Kalamazoo Chinese Academy STARTALK

The Kalamazoo Chinese Academy STARTALK Institute is a year-round student engagement program that will take place from spring 2022 to spring 2023. This year-round language program provides a differentiated four semesters’ sessions for 120 grades 6-11 novice- and intermediate-level students in the United States to learn the Chinese language in an immersive environment. The program theme is “Vibrant Shanghai” and this theme will guide all standard-based instruction and learning throughout the program. Students will undergo a virtual cultural tour to Shanghai in Mainland China. Classes will have a cap of 15 students per class to make it possible for the eight instructors to work closely with the students and to take account of individual differences in their backgrounds and learning styles. This program is funded by the National Security Agency (NSA) and participation in this program is totally FREE. Below are the details of this program and information on how to apply for this program.

Here is an overview of the semesters:

• Spring 2022 - 30 hours of virtual cultural tour, 2 hours a week for 15 weeks
• Summer 2022 - 70 hours of summer camp, 10 hours virtual first week, 30 hours per week in-person second and third weeks (60 students will attend the two weeks of in-person summer camp at Western Michigan University and 60 will attend all three weeks remotely) [In-person dates: Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 29, 2022]
• Fall 2022 - 30 hours of virtual cultural exploration activities, 2 hours per week for 15 weeks
• Spring 2023 - 30 hours of virtual cultural exploration activities, 2 hours per week for 15 weeks

Application deadline: Monday, February 28, 2022

Student Application Form

Interview: An interview will be conducted with parents or guardians of the applicants to determine and ensure their time commitment throughout the program.

Additional information such as years of language learning, where and how they learned the language, and whether they are currently in immersion classes in schools or weekend classes will be gathered as well. We will evaluate applicants’ interest in learning the language by asking them to state their reasons for participating in this language institute, their long-term language education plans, and their prospective careers.

Letter of Recommendation: A letter of recommendation/reference from the school or homeroom teacher needs to be attached with this application form. If you are unable to attach the letter, you may also email it to kca.startalk@gmail.com. Acceptance decisions cannot be made without the letter of recommendation/reference. Letters should include the following information: classroom on-task behaviors, learning attitudes, and time management.

Contact: kca.startalk@gmail.com

Kalamazoo Chinese Academy (KCA) was proud to host the second Michigan STARTALK program in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was the only STARTALK Chinese Summer Program in Michigan in 2021.               

In this teacher and student combination program, participants included collaborative teaching and learning for the two groups of program participants. Teacher participants had the opportunities to link theory to practice in a 4-week mentored practicum in an authentic  classroom environment. At the end of each lesson, teacher participants received individualized coaching and support from lead instructors and mentor teachers. Likewise, the student participants immersed in high-quality learning experience offered by both the instructors and teacher participants.    

Student Program

The program was a three-week program aimed to provide linguistically and culturally enriched learning experiences to 50 novice range proficiency level students in grades 3-8 for the incoming fall semester. Altogether, a total of 90 hours of instructional time were provided to participants in this program. Depending on their entry-level, students were expected to advance their Chinese language proficiency to novice-low, novice-mid, novice-high, and intermediate-low levels by the end of the program. Through our partnership with the local Chinese community association, students learned language, content, and culture by engaging in the virtual Xi'An community.

Dates: Monday, July 12 to Friday, July 30, 2021 

Times: 9am - 4pm

Location: Western Michigan University, Sangren Hall

Address: 1903 W. Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49008

Cost: Free (snacks and lunch included)

Contact: kca.startalk@gmail.com

Practicum Teacher Program

The program was a 5-week teacher training with a 4-week (120 hours) intensive face-to-face training and a one-week (20 hours) asynchronous and synchronous online training from June 28 to July 30, 2021, for ten novice K-12 Chinese language teachers in the State of Michigan and beyond. The targeted participants were novice teachers (0-2 years of teaching experience) from public and private K-12 schools, colleges, graduate programs, and heritage and community schools. At the end of the program, participants were able to plan student learning experiences based on local curriculum and state and national standards, frequently check for understanding in a variety of ways throughout the lesson engage in self-assessment and peer review to monitor progress toward the targeted performance objectives and their own language and culture goals, and use processes that allow them to analyze and reflect on their current teaching practices. They were able to create a safe and positive classroom environment that integrates culture, content, and language to support the performance objectives.

Dates: Monday, June 28 to Friday, July 30, 2021

Location: Western Michigan University, Sangren Hall

Address: 1903 W. Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49008

Housing: Housing and meals provided for participants.

Contact: kca.startalk.teachers@gmail.com