CHINESE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN THE US

The rising prominence of China on the international stage, worldwide enthusiasm with studying Chinese, and national security interests of the US have provided unprecedented support for the studying and researching of Chinese as a foreign language in the US. However, these opportunities also expose the many challenges facing the Chinese language field. This work reports on the current state of affairs of the field, including an overview of programmatic structures, opportunities and difficulties. It also surveys the research on the learning of the various skills and knowledge of the Chinese language, learning strategies, processing of the language, and the building of the field. Future directions and topics are suggested to elevate the research on Chinese as a foreign language to a different level.