The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts will have a classroom dedicated to Chinese language and culture thanks to a grant from the Confucius Institute.
The five-year, $50,000 grant will allow ASMSA to develop a Confucius Classroom for on-campus instruction as distance education classes. The classroom also will serve as a venue for the community to interact with ASMSA’s Chinese instructors during special events such as forums on China-related topics and Chinese culture classes.
ASMSA received a plaque recognizing the creation of the classroom during a ceremony Friday at the Confucius Institute for Arkansas at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Hot Springs High School also received a grant to establish a Confucius classroom on its campus.
The UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas was established in 2007 with East China Normal University in Shanghai, one of China’s most prestigious universities, as its partner university, according to its website. The mission of the institute is to strengthen the ties between the state of Arkansas and the People’s Republic of China, enhancing the mutual understanding of each respective culture while promoting Chinese language and culture in the state.
ASMSA has provided Chinese instruction through its outreach and digital learning initiatives in cooperation with the Confucius Institute since 2010. Courses were first offered to the residential students in 2013. During this time, ASMSA has hosted three Chinese teachers.
“We are extraordinarily excited to be the recipient of a grant for a Confucius Classroom,” said David Slaymaker, ASMSA assistant dean for outreach. “ASMSA is in its fifth year of offering Chinese instruction both on campus and in partnership with local school districts. Having the classroom will add another dimension to our Chinese program, creating a venue to enhance the educational experience of our students and bring both local students and members of the Hot Springs community to campus to learn about the Chinese language and culture.”
Participation in the Confucius Classroom program will provide an additional layer of depth to the school’s Global Languages and Shared Societies (GLASS) Initiative. The partnership has also expanded avenues for study abroad under ASMSA’s global learning program. ASMSA students have built on their classroom instruction through summer language immersion opportunities sponsored by the Confucius Institute and National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y).
“During students’ time at ASMSA we hope to place them on the path to becoming engaged, global citizens,” ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice said. “One of the most critical skills on that journey is language acquisition and cultural understanding that only comes through those shared experiences. Students who study Chinese as a critical, twenty-first century language have the opportunity to make an economic, civic, and cultural impact on our state and nation.”
The initial grant funds will be spent to set up the classroom. An opening ceremony and a Spring Festival also will be held during the first year of the classroom’s operation.
ASMSA will also use the classroom to provide professional development for Arkansas history, social studies, foreign language and other interested teachers seeking to enrich their own classes through Chinese language and culture instruction. ASMSA is an Arkansas Department of Education-approved professional development provider.
For more information on the Confucius Institute for Arkansas, visit uca.edu/confucius.