Zhenghai Wang has traveled an extraordinary distance from Shanghai, China, touting his knowledge of Mandarin and Chinese culture that he will relate to students at Saint Benedict School, a Catholic academy located in Elberta. 

Beginning this school year, Wang will instruct elementary and middle school students on the intricacies of Mandarin, the national language of the People’s Republic of China, spoken by over a billion people globally, while conveying an understanding of the people and traditions of his native country. 

In Fall 2006, Saint Benedict School applied to the College Board’s – the company responsible for the standardized college admissions test (SAT) – guest-teacher program which manages relations with the Chinese government to provide teachers with most expenses paid. 

St. Benedict was successful in the application process becoming the first Catholic grammar school in the U.S. to be selected by the board and the only school in Alabama to receive a guest teacher from China. 

Wang, 35, arrived in early August and participated in orientations at Stanford University and Monday in Mobile at a conference of catholic teachers and administrators. 

At the conference, Wang said he is in the process of designing a curriculum and student assessment methods, and his teaching will focus on language and culture. 

But, the challenge he anticipates is presenting a real, truthful image of China, which he said sometimes gets skewed.

“I think it will be a challenge for me to spread Chinese culture and communicate China to the U.S.A.,” Wang said.  “There are many people that don’t exactly know the real China.”

He cited one problem as being the lack of Chinese teachers in America, but noted that there is a yearning among American students for Chinese studies. 

Wang earned a Master of Arts in Chinese Ancient Literature from Shanghai Normal University in 2003.  The College Board and the Chinese consulate have granted him a 2-year stay at St. Benedict.