In an effort to respond to the increasing demand for Chinese-speaking teachers, Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education with the support of a grant from the National Foreign Language Center will launch a Chinese Bilingual Teacher Education (CBTE) Program in summer 2008.

“Today, speaking a language other than English is not a handicap any more, not merely a right either, but a resource, a bonus. A bilingual ability not only benefits the person but the community,” said Terry Qian, CBTE coordinator.

Following the successful model of LMU’s Spanish Bilingual Teacher Education Program, CBTE will prepare its candidates to teach both Chinese and English in K–12 bilingual immersion or foreign language classrooms. Graduates of the program will receive a single/multiple subject teaching credential, a Mandarin bilingual, crosscultural, language and academic development certificate and a master’s degree in bilingual elementary/secondary education.

“There is an estimated need for 7,500 Chinese-speaking teachers in the United States by 2015.” Qian said. “LMU is one of the very few universities that offers this type of program.”

Most of the CBTE candidates are native Chinese speakers who have been living in the United States for many years and have experience teaching here or in China. The program primarily enrolled U.S. students for the coming year, but Qian hopes to recruit internationally in the future.

“I am confident this program will succeed and help enhance communications between China and the United States,” Qian said.

To apply to the program or for more information, click here.