Survey Report Of Instruction Of Chinese Language At The University Of Wyoming In America

As the economic power and international influence of China continues to grow,interactions with foreign countries have become more frequent than ever. As animportant medium of communication, Chinese language as well as Chinese culturegained attention from the world. There are more than40million people who studyChinese around the world. In order to meet the global demand of instruction instudying Chinese language and increase the soft power of Chinese culture, up untilOctober2010, National Association of Chinese Language has already established322Confucian school and369Confucian classrooms and the number is still increasing,today. As of the start of21st century, the popularity of Chinese language slowlygained pace in the US. According to some unofficial statistics, Chinese language hasbecome the most favorite choice for American students as foreign language, replacingSpanish and French. From2011to2012, University of Wyoming located in thewestern part of Wyoming state established collaboration with Northeastern NormalUniversity by sending18American students, in two groups, to participate in a2-month long summer program in Chinese studies. During the summer programs, theauthor had the opportunity to serve as volunteer and also served as intern instructor inUniversity of Wyoming from August to December of2012. The reference materialreflecting Chinese language instruction in American higher learning institutions isvery limited as of today, this dissertation hopefully will serve as reference material inthe future by summarizing the valuable experience gained through the course of4months in Wyoming as instructor and discussing the general problems that theAmerican undergraduates face in learning Chinese as foreign language.