Jeffrey Gil is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages and Applied Linguistics, Flinders University, Australia. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy and Chinese as a foreign language.

Tables                                  

Conventions for Chinese Terms and Chinese Names                        

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Introduction: Language, Culture and China's Rise in a Globalising World

Chapter 2: Chinese Culture Goes Global: Soft Power and the Promotion of Chinese Language Learning

Chapter 3: Mapping the Confucius Institute Project: High Extensity, Intensity and Velocity

Chapter 4: Evaluating the Confucius Institute Project: Impact at the State-to-State Level

Chapter 5: Evaluating the Confucius Institute Project: Impact at the Society-to-Society Level      

Chapter 6: Conclusions and Implications               

References

Interviews                                                                                                     

Index                  

'The Confucius Institute Project' - consisting of Confucius Institutes and Classrooms, the posting of Chinese language teachers to overseas schools and universities and the Chinese Bridge language competition - represents an attempt by China to extend its influence globally through the use of soft power. Facilitated by a rapidly increasing demand for Chinese language learning, it has established a presence across the globe and made valuable contributions to the learning and teaching of Chinese. However, this has not necessarily led to an increasingly positive view of China, either at a political or a societal level. Through an analysis of official documents, interviews with those involved, a survey of Chinese-language learners and a study of academic and media sources, the author evaluates the aims of the project, and discusses whether these aims are being met.