.4%)
No response 20 (1.7%)
15. Key Findings:
About Teacher Programs
• The two most common responses about the
best aspects of the program:
– the quality of teachers (they were knowledgeable,
helpful, concerned about students, etc.)
– the opportunity to learn from and share
information with fellow teacher trainees
16. What teacher trainees liked best about the
program (Top 10 responses)
Response # of Respondents (N=1046)
Excellent teaching staff 261
Sharing ideas/experiences with fellow
teachers 148
New/useful information 73
Practice/practicum 59
Well-organized 57
Hands on experiences/activities 41
Resources used and received 41
Practical skills learned 30
Lectures 29
Feedback from instructors 27
17. Top 10 topics teacher trainees found most
valuable to have learned
Response # of Respondents
(N=1046)
Teaching methods/strategies 81
Technology training 68
Assessment 27
Lesson planning 26
5 C's/standards 21
Using the target language in the classroom 21
MOPI/OPI training 13
Student-centered 11
Backwards design 10
Culture 9
18. Teacher Development
• What are the characteristics of effective
program design and implementation of
teacher development?
21. A National Vision:
An Additive Language Policy for All Students
Five Goals:
(1) expand the range of languages offered;
(2) increase the number and effectiveness of language
programs;
(3) begin language instruction at a younger age and
continue through a longer, articulated sequence;
(4) establish clear expectations for students’ language
learning outcomes; and
(5) expand access and opportunity to learn via both
traditional and innovative delivery systems.
22. New Trends, New Demands
1. Demands for world language education
have expanded and changed in the global
age
2. Our world language teacher supply system
was built for the past era, which must be
modernized to become more effective and
responsive
23. Indicators of Demand for World Language
Programs in the US
• Greater awareness of the need for a linguistically and
culturally competent citizenry
• Increasing popularity of immersion and early
language learning programs
• Expanded offerings of online or distance learning
language learning programs
• STARTALK , FLAP grants, and Language Flagships have
generated enthusiasm and planted seeds for
programs in less commonly taught languages
23
24. We Need:
• Effective foreign/world language teachers
• Elementary and immersion world language
teachers
• Teachers of emerging world languages
• Teachers with technological literacies who
can teach in distance learning, online, and
blended learning environments
25. Continuum of Teacher Development &
Life Cycle of a WL Teacher
• Teacher • Teacher
Recruitment Preparation
Aspiring Candidates/
individuals Apprentices
Practicing Novice
Master/ teachers
• Induction, PD & Teacher
• Certification/
Lifelong Learning trainers
Licensure
25
26. Seven Aspects of the Teacher Supply System
Teacher
Partner
compet-
-ships encies
Data
Collection Certifica-
& tion
Evaluation
Clinical
Experience Expanded
& Prof. pools
Develop-
ment Capacity
&
Quality
27. An agenda for Transforming World
Language Education and Teacher Supply
• What are the competencies of world language
teachers in light of the new demands?
• What does it take to produce a highly effective
world language teacher?
• How can we, as a society, leverage resources
across federal, state, local, and institutional
boundaries to ensure that the supply of world
language teachers meets the demand?
28. Discussion
• What are other needs of Chinese language
teachers?
• What are the needs of teacher preparation
programs?
• What can we do together to contribute to the
supply of and support for Chinese language
teachers?
29. Conclusion (1)
1. We must close the world language gap.
2. Second language study plays an essential role
in a “world-class” US education and in overall
student achievement in the global age.
3. Advocate for an “additive” language education
policy that encourages all students to become
biliterate.
4. Every language classroom needs a highly
effective teacher.
30. Conclusion (2)
5. Make sure demands meet supplies, and vice
versa.
6. New trends and demands:
early language learning,
a wider range of languages,
student attainment of higher language
proficiency
learning via technological tools and in real
and virtual environments
31. Take a Short- and Long-Term Strategy
1. Consider recruiting Hanban guest teachers, but
ensure the necessary support and professional
development is in place
2. Identify and prepare local Chinese language
teachers
3. Tap into local Chinese heritage communities
4. Re-examine and revise outdated teacher
preparation models and certification
requirements
5. Make sure supply meets demand and vice versa 31
32. Access the Teachers We Need and
Resource Guide at
STARTALK Central:
http://www.startalk.umd.edu
Shuhan C. Wang: swang@nflc.org
Notas do Editor
Acknowledgement & Background(1)Meeting the Challenges of World Language Teacher Shortage. NFLC, CCSSO, & Asia Society, December 2008;35 invited experts(2) National World Language Teacher Certification Summit. NFLC & CCSSO, December 2009;25 states plus DC and Professional organizations(3) Data drawn from extensive research, national and international data on language education policies and practices, and STARTALK projectover the past 4 years(4) Grateful for STARTALK fundingWe identified and documenteda serious domestic and international WL Education Gap in the US which makes it even more compelling for us to transform our world language education and the teacher supply in the global age. Additionally, we demonstrate through the paper that: Demands for world language education have expanded and changed in the global ageOur world language teacher supply system was built for the past era, which must be modernized to become more effective and responsive
Educational policies and practices in the K-12 Contextin the US often have conflicting sociological codes. For example, simultaneously under the NCLB, there is English Only and English Plus orientations towards different or the same student populations. It is time that we engage in serious dialogues about advocating a vision of an additive language policy for students. Five goals are identified because they reflect the trends and changed demands that we are able to detect in various pockets of the nation: An increased awareness and need to establish and sustain more and better language programs to ensure our nation’s economic competitiveness: Not just English, and Science, Tech, Math, & Engineering Immersion and early language learning programs: Not just in high schoolsEmergent world languages: Not just traditionally taught languages Increased demand for accountability, especially the need to demonstrate student language learning outcomes: Not just for exposure and a “taste” of different culturesExpanded delivery system and technological use in the classroom: Not just face to face and textbook-driven language learning
Our outdated, fragmented, and inflexible system for producing world language teachers must be replaced by an expanded system responsive to our nation’s needs in the global age. The WL field must collaborate to set an agenda for transforming World Language Education and teacher supply. Specifically, we must collectively address three big questions: What does it mean to be a highly effective world language teacher? What are the competencies of WL teachers in light of the new demands?2. What does it take to produce a highly effective world language teacher?Given an expanded and heterogeneous pool of prospective teachers, what kinds of preparation and certification programs must be in place to produce a sufficient number of effective world language teachers who can meet the increasing demand for varied world language programs?3. How can we, as a society, leverage resourcesacross federal, state, local, and institutional boundaries to ensure that the supply of world language teachers meets the demand?At the end of the paper, we make various sets of recommendations to state education and certification agencies,local education agencies, institutions of higher education and teacher education programs,national and professional organizations and institutes, and the federal government
Teacher competenciesCertificationPools of prospective teachers Capacity and quality of teacher preparation programsClinical experiences and professional developmentData collection and evaluationPartnerships and consortia to leverage resources