Dr. Xiaofei Tu, lecturer and Dr. Wendy Xie, associate professor, both in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, have been awarded a STARTALK grant. This federal grant will fund 18 high school students to participate in a three-week long, residential Chinese immersion program, themed “The High Country Meets the Middle Kingdom.” The 18 students will be selected from a pool of applicants and the selection criteria are based on academic performance and interest in pursuing Chinese after the completion of the program.
The culturally rich and academically rigorous program is designed for high school students to see the value and fun of learning and exploring Chinese language and culture in and beyond a structured classroom setting. It consists of 102-hour formal classroom instruction plus cultural activities (such as Chinese martial arts/Taiji, calligraphy, painting, Chinese chess games, Chinese singing and dancing, cooking, film viewing, paper cutting/crafts, etc.). Students will be placed in one of two classes based on their grades. With the support of the federal grant, all program activities, room and board, tuition, textbooks and other learning materials are free of charge for the selected students.
The program will run from July 9 to July 27, 2018 on the campus of Appalachian State University. Rising 9th-12th grade students with limited or no previous exposure to Chinese are eligible for participation in the program. Full participation in the three-week program is required. No partial attendance is accepted. Preferences will be given to students from the high schools in the High Country of North Carolina. The application deadline is Monday, May 14, 2018. For more information or to apply, visit: https://dllc.appstate.edu/undergraduate/chinese/startalk.
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About STARTALK
STARTALK’s mission is to increase the number of U.S. citizens learning, speaking, and teaching critical-need foreign languages. STARTALK offers students (K–16) and teachers of these languages creative and engaging summer experiences that strive to exemplify best practices in language education and in language teacher development. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) launched STARTALK in 2006 and delegated executive oversight of the program to the National Security Agency (NSA). The NSA in turn awarded a contract to the National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) at the University of Maryland (UMD) to act as its subject matter expert in the implementation and administration of the program.
About the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
The Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures, in consonance with the University's mission, offers a variety of courses that enhance students' understanding and appreciation of other cultures and languages as well as their own. In addition to the broad knowledge base acquired through these courses, students will understand that language and culture are inseparable. Upon fulfilling the Department's requirements for undergraduate or graduate programs, students will be adequately prepared for lifelong learning in a multicultural world.
By Ellen Burnette and Howell Keiser
May 4, 2018
BOONE, N.C.
Dr. Xiaofei Tu, lecturer and Dr. Wendy Xie, associate professor, both in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, have been awarded a STARTALK grant.
Dr. Xiaofei Tu, lecturer and Dr. Wendy Xie, associate professor, both in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, have been awarded a STARTALK grant.