It is understood that the goal of 654.38+00,000 people was put forward by then US President Barack Obama in 2065.438+05. He launched the "Million Strong" program, demanding that Chinese learning be extended to primary and secondary schools, and set a goal of increasing the number of primary and secondary school students learning Chinese in the United States from 200,000 at that time to 6,543.8+0,000 in five years.
He once said:
"If our two countries want to cooperate more around the world, speaking each other's language and really understanding each other is a good start."
The mission of the China-US Strong Foundation is to achieve this grand goal.
Eugene Huang, acting CEO of the foundation, said that the foundation was jointly established by the Chinese and American governments. He said: "As we all know, Sino-US relations are one of the most important in the world. In order to know how to invest in this relationship, both countries realize that we need to invest in students' future, and the best way to invest in students' future is to encourage them to learn Chinese in the United States. "
He said that the project is aimed at students from kindergarten to 12 grade, and non-Asian students are their main targets.
The Foundation cooperates with school systems and technology companies all over the United States, especially last month, it established a cooperative relationship with WeChat, a social platform in China, to promote Chinese teaching and give students resources to learn Chinese both inside and outside the school.
The Sino-American Strong Foundation is also committed to training local Chinese teachers to meet the growing demand.
At present, most Chinese teachers in American schools come from China through teaching programs, and generally teach in the United States for two to three years.
Eugene Huang said: "Our foundation firmly believes that teachers in China are not necessarily from China. Look at the most successful Chinese teachers in the United States, and you will find that some teachers will make you feel that they reflect the racial diversity in the United States. You will see whites, Hispanics, Asians and other races. They are all very involved in Chinese teaching. "
Kimmerman's high school Chinese teacher is from China. He said that he personally prefers teachers from China to teach Chinese.
He said, "There is no doubt that I prefer my Chinese teacher to come from China. I think there are some new ingredients, something that can't be said in Chinese. If you don't learn from people who grew up in China, you can't understand them. "
A recent survey shows that there are about 400,000 American students studying Chinese.