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The 2008 STARTALK North Carolina Student Summer Institute in Chinese will be an immersion Chinese language and culture program offered June 16-July 5, 2008, at Appalachian State University (ASU), located in Boone, N.C. The Institute is open to students in grades 9-12 from across the state. The program is a collaboration between ASU and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

The overarching goal is to improve students' proficiency in Chinese language through both in-class and out-of-class activities, augmenting their knowledge of Chinese cultural products, practices and perspectives while utilizing critical thinking skills to foster cross-cultural communication. The summer institute will offer two levels of Chinese courses: an exploratory level for students who have never taken Chinese language instruction and an enrichment level for those who have successfully completed an introductory level Chinese course or its equivalent at the high school level within the past two years.

Program Director:	Dr. Li Jin Appalachian State University ASU PO Box 32063 Boone, NC 28608 Foreign Languages and Literatures, 828-262-2305, E-mail

Registration

There will be a $50 registration fee payable upon acceptance into the institute.

Students enrolled in the 2008 STARTALK North Carolina Student Summer Institute in Chinese will achieve beginning and intermediate level language proficiency in Mandarin Chinese and develop appropriate understanding of Chinese culture by the end of the program.

Program Goals

Teachers of the Summer Institute:
All teachers are native speakers of Chinese who have experience with Chinese teaching at k-12 and university level. You will also have bilingual language facilitators who will coach your language learning after classes and provide guidance during your stay in the institute.

Major goals of the program are as follows:

Exploratory-level students should be able to:

1. Understand everyday words, phrases, and questions about themselves and their personal experiences when people speak slowly and clearly;
2. Ask and answer simple questions on familiar topics using structures already learned;
3. Use simple phrases and sentences to talk about themselves and their surroundings;
4. Read phrases and sentences comprised of 150 characters (simplified Chinese);
5. Write simple notes and messages using 150 characters (simplified Chinese);
6. Appreciate and understand the typical Chinese cultural artifacts and social practices.

Enrichment-level students should be able to:

1. Understand more complex sentences and short passages about their social and academic experiences when people speak slowly and clearly;
2. Use more complex sentences to describe their social and academic experiences;
3. Interact with people in different social contexts by using appropriate words, phrases, and sentence structures;
4. Read and comprehend sentences and passages comprised of 250 characters (simplified or traditional);
5. Write more complex sentences and passages using 250 characters (simplified or traditional);
6. Compare and contrast Chinese and American culture and develop attitudes conducive to appreciating intercultural differences;
7. Use appropriate online Chinese resources to facilitate self-learning

Conference Agenda

Detailed Agenda

ASU Hazing Policy

To provide for the safety and well being for all members of the University community and to insure that the University is able to fill its mission, functions, purposes, and processes, the University prohibits students from engaging in the following behaviors:

Participating in hazing - defined as the intentional commission of an act, by an individual or a group, of physically abusing or harassing another person or creating a situation which produces physical harm, or discomfort, severe emotional stress, embarrassment, or ridicule of another person. Sanctions for Hazing
Minimum Sanction: Specific Probation Maximum Sanction: Expulsion

Application Process

The downloadable application is available as an Microsoft Word or a PDF document. The deadline to apply is 11:59 pm, Saturday, May 10th. Contact Dr. Jin with any program questions.