As the new school year begins, Tennessee students in second through fifth grades will be able to learn the Chinese language through MTSU’s Confucius Institute and Center for Educational Media.

“A Bridge for Better Understanding: Chinese Language and Culture” is a 16-lesson series that will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, and air weekly through Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

The lessons will be cablecast in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County and in several surrounding counties on Channel 9, the Education Resource Channel at Middle Tennessee. They also will air on NECAT IQTV-10 in Nashville, and Huntsville Educational Television will carry the programs in Huntsville, Ala.

In addition, the programs will be beamed via satellite to 20 Tennessee counties and will be webcast across the state.

Qiuyuan “Jessica” Tang will lead the instruction with students from Homer Pittard Campus School and other area schools in the studio for a live, interactive experience.

To find out more, call the Confucius Institute at 615-494-8696 or go to www.mtsu.edu/cimtsu. For technical questions, visit http://cem.mtsu.edu or contact Jenny Marsh at 615-898-2737 or vmoxley@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)