Recruitment for Schools
How Does Confucius Institute Recruit Teachers?
Confucius Institute at Michigan State University follows two teacher recruitment models to help school districts nationwide to recruit teachers for their Chinese programs:
To Recruit Teachers from China
Confucius Institute at Michigan State University recruits potential teachers of Chinese as a foreign language in China. These teachers are selected based on a set of qualification criteria and initial screening interviews from Confucius Institute at Michigan State University. Selected teachers then go through a well-designed training program in China, and those teachers who have successfully graduated from the training program will be recommended to school districts nationwide that are interested in recruiting teachers for their Chinese programs. Confucius Institute at Michigan State University helps to arrange interviews between school districts and the potential pool of candidates that fit their specific Chinese programs, process J-1 (visiting scholar) visa paperwork for the school district selected teacher(s) and arrange the teachers to arrive at school districts on time.
To Recruit Teachers in the U.S.
Confucius Institute at Michigan State University recruits potential teachers of Chinese as a foreign language in the U.S. Native speakers of Chinese who are currently in the U.S. with proper work authorization or U.S. citizens who have achieved near-native Chinese proficiency. Potential teachers are selected based on a set of qualification criteria and initial screening interviews from Confucius Institute at Michigan State University. Selected teachers will then be recommended to school districts for their specific Chinese programs and interviews will be arranged between school districts and the potential pool of candidates for school districts to select the teachers that fit their specific Chinese programs. The selected teachers must then enroll in Chinese Teacher Certification Program offered in College of Education at Michigan State University to become certified to teach. Information can be found at http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/te/postba/chinese/.
How Qualified are the Recruited Teachers?
All the teachers recruited by Confucius Institute at Michigan State will been strictly screened on their previous K-12 classroom teaching experience, language proficiency both in Chinese and English and their educational background. The teachers recruited from China will also go through systematic training on American K-12 education system and Chinese teaching pedagogy to help prepare them for working in American schools.
All the teachers will be required to attend the Chinese Teacher Certification Program offered in College of Education at Michigan State University the summer prior to starting teaching in school districts. The program will prepare them on issues like classroom management, curriculum design and lead them go through teaching practicum and is designed to ensure our teaching candidates are highly qualified under No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
How to Use the Teacher Recruitment Service?
If your school district would like to recruit Chinese teachers from the Confucius Institute at Michigan State University, you may to contact Nancy Romig (romignan@msu.edu). Due to the intense training and visa regulations, the more time provided by districts to identify teachers, process appropriate visa paperwork and begin the US teacher certification program, the better prepared the teacher will be when arriving at the school district.
