Bridge to China starts at NCSU

Institute to teach language, culture

China touches the lives of Americans every day. Its workers produce this country's clothes, furniture and, sometimes, food. Its businesses employ millions. Its economy affects U.S. gas prices.

So, some say, after years of studying European languages, it's time for Americans to start learning about Chinese culture and language.

On Monday, N.C. State University opened the Confucius Institute, a center that will help those who want to explore the country that is changing the world's economy. It is one of seven similar institutes around the country, which are supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education.

"There are 1.3 billion people in China," said Sarah Cao, the institute's new deputy director. "We have to step up and learn their language as they're learning ours. We can't escape it."

Fang Jun, an education secretary in the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said that, in China, 200 million people are studying English. Yet in the United States, the Chinese language is virtually ignored. It is not offered in most schools, and even universities, including NCSU, often don't offer high-level Chinese courses.

In North Carolina, only about 140 public high school students took Chinese last year.

Jun said the goal of the institutes is to change that. "The world is becoming more diversified, so it's important to understand each other," Jun said.

Educators and business leaders are beginning to agree.

Paul Taparek, a project coordinator at Raleigh's Sanderson High School, attended the institute's opening ceremony Monday at N.C. State's Joyner Visitor Center. Taparek and Sanderson principal Cathy Moore said that, in a few years, experience in international relations, especially with China, will be necessary in virtually every business.

But they say teaching the language has been all but impossible. There are few teachers and little curriculum available.

Nine months ago, they formed a partnership with a school in China's Manjing Province. They hope that by next year, their students will be communicating with Chinese students on the Internet and taking a trip to China.

They don't yet have language classes planned, but they say this program is a start at cultural understanding.

"The students can teach each other," Taparek said. "They'll have different perspectives on the same problems."

Leaders at NCSU say the institute will offer support to schools that want to begin teaching Chinese. It will also offer training to businesses that want to tap into Chinese markets and organize trips to China.

Three professors will come to the NCSU campus from China. Their primary goal will be teaching Chinese to public school students and to adults in continuing education courses.

Cao said she also hopes to begin offering advanced Chinese courses for N.C. State students. The institute will also be home to a trove of Chinese language books and multimedia materials.

After the ceremony announcing the institute's opening, several dozen people gathered for a reception. The menu -- chicken cordon bleu balls, pimento cheese sandwiches and egg rolls -- suggested that North Carolina has a ways to go to immerse itself in Chinese culture.