The 42nd annual conference of the Florida Foreign Language Association (FFLA) was held on October 13-15, 2011 in Cape Canaveral. The USF Confucius Institute staff (Mingzhao Hu, Kun Shi, Jingrong Wang and Rong Xue) attended it and networked with more than two dozen Chinese language teachers from across Florida. The CI director, Kun Shi, and Dr. Eric Shepherd co-presented a session for the Chinese language teachers. Kun Shi explained the services provided by the USF-CI, including online resources and HSK/YCT tests. He also announced that the second annual Chinese Language Conference for Florida schools will be held on February 24, 2012 at the USF Patel Center. The teacher participants were eager to be connected with the CI for resources and support.

Building statewide networks to support Chinese language teachers and learners is the long-term goal of the USF-CI. We will partner with the two Chinese language teachers associations in Florida and other organizations to improve and expand the Chinese language programs throughout Florida.