The Office of Chinese Language Council International (OCLCI) has issued a guideline to enhance the level of teaching Chinese as a foreign language and to ensure that only qualified teachers are appointed to teach the language.

The Standards for Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages lays emphasis on language skills, as well as understanding of Chinese arts, history and culture.

The guideline is the first to specify the qualification of those teaching Chinese as a second language, OCLCI Director Xu Lin said. "The guideline is aimed at establishing a sound, scientific, unified teaching system for international Chinese language teachers training, and to assess their competence."

The guideline is divided into five parts: language abilities and skills, Chinese-foreign culture and communication, second language acquisition, teaching methodology and professionalism.

Teachers, for instance, have to have a basic concept of philosophies and religions integral to China, including Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and those prevalent during Qin, Song and Ming dynasties. Basic knowledge about contemporary China includes being aware of the country's ethnic groups, geography, political and educational systems and the economic policy.

The country sends more than 2,000 teachers and 3,000 volunteers, most of them university students, abroad every year to help teach Chinese and train foreign teachers.

(China Daily December 12, 2007)