DALLAS and BEIJING (April 8, 2014) – Academic Partnerships (AP), one of the world’s largest representatives of online learning, and Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), an international university dedicated to promoting Chinese language and culture worldwide, today announced the launch of the world’s first online International Chinese Teacher Training Program (ICTP). Ther are various levels of training. Applications for the program are currently being accepted.

“BLCU is an international university where students from all over the world study together and diverse cultures exchange with one another,” said BLCU President Cui Xiliang.

“The online ICTP, which will now allow BLCU to serve students near and far, is a reflection of the University’s commitment to being a truly international institution and promoting collaborations across cultures and borders,” added BLCU’s Online Education College Dean Li Wei.

The fully online program, which can be completed in as few as 10 months, will prepare individuals to teach Chinese as a foreign language in their countries. With a focus on the history of Chinese language development; teaching theory and methodology; testing and evaluation; characteristics of the Chinese capability system and methods for speaking, writing, listening, and reading; classroom organization and management; and application of modern education technologies in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, the program will provide students with the comprehensive teaching expertise necessary to advance in their careers.

The new online Chinese teacher training program has been written and will be taught by BLCU’s faculty, which includes some of the most well-known and respected experts in the field of Chinese language teaching.

The process of constructing the program in a high-quality online format was the topic of a presentation at The Sloan Consortium’s Seventh Annual Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium that took place last week in Dallas.

Whitney Kilgore, AP’s vice president of academic services, international, shared how AP worked with BLCU stakeholders to structure the ICTP program to create an offering that would scale globally. The session focused on the challenges and successes in the process and explored strategies employed in the process of collaborating with Chinese universities.

Kilgore said, “Significant cultural and educational differences and 7,000 miles did not stand in the way of our team assisting BLCU in modernizing their program and transforming it into a high-quality online offering using Canvas in the Cloud. We learned a great deal in the process and look forward to sharing our findings at the symposium.”

BLCU’s new online International Chinese Teacher Training Program will begin in May 2014. Click here to apply or learn more.

About Academic Partnerships

Academic Partnerships (AP) assists universities in converting their traditional degree programs and certificates into an online format, recruits qualified students, and supports enrolled students through graduation. Serving public and private not-for-profit universities in the United States and top international institutions, AP is guided by the principle that the opportunities presented through distance learning make higher education more accessible and achievable for students in the United States and around the world. The company was founded by social entrepreneur Randy Best, an 18-year veteran of developing innovative learning solutions to improve education. For more information, please visit www.academicpartnerships.com.

About Beijing Language and Culture University

Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) was established in 1962. Known as the “little United Nations,” BLCU has trained some 150,000 foreign students from 176 countries and regions in Chinese language and culture. BLCU has the largest number of renowned professors in the majors of Chinese Language and Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, with both faculties having been awarded “National Outstanding Educational Team” status. The Centre for Research in Chinese as a Foreign Language is the only State Level Research Centre established for the study of Chinese as a foreign language.