STARTALK is one of several federal government initiatives to enhance the national capacity for critical need languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu through new and expanded programs from kindergarten through college and into the work force. The goal of these programs is to increase the number and expertise of students and teachers in these critical languages. The STARTALK project, administered by National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland (www.startalk.umd.edu), focuses on summer programs for 5th-12th grade students and professional development programs for prospective and current teachers of levels K-16.
The STARTALK funded some of the Chinese Summer Immersion courses offered by these consortiums of Chinese heritage schools are rigorous yet enjoyable and are designed to be comparable to high school courses in Mandarin Chinese. These courses offer students a nurturing, supportive environment in which to learn Mandarin Chinese, indoor and outdoor fun cultural activities, and quality teaching. The students will be given ongoing and varied opportunities to develop their language skills and learn about the richness of Chinese culture through online Moodles, digital media, artistic projects, and cultural activities on Lion Dancing, Chinese diabolo, calligraphy, Chinese arts and crafts, and others.
Eight consortiums of Chinese heritage language schools collaborating with more than sixty school districts are offering Chinese Summer Immersion courses this year. Each program is independently operated but share the same value of vision and a similar business model with passion in education. These programs are:STARTALK GOOD WILL PROGRAM: has been organized by the Consortium of Chinese Heritage Language Schools in Southern California for three years. The 2009 program will recruit fourteen hundred non-Chinese language background students for intermediate and beginner courses and one hundred students with a Chinese language background for advanced courses during the summer of 2009. The participating school districts are:
ABC, Buena Park, Chico, El Monte, Escondido, Fullerton, Garvey, Glendale, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Los Angeles, Los Alamitos, Montebello, Orange, Oxnard, Pasadena, Placentia-Yorba Linda, Pleasant Valley, Poway, San Dieguito, San Gabriel, Santa Monica/Malibu, San Marcos, San Diego, Valle Lindo, and Wiseburn.
SPROUTING PROGRAM: organized by the Consortium of Chinese Heritage Language Schools in Northern California will recruit three hundred 5th-12th grade non-Chinese language background students during the summer of 2009. The Fremont, Oakland, San Jose, and San Ramon school districts are participating in this program.
NURTURE PROGRAM: is organized by the Consortium of Chinese Heritage Language Schools in Illinois and will enroll four hundred non-Chinese language background and heritage language students in three proficiency levels of language classes in the summer of 2009. There are nine school districts participating in this program, including Arlington Heights, Carol Stream, De Kalb, Du Page, Glenbard, Indian Prairie, Naperville, Silvis, and Skokie.
STARTALK ICE BREAKING PROGRAM: is being operated for the second year and organized by the Chinese Language Teachers Association in Texas (CLTA-Tx) and three consortiums of Chinese schools in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. The program will recruit five hundred non-Chinese language background students. The participating schools are located in fifteen independent school districts, including Austin, Birdville, Carroll, Conroe, Coppell, Grapevine-Colleyville, Houston, Katy, Lamar, North Forest, Plano, Round Rock, Sheldon, Spring, and Spring Branch.
SEEDING PROGRAM: is organized by three consortiums of Chinese heritage language schools in Washington Metropolitan, Delaware, and Pennsylvania and will recruit four hundred non-Chinese language background students. The participating school districts are Appoquinimink, Fairfax, Howard, New Castle, Montgomery, Norristown, Philadelphia, Radnor, and Upper Dublin.
HATCHING PROGRAM: is organized by the Association of Chinese Schools and will recruit one hundred fifty non-Chinese language background students in the Wappingers, Weehawken Township, and Summit school districts of New York and northern New Jersey during the 2009 summer.
