There are almost 21,000 students enrolled at Towson University. Of those students, only 4 percent are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent.
In the fall of 2009, Towson University, along with the Maryland State Department of Education, will establish an Institute for Chinese Language Teaching, open to native Chinese speaking graduate students. The program will certify students to teach Chinese in Maryland schools.
“Not a lot of schools offer Chinese because they do not have anyone to teach it. This program will give students the training and certification they need in order to teach grades seven through 12,” professor Wei Sun, the director of the new Institute of Chinese Language Teaching said.
Over 40 potential students attended an open house, expressing interest in the program. However, due to the limited amount of Chinese language teachers that are currently available in Maryland, only 15 students will be admitted into the program in 2009.
“Because the program requires that each student complete one year of student teaching, we had to keep the numbers low. There are not enough Chinese language teachers available in Maryland,” Sun said.
Potential students are expected to meet TU graduation requirements as well as pass two standardized tests, one of which is the Chinese Language Proficiency Test. The students who enter the program must be fluent in Chinese.
Students who graduate from the program will receive a Master of the Arts in teaching degree. They are then certified to teach Chinese in Maryland schools along with schools outside of Maryland that share reciprocity.
Towson University received a grant from the Office of Chinese Language Council International, located in Hanban, China, in order to jump-start the program. The Institute of Chinese Language Teaching at Towson University will be the first of its kind in the United States.
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