Language Learning, Interdisciplinary Study, and Partnerships:

Building an Integrated Chinese Language Program for Your School

Chris Livaccari

Asia Society

This presentation will consider strategies for making a school's Chinese language program an integral part of a broader agenda of global competency and international studies.  Specific examples will be offered from the activities of Asia Society's Confucius Classrooms Network, as well as suggestions and standards for maintaining high-quality, sustainable programs, and building successful, long-term partnerships with schools in China.

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Christopher Livaccari is Associate Director for Education and Chinese Language Initiatives at Asia Society (www.asiasociety.org/Chinese).  A former US Foreign Service officer and an English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language teacher, he is the founding director of The High School for Language and Diplomacy in New York City.  Chris held postings at the US Consulate General in Shanghai, China and the US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, where he was Deputy Director of the Tokyo American Center and Acting Deputy Press Attache.  He studied Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Literature at Columbia University and holds advanced degrees in Classical East Asian Literature and Philosophy from the University of Chicago, and in Applied Linguistics from New York University.  He is co-author of the Chinese for Tomorrow textbook series, a member of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Greater New York, and frequently conducts workshops for world language teachers in the United States and Asia.