From the President
January 2012
It’s an honor and a pleasure for me to serve as the President of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA) this year. This is a very special year for all of us for it marks the 50th anniversary of the Association. I will consult and work closely with our outgoing President, Chuanren Ke, the Executive Director Yea-fen Chen, the board of directors and the officers of the Association to plan and celebrate this special year.
One of the most exciting developments in our field is the emergence of regional Chinese language teachers associations affiliated with CLTA. Right now there are seven of them in the United States: CLTAC (California), CCLTC (Colorado), CLTA-NC (North Carolina), CLTA-SC (Southern California), CLTA-Texas, CLTA-WA (Washington State), and WACLT (Wisconsin). I look forward to work closely with the Regional Association Committee Chair Miaofen Tseng and the Presidents of these regional associations to develop a modal of collaboration in teacher training and promotion of the association’s missions. We encourage and welcome all other regional organizations to join us and to build and strengthen our field.
The CLTA Annual Conference has become a central platform for our members to share cutting-edge ideas in teaching and research. The 2012 Annual Meeting will be held with the theme “Many Paths and One Goal 多元发展，统一目标” and will be accompanied by different activities to celebrate the Association’s 50th birthday. Two of the highlights of those activities are the presidential forum at which all former presidents of the Association will be invited to reflect on the past, present, and future of CFL field and a special issue (JCLTA) will be published to commemorate the 50 year history of the Association. I look forward to working with this year’s Program Chair, Hongyin Tao, and Conference Chair, Sue-mei Wu, to plan an exciting meeting in Philadelphia. The Call for Papers is open, and I encourage you to submit a proposal and to plan to join us in November.
CLTA is not only the oldest but has also become the biggest organization for Chinese language teachers outside China. This could not be possible without your support, especially those individuals and institutions that have provided financial support to various causes of the Association over the past 50 years. The most recent such support came from Peking University Press that has helped us establish the CLTA Peking University Press Publication Award. Anyone who has had an article accepted and published by the Journal of the Association (JCLTA) one year prior to the award year may apply for the award. The first award will be given in 2012.
In closing, I want to thank our Immediate Past President, Chuanren Ke, and our outgoing members of the Board of Directors, Scott McGinnis, Adam Ross, Claudia Ross (IPP 2011) and Meng Yeh for their dedicated service and contribution to the Association. I also want to thank Zhengsheng Zhang, Tianwei Xie, and John Chang for their continued efforts in making the Association’s journal, newsletter, and website more accessible and valuable to all members of the Association. I know we can do more. For that, I welcome comments and suggestions that will help us strengthen the Association and better serve the members of the Association.
Janet Zhiqun Xing/邢志群
CLTA President, 2012
Professor of Chinese & Linguistics
Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA 98225-9097
Janet.Xing@wwu.edu