Beijing/Shanghai, February 7, 2008 — Praxis Language is partnering with the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL, also known as the Hanban) to develop the Online Confucius Institute.
At present, 180 Confucius Institutes operate in 50 countries with independent websites and promotional activities. With today’s agreement, however, Praxis Language will develop an official Online Confucius Institute to help unify their activities. It will act as a centralized repository for NOCFL and Praxis Language learning materials, such as ChinesePod. It will also offer students, teachers and institutions up-to-date information on developments in the burgeoning Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) industry. In addition, new social networking features will enable individuals/groups to integrate digital learning materials into their studies. Teachers of Chinese around the world will have the tools to share, connect, and collaborate, thus aiding the development of the TCFL. Praxis Language CEO Hank Horkoff says the collaboration, “will make Chinese learning significantly easier by taking advantage of the best tools of the social web.”
The Confucius Institute is a not-for-profit public organization whose mission is to promote international understanding of Chinese language and culture. The phenomenal growth of the Institutes in recent years reflects the tremendous global interest in learning Mandarin. Senior adviser to Praxis Language, Ken Carroll: “We think the Hanban has made a wise choice. Getting web strategy right is very difficult for any business these days. Through their collaboration with Praxis Language, they can now leapfrog with their online development to become a leading player in global online learning”.
About Praxis Language:
Praxis Language crafts integrated, language-learning programs around the needs of students when, where, and how they prefer to study. Praxis Language believes that learner-centric technologies combined with a strong pedagogical foundation will define how people will learn in the future. With the huge popularity of its ChinesePod.com and SpanishPod.com brands, Praxis Language has demonstrated its leadership in language learning in the social web era.
About the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language:
The Chinese government attaches great importance to the promotion of Chinese language throughout the world. In order to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and other peoples of the world, to promote economic and trade cooperation as well as scientific, technological and cultural exchanges between them, the “China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language” (NOCFL) was established in 1987. The leading group of the office is composed of the leaders of 11 departments of the State Council.
Contact:
Ken Carroll, Co-founder
Praxis Language
(+86) 21-6385-9599
Don’t you think you are aiding and abetting the Chinese government with this stuff? Why would you want to do that?
That official cultural message won’t invade ChinesePod will it? I hope we’ll still be able to discuss the use of primitive toilets, use traditional characters, mention Ta*w*n, and let out a few joyous words of Shanghainese or Cantonese, without damaging your contract.
AuntySue,
We have absolutely no intention of changing the spirit, tone, or ethos of ChinesePod. Many ChinesePod lessons will also be available via the Confucius Institute Online, but that will be up to their editors to decide. Some ChinesePod lessons deal with adult-orientated content so when they are published on the Confucius Institute Online they will be clearly marked so that Chinese teachers teaching younger students will have some help sorting through what is appropriate.
So what does this mean for Chinesepod?
Will the creative team behind the subject matter, writing and editing lesson content be the same, or will there be a new Confucius Institute creative team brought in?
I personally like the fairly informal and fun way the lessons are presented, does this mean the lessons will take on a more standard academic tone?
Often when these types of partnerships are struck, even if there is no intention to make changes, big changes end up occuring.
Xiao Hu,
I understand your concerns. The fact is the Hanban decided to partner with us BECAUSE of how ChinesePod lessons are written and presented. They definitely have expressed reservations about using some ChinesePod content on their site because of the topics we choose (e.g. buying condoms, dvd ploys, etc.), but this will affect their site and will not affect ChinesePod.
With this partnership, we are just trying to broaden the audience for ChinesePod and make learning Chinese easier for everyone.
Does Praxis Language gain any direct funding from NOCFL for this, or does Praxis see it as mostly a new marketing channel for Chinesepod?
I can definitely see the benefit for NOCFL: free(?), high-quality content.
This is interesting.
We have of Confucius Institute here at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska — USA). I almost signed up for one of their language classes, but pulled out at the last minute. It cost $150 and only ran for a little over a month (twice a week). I can’t imagine they’d get very far in a dozen lessons, so that kinda dampened my enthusiasm. I might reconsider next rotation. I dunno. I think I’d be farther ahead to sign up for Aggie’s plan. (That and it’s currently plenty cold here; perfect stay-at-home weather).
On the other hand, I’m grateful my University set all this up and am excited about the opportunities it will provide.
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“I can’t believe it’s already the Year of the Rat. I’m still writing ‘Monkey’ on all my checks.” (–Paul Provenza)
Working in concert with the Chinese Students & Scholar Association, the local chapter of the Confucius Institute here at my University are sponsoring a night of food, music & culture to ring in the Year of the Rat tomorrow night. Incredibly — it’s sold out!
http://cssa.unl.edu/www2/
This is quite gratifying for a midwestern University who only recently started providing classes and and cultivating resources to facilitate contact and understanding between our two cultures.
The Confucius Institute seems like an interesting idea. However, I have a concern about the name. Using ‘Confucius’ gives the impression that there are some religious leanings. From what I read about it, you are more interested in helping promote the learning of the Chinese language. As a practitioner of the Jewish faith, I would find it difficult to be involved with or support an organization with Confucius in it’s name since Confucius teachings go against many Jewish beliefs.
It may seem trivial to you but giving something or someone a name helps shape what they will eventually become.
Am I missing something?
Chinesepod is great! And I am a (sometimes paying) member and use it a lot.
Thank you!