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Networking Events for CLTA-WA Members
We had our first successful 2015 networking event for CLTA-WA members on 12-12-15. A huge shout out to our coordinators, Alice Flores and Yaqi Li! Our members made dumplings, shared ideas and sang Karaoke.
There will be another upcoming networking event in Feb. Looking forward to seeing you there!
West Seattle: Potluck
Coordinator: Meitsu Chuang-Mendel
Date: Saturday, 2/20/2016
Time: 11:00am — 4:00pm
Location: Meitsu’s house in West Seattle
Activities: Networking, idea and food sharing, walking in Lincoln Park, tea/coffee time
Number of participants: 15
Sign-up: https://goo.gl/8ph86V
Dr. Ning’s workshop on 11-14-15
2015 CI Day Chinese Cultural Experience Camp
2015 Confucius Institute Day (A.K.A. Chinese Cultural Experience Camp) was held last Sunday on October 25 at Tyee Middle School. It was a huge success! As a CIWA’s long term partner, CLTA-WA worked hard with other teachers and volunteers on making this amazing event happen. We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to all the CLTA-WA board members and members for their great contribution to the CI Day. We are also proud of the wonderful Chinese community we have here who works tirelessly to promote the common cause of Chinese language and culture education. We have heard great comments and received gratitude from students and parents.
We are looking forward to more collaboration in the future which will benefit our community and promote Chinese education in the state of Washington.
OBAMA ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM TO DRAMATICALLY EXPAND U.S. MANDARIN LEARNING
Great news from http://100kstrong.org/
OBAMA ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM TO DRAMATICALLY EXPAND U.S. MANDARIN LEARNING
1 Million Strong Initiative to Grow US Mandarin Study by Five Times in 2020
Washington, DC – September 25, 2015 – President Obama, during the first state visit to Washington by China’s President Xi Jinping, today announced a sweeping new nationwide initiative to see 1 million American students studying Mandarin by 2020.
The President called for a dramatic expansion of Mandarin language learning. Specifically, the 1 Million Strong initiative would in five years grow the number of K-12 students studying Mandarin in the US from approximately 200,000 to 1 million. The effort seeks to develop Mandarin language curriculum norms, double the number of Mandarin language teachers in the US and support the development of new technology platforms to enhance accessibility of language learning to remote and underserved communities.
“After all, if our countries are going to do more together around the world, then speaking each other’s language, truly understanding each other is a good place to start,” said President Obama at a joint press conference with President Xi.
“We welcome the US decision to extend the 100,000 Strong Initiative from universities to elementary schools. And by 2020, 1 million Americans students will learn Mandarin. The door of friendship with China will continue to be open to the American people,” said President Xi.
In 2009, President Obama announced the 100,000 Strong Initiative with a goal of encouraging 100,000 US students to study in China and learn Mandarin over a five year period. That goal was achieved in 2014. In 2013, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton launched the 100,000 Strong Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, to further build upon the initiative and its goals. The Foundation will also lead the new 1 Million Strong endeavor.
“President Obama and President Xi Jinping share the goal of a stronger, more productive US-China relationship,” said Carola McGiffert, president of the 100,000 Strong Foundation. “That is precisely what the new 1 Million Strong Initiative is all about. By dramatically increasing the number of US students studying Mandarin over the next five years, we will ensure a greater understanding of China, create a pipeline of China-savvy employees and ensure that students from all walks of life have the skills and opportunities to compete in today’s workforce.”
To make 1 Million Strong a reality, McGiffert said the 100,000 Strong Foundation will work closely with governments and school districts across the country. The Foundation will also partner with technology and online-education leaders to ensure students, regardless of background or geography, have access to Mandarin language study.
中文消息来源：
美国《外交政策》双月刊网站9月25日报道称，100万美国学生将能够学中文。
当美国总统奥巴马2009年11月宣布“十万强”计划，提出到2014年派10万美国学生到中国学习时，这听起来像是一个遥不可及的目标。2008到2009学年，只有13674名美国学生到中国学习。但接下来的5年，在私人捐助和中国政府奖学金计划的帮助下，这个数字稳步攀升，2014年7月美国宣布这一目标已经实现。
现在，奥巴马又提出了一个更远大的目标，而且也更贴近国内。25日，在与即将结束对美国国事访问的中国国家主席习近平召开的联合记者会上，奥巴马宣布准备启动“百万强”计划，目的是争取到2020年实现100万名美国学生学习中文。奥巴马说：“如果我们两国准备在全球各地采取更多行动，那么一个最好的开端就是学对方的语言、真正了解对方。”
由负责2009年计划的非营利组织十万强基金会管理的这一新项目承认美中关系日益增强的重要性，希望培养能积极地和中国打交道的新一代美国领导人。
十万强基金会首席运营官特拉维斯·坦纳说，增加学习中文的美国学生的数量“将在各行各业培养一批中国通”，将“确保我们与中国的贸易关系继续惠及美国经济，而且美国未来一代的企业家、记者、工程师、科学家、医生以及政府官员了解中国”。
掌握中文的重要性和实用性变得越来越显而易见。当习近平在此次国事访问中会晤西雅图商界和技术界领袖时，脸书网站创始人马克·扎克伯格完全用汉语与习近平对话。
美国中文学习平台“疯狂新鲜汉语”的创始人杰茜卡·拜内克说：“这是一个鼓舞人心的例子，说明了语言和文化了解对于丰富美中在商业和其他领域的关系是多么重要。”她说：“扎克伯格是一个大忙人，如果他有时间学习中文，那么美国的学生也都有时间学习。”
2015 Summer Workshop Sharing
Please click here for the shared PPT and documents.
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CLTA-WA Professional Develop Grant Accepting Applications
As a member of CLTA-WA, you are eligible to apply for our Professional Development Grants. The grants are offered to support member teachers to attend national or regional conferences, summer institutes, workshops or seminars, or to offset travel costs to attend our own workshops. The grants are awarded in US$100 for local professional development opportunities and US$250 for national professional opportunities. Applications must be received at least 30 days prior to the event. The applications will be reviewed by our Scholarship Committee and the applicant will be notified of the award decision within 15 days. For details, please see the enclosed application form.
The following are some of the upcoming professional development opportunities for which you could apply for the aforementioned grants.
Regionally, WAFLT’s annual conference is coming up on 10/8-10 in Wenatchee, and nationally, ACTFL will be held in San Diego 11/20-22.
Words from CLTA-WA President
Dear CLTA-WA members:
On behalf of the 2015-16 Board of Directors, I would like to thank you for being great supporters for our organization!
I would also like to express our heart-felt thanks to Zoe Jiang, our immediate past president for the terrific job she did in leading CLTA-WA with great dedication and able hands in the past year. Her outstanding leadership has been an inspiration to us all. A big thank-you also goes to Meitsu Chuang-Mendal and Adam Ross, who have stepped down from the board after a long and excellent service to our association as directors. They have served in numerous capacities on the Board and beyond, and their tireless work and wisdom have been instrumental in the work we do to carry out our mission of promoting quality Chinese teaching in Washington State. Meitsu will stay on as an advisor to the Board while Adam will be moving on with his work in California and we wish him all the best in all his future endeavors. Our appreciation also goes to our dedicated team of advisors – Nyan-ping Bi, Betty Lau, Chunman Gissing, Lotus Perry and Pollyanna Wang – their wise counsel and countless material help have been invaluable in building CLTA-WA into a leading Chinese teachers’ association in the country.
Thanks also goes to the members who joined us at this year’s AGM. It was wonderful to see familiar as well as new faces! Many of you gave wonderful input and expressed interest in hosting social events. Thank you! A big shout-out too to Betty Lau, Chunman Gissing, Zoe Jiang, Meitsu Chuang-Mendel, Haiyan You, Alice Flores for sharing their teaching ideas and recourses.
The following is the roster of 2015-2016 Board of Directors:
President: Cheyenne Matthewson, Lakeside School
Immediate Past President: Zoe Jiang, Skyline High School
Vice President: Xiaofeng Foster, Edmonds Woodway High School
The Recording Secretary: Alice Flores, Annie Wright Schools
The Corresponding Secretary: Yvonne Louie, Ford Middle School
The Recording Treasure: Yuting Yeh, Sammamish High School
The Account Payable Treasure: Haiyan You, Shoreline Schools
Member at large: Tracy Ge, Sammamish High School
Member at large: Chen Tang, Overlake School
Member at large: Chiu-Hsin Lin, Eastern Washington University
Member at large: Sarah Yao, Odle Middle School
Upcoming event
Our annual summer workshop is scheduled on Sunday, August 23. The topic will be Task-based Learning presented by three of our own outstanding local teachers with a different emphasis on elementary, middle school and high school/college-aged students. Please mark the date on your calendar and stay tuned for more information on the workshop.
I would also like to encourage you to visit our website: https://jxi.ywi.mybluehost.me/ for updated information on association events. You can also access a wide range of teaching resources on the site.
Membership registration and renewal
Based on the input from our members, CLTA-WA has changed the annual membership cycle from calendar year to running concurrently with the school year, from July 1 to June 30 the following year. If you have not renewed your membership for the new year starting on July 1, 2015, please take a moment do so before it expires so you can continue to enjoy member benefits, which include free admissions to most of our workshops, receiving job postings in Washington State and beyond and much more.
Membership information and registration: https://jxi.ywi.mybluehost.me/membership/
No organization can run successfully without the active involvement and participation of its members. Please join me and the Board to continue to promote quality Chinese teaching and to build an ever stronger network of local teachers. I hope to see you all at our summer workshop and future events. Thank you for your continued support and wish you a great summer!
Cheyenne Matthewson
President of CLTA-WA
Announcing the Election of Directors for the Term 2015-2018
Dear Members,
I am pleased to announce that the individuals elected for the 2015-2018 term to join the CLTA-WA Board of Directors are:
- Alice Flore
- Tracy Ge
- Xiaofeng Foster
- Haiyan You
- Yuting Yeh
Congratualtions to them! I would also like to thank our members for voting. Please save the date for CLTA-WA’s 2015 Annual General Meeting on Saturday, May 30. Details about the AGM will be sent out in a later message. I hope to see you all there.
Best,
Zoe Jiang
2015 CLTA-WA New Board Member Election is OPEN now!
Voting Instructions for Board Director Seats:
Please view candidates’ Bios.
Each member can vote for up to FIVE candidates. All ballots will be reviewed and approved by the Election Committee and their determination as to the votes cast by that ballot is final for purposes of such CLTA-WA election decisions. Please select up to FIVE from the list below by clicking on “True” next to the names of the candidates you like to vote for. Click on “False” next to the name(s) of the candidate(s) you are not voting for. Please note: select either “True” or “False” for ALL candidates. If neither is checked, your votes will not be submitted successfully.
Elections close on 2015-04-26. Thank you for voting!