原标题：礼赞70年 | 加深了解，推进中美两国友爱沟通
重视
孔子学院
编者按
“我和我的孔院故事”搜集大赛现已进入人气奖投票阶段。咱们将从参赛著作中挑选精彩内容与咱们共享，敬请重视。从10月1日至15日，小伙伴们可以经过“孔子学院”菜单栏给“最佳人气奖”投票哦，快去支撑你心仪的著作吧~
My name is John Brender and I have been director of the Confucius Institute (CI) at Wayne State University (WSU) since 2008. As director of a CI, I provide programming and events for various audiences, being mindful of our community, its needs, and interests.I also have the pleasure of bringing many people together, often in meaningful and significant ways.
Having been a volunteer at the Michigan Japanese Quiz Bowl, I launched an annual Michigan China Quiz Bowl for middle and high school students. Although Quiz Bowl is a time- intensive and challenging endeavor, I am proud to have offered this catalyst since 2009 for many hundreds of students, who, perhaps as a result, have taken their Chinese to a higher level!
Having been a foreigner in Japan, I understand the isolation experienced by many Chinese teachers in our area and quickly founded an annual conference for them. Our CI has now sponsored eleven such conferences with 100-120 attendees each year. The event provides a venue to exchange ideas, advice, and encouragement—and to hear language-learning tips from students!
In 2011, my staff and I decided to shoot a series of short videos, spotlighting Chinese idioms. In each video, a Chinese speaker and a curious learner discuss a phrase, model the pronunciation, and provide an opportunity to repeat it. The“Learn a Chinese Phrase”video series now offers 130 videos, touts 160,000 views, and has been seen in over 120 countries. We were selected as one of the top ten free Chinese video series of 2015 by Appbrain2 and on rare occasions, we are even stopped for selfies!
Other programming includes K-12 outreach visits, summer camps, study abroad programs, adult outreach programs, weekly lectures, speech contests, etc. As an educator, I am thrilled to provide so many learning opportunities to my community.
My greatest satisfaction is seeing the relationships that have come about through our CI.Many students, volunteers, and Chinese graduate assistants have kept in touch with us and many more have kept up with each other. We have social media to thank, but the efforts to visit one another and share milestones have transformed many former students, staff members and volunteers into not just friends but surrogate family members!
Our retired volunteers have often welcomed our Chinese assistants into their homes and taken them on excursions. One couple in their 70's, known as“yéye”(爷爷) and“năinai”(奶奶), is preparing for their second trip to Europe, where they will visit with former assistants in England and France. Another couple traveled to China last year, and met with former assistants in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Xi'an! Our students who study or work in Wuhan have ready-made networks and we have even joked about starting an“Americantown”there!
I keep in touch with many former assistants and visit them, along with WSU students, when I am in Wuhan and other places. I have written many letters of recommendation and spoken with recruiters on their behalf. While my personal accomplishments are limited, I take solace in seeing our assistants blossom during their time with us. Some have gone on to graduate schools in China, the US, and the UK; some have become highly effective teachers of Chinese; and some have taken on impressive positions at companies such as Alibaba, JD.COM, China Mobile, China Resources, and Capital Airlines.
In sum, I am happy to have helped Americans and non-Chinese people learn about China and help Chinese learn about the U.S. I have learned a lot and presented my research at Chinese and American universities. More than anything, I believe in the power of bringing people together as a way to broaden our thinking and minimize our prejudices.
When my Chinese director and I were young, the US and China had no diplomatic relations. In our respective countries, we learned to fear one another and to treat each other’s values with suspicion and disdain. Now that we have been exposed to each other’s country and have brought many Americans and Chinese to do the same, I have hope that future generations will better think for themselves, and hopefully become less subject to the agendas of powerful and sometimes exploitative forces.
我叫卞约翰（John Brender），自2008年以来一向担任美国伟恩州立大学孔子学院的院长。作为孔院院长，我为社区集体供给各类方案与文化活动。我很快乐能以有意义的方法把许多人衔接在一同。
举行活动，互相生长
我曾为密歇根日语常识比赛（Michigan Japanese Quiz Bowl）做过志愿者，后来我发起了专门面向初中和高中生的年度密歇根汉语常识比赛（Michigan China Quiz Bowl）。
尽管举行常识比赛是一项既耗时又赋有挑战性的作业，但我很骄傲能从2009年以来为数百名学生供给这项活动，他们的汉语水平也由此上了一个台阶！
作为一名早年身处日本的异乡人，我对咱们区域许多我国教师所遭受的孤独感深有体会，所以我很快就为他们设立了年度会议准则。咱们的孔院现在现已主办了11场这样的会议，每年都有100到120人参会。这项活动为教师之间沟通经验、互相学习以及互相鼓舞供给了场所，一同还能在会上倾听学生共享言语学习诀窍！
2011年，我和我的职工决议拍照一系列短片，要点介绍汉语习语。在每个视频中，都有一位讲汉语的人和一位爱问问题的学习者评论一条短语，演示发音，还重复重复这条短语。
现在，“学习汉语短语”（Learn a Chinese Phrase）视频系列共有130个视频，总观看量达16万次，在120多个国家/区域播映。咱们曾当选AppBrain2的2015年十大免费汉语视频系列，乃至偶然会有人拦下咱们来张自拍照！
咱们的其他方案包含K-12访问、夏令营、留学方案、每周讲座、演讲比赛等等。作为一名教育作业者，我很快乐能为社区带来如此多的学习时机。
凝集人心，收成友谊与爱情
最令我满足的作业，便是咱们的孔院促成了许多合作和联络。许多学生、志愿者和我国研讨生助理与咱们坚持了联络，还有更多人互相之间坚持着联络。咱们得感谢外交媒体，但是互相访问和共享里程碑式的成果才真实让许多早年的学生、职工和志愿者不只变成了朋友，还亲如家人！
咱们的离任志愿者常常欢迎咱们的我国助理去他们家里做客，带他们就近旅游。一对70多岁的配偶（汉语里就叫做“爷爷”和“奶奶”）正准备第2次前往欧洲，看望远在英国和法国的前助理。
上一年，另一对配偶前往我国，在北京、深圳、上海、武汉和西安与之前的助理碰头！咱们在武汉学习或作业的学生现已坐拥现成的人脉网络，咱们乃至恶作剧说要在武汉树立一座“美国城”！
促进沟通，削减成见
我与许多前助理都有联络，当我待在武汉和其他地方时，就会和伟恩州立大学的学生一同访问他们。我写了许多推荐信，并代表他们与招聘人员沟通。
尽管我的个人成果很有限，但我很欣喜地看到咱们的助理在与咱们同事期间取得了累累硕果。有些人进入了我国、美国和英国的研讨生院；一些人已然成为超卓的汉语教师；有些人则已在阿里巴巴、京东、我国移动、华润和首都航空等公司担任要职。
总归，我很快乐能协助美国人了解我国，协助我国人了解美国。我学到了许多东西，也在我国和美国的大学展现了我的研讨成果。最重要的是，我信任将人们凝集在一同的力气可以拓展咱们的思想、削减咱们的成见。
在我和咱们中方院长年青的时分，中美两国还没建交。其时，在咱们各自的国家中，咱们只学会互相害怕，以置疑和不屑的情绪对待互相的价值百科观。
现在，咱们现已深化了解了互相的国家，带动了许多美国人和我国人互相沟通，我期望子孙后代可以有更强的独立思考才能，防止遭到政治议程的影响。
作者简介
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John Brender is Director of the Confucius Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He has taught Spanish, Japanese, English, linguistics, and language teaching methods. He has also worked as a corporate trainer. His research has focused largely on international and ethnic student identity at North American universities.
卞约翰博士，美国伟恩州立大学孔子学院美方院长，曾教授西班牙语、日语、英语、言语学及教学法。首要研讨范畴为跨文化外交，北美大学世界学生的身份认平等范畴，专职任伟恩州立大学孔子学院美方院长11年。
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