Xu Jia uses real-world experiences to help American students learn Chinese. She worked at a private school for two years near San Francisco. Photos provided to China Daily

Xu Jia created the Chinese language classes at Bentley School from the ground up in 2007.

Educator from Shandong province gives more than just language lessons to American students, Lin Jing reports.

Xu Jia had never left China before 2007. That's when she decided to go to the United States to become a Chinese teacher.

Within two years, she established a Chinese program in a local high school - single-handedly.

"The more interest Americans have for the Chinese language, the more they will know about the country, and the more friendly they will feel about Chinese people," said Xu, 29, from East China's Shandong province.

Xu is one of the about 1,000 Chinese teachers sent to the US between 2005 and 2010.

The China Connection program, which is run by two organizations in the US, the National Association of Independent Schools and the Institute for International Education, and the National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, also known as Hanban, in China, selects teachers from Chinese universities and dispatches them to private schools across the US.

The number of primary and middle schools in the US providing Chinese lessons increased from 220 in 2004 to about 4,000 now. There are 50 institutions applying to take part in the next project.

And since more people are interested in learning Chinese, Hanban is facing a shortage of qualified teachers.In the coming year, an additional 186 volunteer teachers will be dispatched to the US, teaching in more than 200 schools in 32 states.

Teachers face several rounds of tests and interviews to make sure they are qualified. After passing the application process, Xu was sent to Bentley School in Lafayette, California, about 20 miles (32 km) east of San Francisco.

Many local teachers and students viewed Chinese as a very difficult course and China a mysterious country, Xu said.

She said people there were not familiar with modern China and their impressions about the country are confined to novels about China before the reform and opening-up.

"They knew about ancient China from history lessons, but they are eager to know about modern China," Xu said.

She was also surprised by some of the questions from American students. "Some asked me whether Chinese people use cell phones nowadays, or whether we use computers."

In 2007, it was difficult to find any Chinese teaching materials in the US. Hanban in Beijing periodically sent her training materials. And sometimes Xu turned to local Chinese consulates for supplementary tools.

She lectured 15 hours a week about the Chinese language. Xu also taught other classes on Chinese culture and art, which helped increase students' interest in the Chinese language classes.

But she said the Chinese language was not easy for her students.

Xu said that the most difficult part for her students was writing Chinese characters. In order to make it more interesting and exciting, Xu used various teaching methods.

"I used images to help them better remember characters and sometimes we organized writing competitions."

When came to the text, besides reciting the words out loud, Xu encouraged her students to act out the dialogue, and even make short films.

Xu would upload the films to YouTube and invite their classmates and friends to watch and grade the films.

"Through filmmaking, they were able to write, act and understand their movies. And the popularity of their work also gives them a feeling of success," the teacher said.

Because of the intensive training, her students made huge progress.

"Within one year of study, most students on average mastered more than 400 Chinese characters. They were able to conduct daily conversations and write short articles in Chinese. The top students could perform dramas in Chinese."

In 2008, two of her students won the third prize in the Chinese Bridge US High School Student Chinese Speech Contest.

Besides lectures, she also tried to involve students in extracurricular activities.

On the first day of the Chinese New Year, she invited two Chinese girls to sing Chinese folk songs in class. She also hosted a hotpot party, where people could bring food to her class and try a traditional way of eating Chinese food while watching the opening ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

She gave Chinese names to her colleagues and taught them some basic Chinese words.

In 2009, she organized a trip for students to China, visiting bigger cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai as well as some rural areas to give them a better idea of modern China.

She now teaches Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University and the Confucius Institute Headquarters. She is in charge of the beginner level team and the course design, and also teaches ambassadors from 26 countries on the weekends.

The teacher remains in contact with her students and their parents at Bentley.

When she reflected on her time in the US, Xu said the most important thing is to "open your mind and eyes to different things".

"Americans are very friendly and open. They are willing to accept and experience different cultures."

Even though creating a Chinese language program by herself was difficult, she enjoyed her time in California and would recommend this program to other teachers.

"We are not only language teachers, we are also the messengers of our culture. And, in the eyes of Americans, we are China."

And her hard work paid off. The Chinese classes continue at Bentley.