This year the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS) was very fortunate to receive sponsorships from the China Education Association for International Exchange, Beijing Language and Culture University, the National Foreign Language Center, and the Hope Education Foundation to offer a summer study program for its members from July 14 to July 29 in China. Twenty-five enthusiastic Chinese language teachers from the New England region, as well as from California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Hawaii, Michigan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan participated in this two-week summer program. This professional learning opportunity was designed for K-12 teachers of Chinese at elementary and secondary schools. The program included one week of professional conferences and seminars at the Beijing Language and Cultural University, and a one-week study tour to visit schools and historical sites in Xi’an, Suzhou, and Shanghai.

The summer program began with an opening ceremony at Beijing Language and Culture University attended by officials from the Ministry of Education, faculty members of the university, and representatives from the China Education Association for International Exchange. Scott McGinnis from the National Foreign Language Center was invited as the keynote speaker at the CLASS 2000 Summer Program.

During many morning sessions in Beijing, the participating teachers were involved in seminars given by distinguished faculty members at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Members of the CLASS Curriculum Committee Task Force provided training sessions on "Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment" to help participating teachers develop standards-based instruction. A foreign language specialist from New Jersey was invited to serve as the on-site consultant during the two-week summer program in order to facilitate discussion on how to structure Chinese language lessons around a thematic unit.

A technology workshop held at Northern Jiao Tong University was very informative. It was hosted by the Global Knowledge Exchange Program (GKE) of New Jersey with a demonstration on web-based education and a live video conference with a language teaching specialist in Taipei. The Office of the Overseas Affairs held a warm reception to welcome CLASS to China and shared teaching material resources with all of the participating teachers. Arrangements were made for the summer program participants to visit schools where foreign students were learning Chinese. Those schools were Beijing University, Xi’an Waiguo Yu Xueyuan, and Huadong University in Shanghai.

There was ample time for sightseeing and visiting historical sites such as the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the great Wall, the Ming Tombs, the Terra Cotta warriors, Tiger Hill, Zhouzhuang, and the Lingering Garden. Most importantly, the participating teachers were sharing and exchanging ideas and concerns with each other almost everywhere they went, while in the bus to a silk factory, during a train ride to Xi’an, and in a boat at Zhouzhuang. With similar background and common interests, these 25 teachers all became friends. The CLASS 2000 in China Summer Program not only provided participants with beneficial professional development and networking, but it also encouraged a great sense of collegiality and new found friendship.