China to train 30 thousand overseas Chinese language teachers

China today said it will train about 30,000 overseas Chinese language teachers by the end of 2017 to promote its language and culture abroad.
Better curricula, improved textbooks and standard testing for students are also on the agenda, Qiu Yuanping, head of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a conference in Xiamen today.
There are more than 60 million overseas Chinese in about 200 countries and regions, and some 20,000 schools of Chinese language and culture overseas. However, many schools lack guidelines, textbooks and financial support, state run Xinhua news agency reported.
Qiu said his office will help establish 100 demonstration schools by the end of 2017 and support another 200 that are in need or emerging.

China also plans to train a number of Indian teachers as the Indian government planned to introduce Chinese language in Central Schools.
The third World Chinese Language and Culture Education conference, which began today, attracted about 600 representatives from about 50 nations and regions.

According to Confucius Institute - a non-profit public institution which promotes Chinese language and culture abroad - China now has 475 Confucius Institutes in 126 countries and regions.
There are also 851 Confucius Classrooms in middle and primary schools. The institutes and classrooms have received a total of 3.45 million students.
There are about 100 million Mandarin learners around the world, more than four times of the number ten years ago, it said.

During the past ten years, about 100,000 teachers, volunteers and managers have been involved with the institutes, which have also trained more than 200,000 Mandarin teachers in more than 100 countries.