Two institutes on the research of Chinese language study across the Taiwan Strait announced Thursday the joint publication of a book featuring guidelines and cases on teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

The two institutes, the Taipei Language Institute (TLI) and the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies (IUP), located in the Beijing-based Tsinghua University, are both non-governmental organizations devoted to overseas Chinese language study and promotion.

The book selects 83 papers from both institutes that include first-hand experiences on teaching Chinese and overseas students' viewpoints on learning the language.

Wang Tiekun, secretary-general of the Chinese Society of Characters, said the development of teaching methods and materials still lagged behind the surging demand for Chinese learning, and the book was expected to offer valuable references to the circle of Chinese language promotion.

Statistics indicate that approximately 40 million people worldwide are learning the Chinese language.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2011)