CRI听力:US Teachers Look Forward to Broadening Educational Cooperation with China

Educational exchanges is a vital way for two countries to better understand each other. Now, more than 400 teachers from the US are on a trip around China to find out in person about the operation of Chinese schools and discuss academic exchanges with their Chinese counterparts.

The teachers have also expressed the willingness to expand Chinese language courses in the US and seek sisters schools right here in China.



Yao Yongmei takes a closer look.

Coming from 41 states in the US, the group of teachers comprise of educational officials and heads of elementary and middle schools.

They have been invited by an educational exchange program sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters based in Beijing. The teachers will travel around China, visiting schools in regions like Beijing, Tianjin and Jiangsu Province.

B. Ann Wright, vice president of the College Board from the US, says the visit by the US teachers is helpful for deepening US-China educational exchange.

"I think it's wonderful for the American teachers, who come and learn about China in a way they would never know. And it's wonderful for the Chinese to see Americans, what they are really like, and to exchange education."

Constance Goodwine-Lewis, principal of Broad River Elementary School in the state of South Carolina, says she hopes to welcome Chinese language teachers to her school.

"My school is set to host kindergarten classes next year. We hope to have a class of 25. I would like to have a sister school. Our school is in the process of working with the Hanban and College Board in order to locate teachers from China."

Wang Yongli, vice director general of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, says this kind of cultural exchange will contribute to better overall Sino-US relations.

"Over the past several years, we have established about 70 Confucius Institutes and 200 Confucius Classrooms in the US. We have also invited nearly 3,000 US teachers and educationalists to visit China. Through these efforts, I think the US will get a real understanding about China, which will be conducive for solidifying US-China friendship."

In recent years, Chinese language learning has been warmly receieved among students in the US.

It's estimated that 4,000 US elementary and middle schools have opened Chinese language courses and the number of students attending a Chinese language course has surpassed 140,000.

For CRI, I'm Yao Yongmei.