Some questions about teaching Chinese in America?

Question

What are the qualifications typically needed for a Chinese person to teach Chinese in American high schools or colleges?

Is there anything specific s/he needs to do to get certified to teach the language?

Are there any specific organizations that you can recommend a Chinese citizen go through to teach Chinese in the United States?

(This is for a friend of mine in China who wants to teach Chinese in the U.S. I don't know much about this, so any help is appreciated!)

Answer 1

If a Chinese person wants to teach Chinese language in an American educational institution, at university and college level. He will need to have a bachelors or masters degree in Chinese language. There are numerous Confucius institutes in America, one can apply there for teaching Chinese language.

Answer 2

I would like to point out the China has no regulation on English language instruction.  The quality and outcomes of English language learning in China are far better than any second language learning in the USA, where the education market is highly regulated.

Answer 3

I have my Chinese teaching cert.  For public schools you need to have your basic teaching cert and then do an add-on by taking the ACTFL test.  The ACTFL test should be pretty easy to pass for your friend.  2 parts- one is a 4 topic essay written exam and the other is a telephone interview for oral proficiency.

Certifications vary by state but in my state, non-U.S. citizens cannot get their Level II certs. (permanent cert.)  In order to get just the level I your friend would have to go through a teaching program.

Private schools do not need any of the above.

Answer 4

You do NOT need a teaching degree in America to teach.

It depends if they want to teach in a high school or college. The rules would be totaly different.

For high school, they would probably have to get a teaching certification in the US, which may or may not be difficult, not sure but think it may just be a test.

For college, a bachelors degree and probably at least a masters. (I;ve heard a masters for smaller colleges, probably a PHD for big ones.

I would reccomend you tell your friend to go online and find a college and high school that have chinese language programs and call and ask what they require.
Given the number of schools opening up mandarin program now, teachers are in demand. tell your friend to look into it and stop listening to all these people telling her she can't.