Untitled - Api-fellowships.org

FLUX AND FLOWS OF PEOPLE, POWER AND PRACTICES: ISSUES RELATING TO SOCIAL JUSTICE239dispatched by Hanban, a universal trainingstandard is indispensable. We should also exertefforts in expanding coverage of Chinesetextbooks in the foreign market. We have morethan 40 million Chinese learners around theworld, but less than 20 percent of them read ourbooks. I think we have not done our best; thetextbook coverage should reach 80 percent. Thistask is a difficult but glorious one”. (Xu Lin,2010)Available information provided by the CI atChulalongkorn University indicates that volunteerteachers working in Thailand are directly recruited byHanban in Beijing from universities in China. Duringthe early years of CI in Thailand, only 310 volunteerteachers were sent to Thailand. By 2010 the numberhad increased to 1,214 (Confucius Institute VolunteerCenter, 2010-07-14). This figure does not include staffworking at the offices and libraries. As reported byHanban, the number is not adequate for the increasingdemand. One solution to cope with the shortage ofChinese teachers is to train local Thai teachers. Eachyear the CI Headquarters in Beijing selects about 50Thai teachers from Thai universities to train asHanban teachers. Some 200 Thai teachers haveparticipated in three training courses organized byHanban in recent years. Of these, about 70 candidateswere selected to be given additional training inChinese language skills and culture in order to bequalified to teach Chinese in their homeland. They areexpected to serve not only as language teachers but alsoas organizers of cultural activities. They thus mustlearn about Chinese lifestyles, cuisine, culture, movies,etc. As claimed by Hanban, the Thai teachers willapply Chinese ways of thinking, virtues and behaviorsin their work.3. Based on information gathered from various CI, keycharacteristics of the institutions include:First, CI and Classrooms are affiliated with either apublic university or a high school. CI activities are notnecessarily related to the training tasks and research ofthe educational institution. My discussions withprofessors and students at relevant universitiessuggested that many had only a vague knowledge of theCI at their institution. Hanban news bulletinsregularly state that CI in Thailand have closecollaboration with the university they are attached to.Yet my observations suggest that this relationship maynot go very deep. Most CI conduct short-term trainingcourses that are designed for society at large, not onlystudents. Their major task is perhaps providing Thaicitizens with Chinese Language Proficiency tests(HSK) and organizing cultural exhibitions, book fairsand other activities in and outside of the university.Nonetheless, the presence of CI at large publicuniversities of Thailand is a noteworthy achievement.This is because:3.1 The existence of CI within public universitiesprovides an important signal of the friendshipbetween Thailand and China, helps makeThai people feel closer to China, and satisfiesthe desires of those who want to learn moreabout China. CI are thus ambassadors forChinese culture in Thailand.3.2 Being situated inside universities of repute, theimage and perception of CI and their teachingquality is boosted. The affiliation with localhost universities saves expense and time asthey are provided with facilities, offices,classrooms and reputation.3.3 CI activities receive greater attention from notonly the public but also the elite, includinggovernment officials and members of theextended Thai royal family. This elevates theimage of CI in the public perception.Secondly, although most CI in Thailand are based inpublic universities, they are not properly managed bythe Thai educational system. CI operateindependently regardless of the fact that they areformally joint institutions, and that local hostuniversities are responsible to appoint boardrepresentatives and to contribute funding. CI boardshave limited power as they are placed directly underthe administration of CI Headquarters in Beijing.Hanban supplies volunteer teachers, teachingmaterials and approves activity programs. CI mustsubmit proposals for programs and activities toHanban for approval. My informants tend to explainthat process is to avoid any misunderstandings aboutthe role of CI or any activities which could beinterpreted as “an act of aggression in culture”.Thirdly, as pointed out earlier, most CI are located inlarge public universities and in locations with a highdensity of Thai-Chinese people. This is highly effectivefor spreading Chinese language and culture among theelite of society, with support from local Chinesecommunities.The Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows