Mission Statement, Goals & Strategic Plan

MISSION STATEMENT

The Chinese Language Teachers Association, USA (CLTA) promotes the study of Chinese language and culture in an international context. Given the importance of the Chinese speaking world and its global cultural, social, economic, and political impact, our mission is to promote the Chinese language as a tool for communication worldwide. As a professional organization, CLTA represents Chinese language teachers in all educational settings. It supports establishing and sustaining quality Chinese programs, K-16 articulation, teacher education and professional development, and research relating to all aspects of teaching and learning about Chinese languages and cultures. The Association is committed to providing leadership, scholarship, and service to its members and to all sectors of society.

Goals:

  1. Provide leadership to expand the capacity for high quality and sustainable Chinese language learning and teaching in the United States.
  2. Develop, improve, and strengthen Chinese language and culture instruction
  3. Establish a forum for exchanging information, expertise, ideas, experiences, and materials.
  4. Enhance the growth of the organization via professional service to the field.
  5. Foster quality scholarship based on theoretical and empirical research.

Strategic Plan:

  1. Provide assistance and guidance to enable the nation’s PreK-12 schools and institutions of higher education to establish, strengthen, and sustain quality Chinese language programs.
  2. Increase the number and improve the expertise of Chinese language educators and administrators.
  3. Assist in the development of articulated curricula, pedagogy, materials, and assessment tools that reflect students’ needs and career goals.
  4. Integrate and disseminate state-of-the-art technological resources for Chinese language teaching and learning.
  5. Provide opportunities beyond the traditional classroom setting, such as study abroad, exchanges, internship programs, and summer institutes in order to enhance students’, teachers’, and faculty members’ linguistic development, cultural understanding, and professional experiences.
  6. Conduct and support research.
  7. Disseminate new findings and best practices in teaching and learning via annual conferences, workshops, websites, newsletters, and journal articles.
  8. Collaborate with educational, professional, business, and governmental organizations to advance the field.
  9. Advocate K-16 Chinese language education by developing advocacy materials and organizing joint national and regional discussion forums and workshops.