China expands language institutes at US colleges

[Francis Hult]

Via lgpolicy...
 
Subject: [lg policy] China expands language institutes at US colleges



China expands language institutes at US colleges

By: CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press

10/30/09 4:10 AM EDT TAMPA, FLA. - In a small room at the University
of South Florida, Maya Ueda and two classmates prepare for a Mandarin
exam. A pot of green tea idles nearby and Chinese folk instruments,
games and movies fill the cabinets and bookcases. Although the
students are doing their work at a state school on Florida's Gulf
Coast, the center they are studying in is part of a global outreach by
the government of China called the Confucius Institute. The cultural
and language centers have sprung up around the world, hosted at
universities eager to boost their Mandarin offerings as China's
economic influence grows. The Confucius Institute at South Florida is
one of nearly 60 such centers in the United States, and 396 globally
in 87 countries. They fill language instruction needs at a time when
many universities are grappling with budget cuts. Most receive initial
funding and faculty from China.

Ueda, a 23-year-old psychology major, is planning a career in
business, and many of the companies she is interested in require
fluency in at least one Asian language. She believes having a firm
grasp of Mandarin will help her stand out. "By understanding that
language and culture, I'll be able to interact with Chinese business
people," Ueda said. "I think that will definitely expand my career
opportunities." China observers see the Confucius Institutes as part
of the nation's efforts to reshape its image from that of a
threatening superpower. Such displays of "soft power" are hardly new,
though analysts say the Confucius Institutes are unique in the close
relationships they establish with universities.

That arrangement has raised concerns about whether cozying up with
China and its communist, authoritarian government would interfere with
a university's academic freedom.
The University of Pennsylvania never applied to host an institute, nor
did China ever ask the school to do so, said G. Cameron Hurst III, the
former director of Penn's Center for East Asian Studies. "There was a
general feeling that it was not an appropriate thing for us to do," he
said. "We feel absolutely confident in the instructors that we train
here, and we didn't want them meddling in our curriculum,
particularly," Hurst said of Chinese officials. "And we were not sure
of what their political motivations really are, anyway."

Full story:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/nation/china-expands-language-institutes-at-us-colleges-67483697.html


_______________________________________________
Edling mailing list
Edling at lists.sis.utsa.edu
https://lists.sis.utsa.edu/mailman/listinfo/edling
List Manager: Francis M. Hult