US First Lady Mrs. Michelle Obama encouraged students to study in China at a forum at Howard University on Wednesday (January 19, 2011), just a few hours after President Obama met with Chinese leader Hu Jintao. This sounds like a New Year's resolution for cross-culture communication.
Chinese is said to be “the language of future.” Though this is still questionable, many American families have started to send their children to Chinese-language schools. According to a MLA enrollment survey, the number of US students studying Chinese doubled to 60,976 between 1998 and 2009. On the other hand, the number of Americans studying in China grew 30% annually between 2001 and 2007 and overtook 14,000 in the 2007-2008 school year, according to the Bureau of Public Affairs.
History of Chinese Studying Abroad in the US
President Obama announced the 100,000 Strong Initiative during his visit to China in 2009, which aims to support US students studying in China at low costs. But the Chinese government has been doing this for about one and half centuries.
The government of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) first sent students studying in the US in 1872. More than 120 government-sponsored students were sent to American schools between 1870s and 1890s. Later these students became diplomats, leading engineers and scientists, military generals and famous educators in last days of Qing Dynasty.
The “study in the US” boom declined in late 1890s when China started sending students to Japan and almost totally stopped after 1949. But it has resurged again since China entered the Reform and Open period in late 1970s.
Learning Chinese in Beijing and Shanghai, China: Alternatives, Tuitions and Costs
In the 2007-08 school year, 13,165 US college students and about 1,000 high school students went studying in China, according to the Bureau of Public Affairs. If a student wants to study Chinese in China, he or she can contact through 100Kstrong@state.gov to see if he or she is qualified for the 100,000 Strong Initiative Program, which will provide a total scholarship of more than 68 million US dollars to make studying in China more affordable.
If an American wants to study Chinese in a language school in Beijing or Shanghai, he or she would pay 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan ($300-$750) for a 100-hour course. If an American hires a private teacher in Beijing or Shanghai, he or she would pay 100-300 yuan ($15-$45) per hour. The tuition and costs are similar in other Chinese cities such as Shenzhen, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.
There are a lot of China-based language schools that put their information online. A student can compare and check them before choosing a right one. American families can also send their children to international schools that provide bilingual educations in Shanghai, Beijing and other Chinese cities.
References:
Chinese children in the United States: earliest government-sponsored students abroad, Qian Gang, Hu Jin Cao, February 2004, Shanghai Wen Wei Publishing Co. Ltd.
Michelle Obama Encourages Students to Study in China
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Chen Nanyang - Chen Nanyang's journalist career began in 2002 when he started writing for China's Nanfang City News, Singapore's United Morning Post and ...
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