The Confucius Institute at the University of Oklahoma

Hua Jinzhou, consulate general of the People’s Republic of China in Houston, OU President David Boren, Madame Liu Chuansheng, chairman of the Beijing Normal University Council and Dean Paul B. Bell Jr. spoke at the ceremony held in Beaird Lounge in the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Our honored guests from China presented President Boren with a manuscript from a student in ancient China.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Oklahoma (OUCI) is part of a global network of over 80 Confucius Institutes in 38 countries dedicated to the promotion and development of Chinese language education, and cultural and business exchange with the People’s Republic of China. It seeks to facilitate engagement with China in ways that strengthen the understanding, opportunities and bonds between the people of the south central United States and the people of China.

The OU Confucius Institute is a partnership between the University of Oklahoma and Beijing Normal University in Beijing, China, under the sponsorship of The Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban).

The Goals of the Confucius Institute at the University of Oklahoma are to establish mutual beneficial alliances with governments, corporations, educational and research entities, and other institutions; to make OUCI the center for China-related teaching, research and other activities at OU and in South Central United States. Details of the plan are:

• Enhance college-level instruction of Chinese at OU. Through collaboration with Beijing Normal University, OU is determined to offer the best possible Chinese language education to its students through Chinese Major and Minor programs.
• Meet the increasing demand for certified teachers of Chinese both in Oklahoma and other parts of the U.S. OUCI would develop an active program of training and certifying teachers of Chinese as a Second Language. This could include several levels of certification, including a certificate in Chinese language offered by OU.
• Foster a permanent place for the teaching and study of Chinese in Oklahoma K-12 schools courses.Continue on to provide graduate seminars and field studies opportunity for Oklahoma teachers, who now infuse East China into their curricula.
• Offer on-line and other innovative and flexible Chinese language learning courses for degree seeking students and for the general public.
• Partner with Oklahoma State Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce to reach out to business community by offering short courses in Chinese language designed especially for business people, and by providing seminars and workshops designed to brief business leaders about doing business with China.
• Offer a wide variety of credit and non-credit courses and programs in a variety of short and intensive formats. These include short courses held over one or more week-ends and summer programs of varying duration. One possibility for reaching and attracting younger learners would be a Chinese Language Camp or Summer Language Academy.
• Conduct pre-departure Spoken Chinese training for travel studies and business group.
• Develop Chinese language education software which uses “Flash” to help students learn Pinyin and Chinese pronunciation
• Provide support to local Chinese community Chinese schools; make resources accessible to local Chinese language community.
• Hold the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK).
• Host Chinese Teacher Training sponsored by Hanban.
• Become an exchange platform for visiting scholars, researchers and language teachers from US and China.
• Provide on-demand Chinese translation service to local business.

2:17 …To know what you know and know what you do not know—this then is wisdom