Michigan State University Confucius Institute to offer online
K-12 and adult Chinese language instruction

Contact: Yong Zhao, College of Education, (517) 353-4325, zhaoyo@msu.edu; Jeff Riedinger, International Studies and Programs, (517) 355-2352, riedinge@msu.edu; or Geoff Koch, University Relations, (517) 432-0924, (517) 648-6682 (cell), kochg@msu.edu

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon shakes hands with Madam Xu Ling, director general of China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, after signing a 10-year agreement to form the Michigan State University Confucius Institute. The first such institute to offer Web-based courses, the MSU center will help Michigan high school students meet new graduation requirements, which include a foreign language and an online learning experience. Photo by Kurt Stepnitz, University Relations.

On the heels of the adoption of Michigan high school graduation requirements that include online and foreign language courses, a new Michigan State University partnership will establish a pioneering research-based institute providing online Chinese language courses for K-12 and adult learners.

The partnership with China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and a major Beijing university forms the Michigan State University Confucius Institute. The center joins an expanding global network of Confucius Institutes, part of the Asian nation’s broad strategy to promote the study of the Chinese language and greater understanding of its culture and history.  

“Michigan State University is honored by the trust placed in us to be among a small number of partners with the Chinese government on extending the teaching and learning of Chinese language around the world,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. “We look forward to long-term collaboration that goes beyond language, to embrace a level of engagement and understanding that will benefit our respective institutions, as well as our nations and the world, for years to come. The partnership represented by the Confucius Institute is a key component of leading the transformation from land grant to world grant.”

The institute’s curriculum will be co-developed with one of the world’s largest universities, the China Central Radio and Television University in Beijing, which serves some 2 million online learners with 400,000 instructors. Online classes for Michigan and nationwide high school students will be available this fall. Later, course offerings for primary school students and adult learners will be phased in.

“This institute will dramatically expand the capacity of schools in Michigan and nationwide to provide training in Chinese language and culture,” said University Distinguished Professor of education Yong Zhao, who will head the institute. “Today, such training is often not available because of a shortage of qualified teachers, insufficient numbers of students in any given school to support hiring a full-time teacher and a paucity of high-quality online learning options. The institute’s content and technology together address each of these gaps.”

The coursework will be distributed by Michigan Virtual High School and Michigan Virtual University. Additionally, the institute will train Chinese instructors to teach in Michigan schools, coordinate China-exchange programs for Michigan teachers and students, and provide other in-person and online programming for schools and businesses.    

The institute is part of an MSU portfolio of China-related research and outreach. For example:

• With advisory support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, MSU Global, the university’s entrepreneurial academic business unit, will offer language and cross-cultural training for entrepreneurs and small business professionals, beginning this fall.

• A new MSU Beijing office, opening this spring, will serve as a gateway for MSU China programs, with responsibilities that include working with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation office in Shanghai to promote sales of Michigan-produced goods and services to China and Chinese investment in Michigan.

• The U.S. – China Center for Research on Educational Excellence, which was established at MSU in 2004 with a $5 million grant from the Hong Kong-based Sunwah Education Foundation. The center is researching and developing effective models of education that integrate strengths of both Eastern and Western practices. 

• The College of Arts and Letters provides on-campus and community-based instruction in Chinese and other languages. Additionally, the college supports a music exchange program with the Shenyang Conservatory of Music in China.

“In short, the Michigan State University Confucius Institute will be one among many MSU resources for Michigan schools and businesses in Chinese language and culture,” said Jeffrey Riedinger, acting dean of international studies and programs, adding that MSU is a national leader in less commonly taught languages.

“Overall, many of our international efforts – including this project – are about helping Michigan students and entrepreneurs be successful globally and also making Michigan an appealing destination for students and entrepreneurs from abroad,” he said.

In all, the Chinese Ministry of Education intends to open 100 institutes around the world by 2010. An estimated 30 million people worldwide now study Chinese as a foreign language. The first institute in the United States was established at the University of Maryland at College Park in 2005 and since then two others – at the China Institute in New York and San Francisco State University – have opened. There also are institutes in South Korea, Australia, Scotland, Canada and elsewhere.