2010 National Chinese Language ConferenceYvonne M. Lau, DePaul University

ylau@depaul.edu

“MCTA is dedicated to the mission of promoting the teaching and learning of Chinese in the Chicago and Midwest region including: public and private pre-K-16, adult education, and heritage language programs. Committed to enhancing professional and curricular development supporting Chinese as a Second language Teachers, MCTA advocates for elevating standards towards higher professionalism through teacher certification, ongoing training, and program enrichment.”       -- MCTA Executive Committee, http://mcta-chicago.blogspot.com/

Reflects the early organizational structure

In 1999, MCTA founders created 2 groups

Executive Board: composed of mainly K-12 teachers

Advisory Board: composed of K-12 administrators and university-based educators

1st meeting held at Oakton Community College in 1999

Identified critical needs amongst the <10 attendees: pathways to certification in Illinois, networking, professional development

MCTA – driven by information-sharing and collegial support

Chinese world language (CWL) programs enjoy major growth: 1 to 4% , 97-08

About 1,600 public/private schools teaching Chinese, from 300 in 1999

Overall, % of public elementary schools offering language instruction declined, from 24 – 15%, 1997-2008

With its mission for inclusiveness in outreach, MCTA works with individuals and community groups to promote Teaching of Chinese and CWL programs in the region, and advocates for the needs of CWL teachers

AACE formed in 1997 to advocate for educational equity and access, including the development of Asian world language programs in K-12.

Fall 1997, AACE meets with Mr. Paul Vallas, CPS CEO, lobbying for the development of CWL programs in CPS

February, 1998, AACE organizes community groups and parents to testify at the CPS Reform Board meeting to expand CPS curricula to include Chinese and other Asian languages as part of the “Bilingual Reform” package

Fall 1998, Pilot programs initiated at 3 elementary schools

Fall 1999, 1st high school program at Northside College Prep, a selective enrollment high school, with the appointment of MCTA founder, Dr. Haiyan Fu as instructor and lead curriculum developer

Since 2000, MCTA sponsors 2 meetings a year with SWAP meets, professional development workshops, guest presentations

MCTA & AACE founders meet with IL State Senator Obama in 2003, to address need for Asian/Asian American content in K-12 curricula & for Asian language teacher certification, leading to SB890 & SB891

MCTA & DePaul University sponsor annual professional development workshops with the university providing continuing professional development credits and free curricular materials;

DePaul serves as co-sponsor for 2009 MCTA Student Speech Contest

Thru DePaul’s STARTALK Chinese Language Academy, >80 MCTA teachers have participated in teacher training courses & workshops since 2007.

Chicago Public Schools(CPS) – nation’s largest provider of CWL programs with over 12,000 students, >45 schools

Chicago 6-county area – > 25 new high school programs since 2007

>80 K-12 CWL teachers + >200 heritage school teachers at >20 weekend schools

Surveys and interviews conducted among 40 participants in DePaul’s Startalk Teacher Training courses and workshops

Top reasons to become CWL teachers:- Market forces converge with personal

interests, leading to “accidental teachers”- Second careers – blocked mobility in

primary careers- Believe native speakers can teach

Chinese.

Almost all native speakers originally from P.R.O.C., Taiwan, or Hong Kong

Almost all women, modal age range,35-45 Majority master’s degree (36), Ph.D.’s(3) Significant no. of teachers started

teaching Chinese at heritage/weekend schools before pursuing full-time positions at K-12 regular schools

Most new & suburban program teachers start as part-timers.

Build broad networks, within home department and other units for support and information-sharing

Be the public advocate & address any concerns, especially misinformation about CWL programs

Participate in school-wide teacher and school activities besides CWL programs – be a team player!

Marginalized as part-timers, some recent teachers complain of heavy course loads, commuting between schools, inadequate resources, and exclusion by other teachers

“I’m always worried about enrollments. If I don’t teach 3 classes, I don’t get benefits.”AD

“I am not viewed as a ‘cool’ teacher. I don’t teach in a fancy way such as using cool websites or technology, but I don’t have time to practice and prepare lessons based on technology. Then I have to commute between 2 schools! This was suppose to be a 3/5 position, but I’m forced to put in 40-5 hours weeks. What can I do?” CC

Novice teachers hired are commonly expected to recruit new students, develop curricula for multi-levels & provide differentiated instruction, identify textbooks/resources, serve as administrator

Unlike other language programs, Chinese instructors are often the sole CWL teacher

Most CWL have graduated from certification programs without specific Chinese content or pedagogy.

Made responsible for finding students to enroll in Chinese

“One of the worst things about my job is the competitive spirit amongst other language teachers for ‘students.’ But if my numbers drop, I’ll be out.” SN

“I was given the highest ratings this year, but since enrollments dropped, my position was closed. They’ve had 3 teachers in 3 years – what do you expect?” FM

Rapid expansion of programs and teacher turnover suggests that MCTA members may face “growth crisis”

Advocacy and continuing professional development becomes even more urgent.

“Crisis” or wei ji becomes a dangerous opportunity to advocate for “ …elevating standards towards higher professionalism through teacher certification, ongoing training, and program enrichment.”

Growth of CWL Programs depends on strengthening the pipeline for K-12 Chinese teacher training opportunities

MCTA collaborates with universities and other groups to lobby school districts to provide support, especially for novice teachers and programs to sustain CWL programs

For more American students to become lifelong learners of Chinese, professional groups like MCTA must be engaged in continuous outreach and advocacy to meet the needs of CWL students and teachers.