2012 National Chinese Language Conference

State of the Field

Anne Bryant, Executive Director, National School Boards Association; Terry Holliday, Commissioner of Education, Kentucky Department of Education; R. May Lee, Associate Vice Chancellor–Asia, New York University; Maureen McLaughlin, Director, International Affairs Office, U.S. Department of Education.

Chuck Hagel, Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University and Co-chair, 100,000 Strong Initiative Advisory Committee.

Gaston Caperton, President, the College Board.

Vishakha N. Desai, President, Asia Society.

Tian Haojiang, I Sing Beijing; Julia Metzler, Soprano.

Maghan Keita, Professor of History; Director, Undergraduate Institute for Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Villanova University; Orville Schell, Director, Center on U.S.–China Relations, Asia Society.

Myriam Met, National Consultant; Shuhan C. Wang, Deputy Director, National Foreign Language Center.

Xu Lin, Director General and Chief Executive, Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters.

Zhang Yesui, Ambassador of China to the United States.

Michael Bacon, Portland Public Schools Immersion Achievement Coordinator.

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Asia Society and the College Board were very proud to present the fifth annual National Chinese Language Conference April 12–14, 2012, which marked the convening's fifth anniversary, an appropriate opportunity to reflect on the State of the Field: the past, the present, and the future of Chinese language education. NCLC 12 welcomed more than 1,200 educators and policymakers in Washington where they participated in 60+ breakout sessions; extended workshops on critical areas like assessment and the Common Core; and targeted visits to innovative language programs at seven schools in Washington, DC and Fairfax County, thanks to participating schools and the DC Center for Global Education and Leadership.

This year’s opening plenary session featured a keynote by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, followed by a special musical performance by I SING BEIJING, a groundbreaking collaboration of world-class and emerging musicians from the U.S. and China, led by Metropolitan Opera virtuoso Hao Jiang Tian. (Photos by Kate Bohler – see full set here.)