STARTALK 2009 - Programs in MN
Concordia Language Villages (teacher)
STARTALK: Best Practices in Assessment for Teachers of Arabic
Participants will begin their exploration of assessment by participating in the ACTFL OPI Assessment Workshop. The workshop will give the participants a common understanding and allow them to share experiences assessing the oral proficiency of students with varying backgrounds in the Arabic language. Following the OPI workshop, participants will share assessments they currently are using and their goals for using them. Together the group will review the assessment samples to determine the degree to which they assess the goals of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning. They will discuss professional readings on assessment and reference sample assessments as appropriate. Because the program is a residential program, the participants will have opportunities beyond the classroom to share ideas and help each other build common understandings of best practices in assessment for the Arabic language classroom. Participants will visit the Arabic Language Village to observe and participate in the language and culture immersion program. They will meet with the leadership of the village to share their observations and discuss best practices in teaching and learning the Arabic language and culture. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be award four graduate credits.
Concordia Language Villages (teacher)
STARTALK: Second Language and Immersion Methodologies for Teachers of Chinese
The course in second language and immersion methodologies is designed to provide both beginning and experienced teachers with a forum for discussing classroom teaching and learning, and the importance of context in a communicative approach to second language and immersion instruction. Through background reading, and subsequent discussions led by experienced teachers of Chinese, participants will be able to clarify their understanding of the course content, including the application of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning for the 21st Century to effective lesson and unit design. Participants will also share strategies with each other through micro-teaching. Because the program is a residential program, the participants will have opportunities to share ideas and extend discussions beyond the classroom time. The class discussions will be complemented by observations and participation in activities at the Chinese Language Village. Participants will share their observations of the instructional program at the Chinese Language Village with the leadership and staff to foster a dialogue related to best practices in teaching and learning the Chinese language and culture. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be awarded four graduate credits.
Concordia Language Villages (student)
STARTALK Chinese Student Program: Building World Citizens With a "Village" Approach to Learning and Living Chinese
Students live in a “Chinese Village,” learning Chinese through daily life in this residential camp program. Concordia Language Villages prepares young people to be culturally sensitive, lifelong language learners. The experiential, residential setting immerses the participants in the culture of the countries where Chinese is spoken through food, music, sports, dance, games, and activities. Thousands of young people from 32 countries and all 50 states attend Concordia Language Villages sessions every year. Two- and four-week summer youth programs are designed to offer experiences for beginning to advanced learners. The four-week session is the equivalent of one high school year of language instruction. After the session, students will continue the educational and social experience in an online e-village. Since 1961, Concordia Language Villages has been a nationally recognized language and cultural immersion program, with a mission of preparing young people for responsible citizenship in our global community. Programs are offered in 15 languages: Arabic, Chinese, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. Concordia Language Villages is a flagship program of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, a liberal arts college recognized for its commitment to international education.
Concordia Language Villages (student)
STARTALK Arabic Student Program: Building World Citizens With a "Village" Approach to Learning and Living Arabic
Students live in an “Arabic Village,” learning Arabic through daily life in this residential camp program. Concordia Language Villages prepares young people to be culturally sensitive, lifelong language learners. The experiential, residential setting immerses the participants in the culture of the countries where Arabic is spoken through food, music, sports, dance, games, and activities. Thousands of young people from 32 countries and all 50 states attend a Concordia Language Villages sessions every year. Two- and four-week summer youth programs are designed to offer experiences for beginning to advanced learners. The four-week session is the equivalent of one high school year of language instruction. After the session, students will continue the educational and social experience in an online e-village. Since 1961, Concordia Language Villages has been a nationally recognized language and cultural immersion program, with a mission of preparing young people for responsible citizenship in our global community. Programs are offered in 15 languages: Arabic, Chinese, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. Concordia Language Villages is a flagship program of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, a liberal arts college recognized for its commitment to international education.
Regents of the University of Minnesota (teacher)
STARTALK Mandarin Elementary Immersion Summer Teacher Education Program
The STARTALK Mandarin Elementary Immersion Summer Teacher Education Program (MEISTEP) is a new, exciting 4-week program for Chinese language teachers to learn how to integrate language, literacy, content, and culture into their classrooms. During the first week, participants will examine effective instructional strategies specific to the Chinese immersion context and will work together to develop content-based curriculum. The second week will focus on effective ways of teaching mathematics in the elementary immersion context. In weeks three and four, teachers will apply these new concepts in a summer program designed for elementary Mandarin immersion students. Participating teachers will have the option of taking courses for credit and may earn 2-4 graduate credits. MEISTEP is a collaboration of University of Minnesota’s Confucius Institute, the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in partnership with Yinghua Academy, a K-5 Mandarin immersion charter school. Participants must be English-proficient post-baccalaureates with native- to near-native proficiency in Mandarin Chinese who are teaching in, or are seeking to teach in, a Mandarin Chinese elementary immersion program in the United States where Mandarin is used to teach a minimum of 50 percent of school subjects during the elementary years.
Yinghua Academy (student)
Abacus for Kids: Learning Chinese Language and Culture Through Math Activities
Yinghua Academy’s Abacus for Kids: Learning Chinese Language and Culture Through Math Activities is a 2-week Chinese language immersion summer camp designed to provide K-4 children (ages 5-10) with easy and enjoyable activities as they discover Mandarin Chinese language and culture. The complex beauty of the Chinese language and cultural concepts will be discovered through mathematics. By learning about the abacus, students will learn the Chinese counting system and recognize the place values of each bead. Students will also learn to compare the abacus and the calculator. Math in Our Daily Life is the central, mathematics-oriented theme. Activities will include math numbers and operations, geometric and measurement concepts, and simple algebra. All activities follow the state of Minnesota’s math teaching standards and the National Council for Teaching Math K-4’s standards. Lessons include culturally specific children’s games, storytelling, hands-on activities, and cultural exploration, along with total physical response activities and immersion teaching strategies. Camp activities will conclude with a mini-Chinese carnival to allow students to experience a traditional market and use learned math concepts and Chinese language skills. Students will be grouped based on their previous learning experiences with Chinese. Students who indicate financial difficulties will be considered for scholarships.
