STARTALK Summer Institutes for Teachers of Chinese
STARTALK and the China Program Center at UMass Boston offer Summer Institute courses to current Chinese language instructors, students preparing to become language instructors, or those pursuing employment in public, private and independent schools.
UMass-STARTALK Institutional Goals
- Familiarize participants with the National Standards for Foreign Language Education, and current theories in second language acquisition
- Promote understanding of American school culture and effective classroom practices
- Learn student-centered pedagogy and apply it to the teaching of Chinese
- Write curriculum units based the National Standards for Foreign Language Education and the STARTALK curriculum template
Summer Institute I: Teaching Mandarin as a Foreign Language: Strategy and Methodology
Learn communicative teaching, task-based teaching, and the National Standards for Foreign Language Education!
Non-credit: 40 PDPs
Credit: 3 Graduate credits from College of Advancing and Professional Studies (CAPS)
Location: Bentley University, Waltham MA
This course is an introduction to second language teaching theories with an emphasis on their application to Chinese language teaching. Students will acquire basic knowledge of teaching Chinese as a second language, practical teaching skills and strategies through critical reading of course materials, classroom discussion, teaching demonstrations and projects. Specifically, this course will introduce students to:
- Theories of language teaching and resulting teaching methodologies
- Current teaching trends: communicative teaching, task-based teaching and the National Standards for Foreign Language Education
- Chinese linguistics: phonology, morphology, syntax, and Chinese characters
- Teaching Chinese as a foreign/second language
Instructors
Zhijun Wang, PhD, Chinese Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professor Wang has been teaching Chinese as a second language in China, Thailand and the U.S. for 20 years. Currently, he is an assistant professor in the Department of Asian Language and Literatures at University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research interests include Chinese linguistics, Chinese language pedagogy, second language acquisition of Chinese, and Chinese psycholinguistics.
Katherine Lobo, Licensed Massachusetts Administrator, Certified in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) with a degree in Cross-Cultural, Multicultural and Global Education; Currently working in the Belmont Public Schools and as Assistant Director of UMass-STARTALK Summer Institutes for Teachers of Mandarin.
Summer Institute II: Integrating Culture into Language Curriculum
Learn the elements of Chinese culture that have endured through history and how integrating culture can enhance language learning!
Non-credit: 54 PDPs
Credit: 3 Graduate credits from College of Advancing and Professional Studies (CAPS)
Location: Bentley University, Waltham MA
With language as a gateway to culture and vice versa, the National Standards for Foreign Language Education state that, “students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.” This theme-based course will cover Chinese geography and its impact on Chinese culture and society, modern Chinese history, philosophy, literature/arts, the political system and the culture of family. Our goal is to enrich teachers’ expertise in integrating Chinese culture, which will enable their students to reach the National Standards while making language classroom content more meaningful, interesting and effective. This course will assist participants to:
- Use primary sources to illuminate and explore historical and cultural elements
- “Translate” academic materials into thoughtful lesson plans for students
- Model effective pedagogy
- Integrate the traditional arts of China (poetry, music, dance, handcraft and performance) into the Chinese language curriculum
Instructors
Wanli Hu, PhD, American Studies and Sino-US relations, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Currently as director of the China Program Center at University of Massachusetts Boston, he has organized STARTALK Summer Institutes for Teachers of Chinese from 2008-2013 and has designed professional development programs for K-12 teachers for 13 years. Dr. Hu is both a scholar specializing in Modern China and an experienced administrator.
Katherine Lobo, Licensed Massachusetts Administrator, Certified in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) with a degree in Cross-Cultural, Multicultural and Global Education; Currently working in the Belmont Public Schools and as Assistant Director of UMass-STARTALK Summer Institutes for Teachers of Mandarin.
Summer Institute III: Practical Strategies for Teaching Mandarin
Non-credit: 100 PDPS
Credit: 3 Graduate credits from College of Advancing and Professional Studies (CAPS)
Location: Bentley University, Waltham MA
In this capstone course, participants will observe and practice-teach in the STARTALK Mandarin Summer Camp for students grades 6-12. Guided by master teachers at the camp and the course instructor, participants will learn how to better design and implement curriculum based on the National Standards for Foreign Language Education in the 21st Century. In addition to learning a variety of teaching strategies and skills, participants will give special attention to comprehensible input. That is, to help students develop language skills through meaningful context — real-life situations — as they acquire a second language. Participants will advance their teaching skills and confidence through observation of and participation in daily classroom routines and practice teaching. Here are the major objectives of the course:
- Write lesson plans using communicative teaching strategies, task-based teaching and the National Standards for Foreign Language Education
- Prepare and conduct lessons in various language proficiency levels for various aged students using an investigative, student-centered approach
- Develop the competence and leadership skills necessary for leading a classroom
Prerequisite: Participants applying for SI III must have completed a STARTALK summer institute or a course equivalent, or have completed or are enrolled in a university language or education program to join this course. Please list equivalents in your application.
Instructor
Suhong Chang, PhD, Mandarin Language Education and English as a Second Language, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Currently, Dr. Chang is a Chinese Language teacher in the Springfield Public Schools and has worked in STARTALK teacher programs since 2007, and as instructional lead of the summer camp curriculum and liaison to the UMass-STARTALK Mandarin Summer Camp and Summer Institutes for Teachers.
Housing
Summer Institutes I-III for Chinese Language Teachers are offered as residential programs for participants living 50 miles or further from Bentley University, Waltham, MA. A limited number of rooms have been reserved for participants requiring accommodations.
