STARTALK Chinese Program for Districts and Schools

The Rice University STARTALK Chinese Student Enrichment Program is established by the Institute of Chinese Language Teaching through funding from the National Security Language Initiative. STARTALK’s mission is to increase the number of Americans learning, speaking and teaching foreign languages by offering K-16 students and teachers creative and engaging summer language education and teacher development programs. The goal is to form an extensive community of practice that seeks continuous improvement in such criteria as outcomes driven program design, standards-based curriculum planning, learner-centered approaches, excellence in selection and development of materials, and meaningful assessment of outcomes.

The mission of the Rice University STARTALK Chinese Student Enrichment Program is to provide opportunities for local area elementary, middle and high school students to participate in a three or four week rigorous and fun Chinese language enrichment program. The classes offered will focus on language instruction and will allow students to explore the richness of Chinese culture through various activities in an interactive learning environment.

There will be no cost to school districts or schools which participate. The program will provide one experienced Chinese language teacher for every 15-20 students. Additionally, the program will provide books and supplies for language and culture classes. In turn, the district or school will provide a safe learning environment including classrooms, computer lab (for assessments) and multi-purpose space for culture classes and performances. The program and participating districts and schools will work closely to disseminate information about the program to school administrators, counselors, and teachers and to publish information through the district and schools websites, email systems and newsletters. The districts will enroll students through a formal registration process and provide student rosters to the program.

Because this is a fast-paced learning environment, all students must be able to participate in the entire program. Students are expected to adhere to their school’s summer school attendance policy.

The Chinese language and culture class curriculum will be developed to meet the needs to the students enrolled. Two levels of courses may be offered: Introduction to Chinese I and Introduction to Chinese II. The courses provide students with understanding of the basic principles of listening, speaking, reading and writing the Chinese language across three communication modes (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and five goals (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities), as outlined in the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning. Students will be given ongoing and varied opportunities to develop their language skills and learn about the richness of Chinese culture through digital media, artistic projects and cultural activities. Pre and post assessments and surveys will be conducted under the guidelines of the federal STARTALK program for audit and research purposes.

Teachers participating in this program develop learner-centered and activity-based lessons and curricula that incorporate cultural appreciation in a hands-on manner through a separate teacher training workshop. This workshop is conducted by Dr. Meng Yeh, Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Chinese Program in the Center for the Study of Languages at Rice University.

For additional information or to participate, please contact:

Rebecca Sharp Sanchez
Assistant Director
Rice University
Institute for Chinese Language Teaching
713-348-4767
rksharp@rice.edu