1. Leveraging STARTALK Resources and Impact
National Chinese Language Conference 2013
Betsy Hart & Jiahang Li

2. Today we will introduce . . .
1. The STARTALK project
2. Lesson-planning resources
3. Teacher professional development
resources
www.startalk.umd.edu

3. Today we will share. . . .
Lessons learned
• From the classrooms
– Teachers
– Students
• After the STARTALK program
– New programs initiated
– Increased interest in learning Chinese

4. By the end of the session you will . . .
1. Be aware of multiple resources for Chinese
teachers
– Professional development
– Planning
2. Know how these resources can help you to
plan more effectively
3. Understand how STARTALK programs leverage
new Chinese programs
www.startalk.umd.edu

5. Mission Statement
To provide summer language learning
opportunities for students and
professional development opportunities
for teachers of critical languages

6. STARTALK
• Part of the National Security Language
Initiative (NSLI)
• Summer programs for students and
teachers of critical languages
www.startalk.umd.edu

7. Current STARTALK Languages
• Arabic
• Chinese
• Dari
• Hindi
• Portuguese
• Persian
• Russian
• Swahili
• Turkish
• Urdu

8. STARTALK-Endorsed Principles for
Effective Teaching
• Implementing standards-based and
thematically organized curriculum
• Facilitating a student-centered classroom
• Using the target language for instruction
• Integrating culture into language instruction
• Adopting and using authentic materials
• Conducting performance-based assessment
www.startalk.umd.edu

9. What STARTALK Resources are
Available for Lesson Planning?
Lesson-Planning Guide: From Paper to Practice
Lesson-Planning Template
Lesson-Planning Checklist

10. Lesson-Planning Guide: From
Paper to Practice
www.startalk.umd.edu

11. Lesson-Planning Template
www.startalk.umd.edu

12. 12
•What will students be able
to do at the end of this
lesson that they could not
do when the lesson
started?
•This should be a real-life
learning target stated in
student-friendly language.
“You will be able to figure
out and tell someone how
to use the metro system in
Madrid to get from place to
place.”
What
vocabulary, structur
es, and culture do
students need in order
to meet the learning
target?

13. 13
At the end of the
lesson, how will you
know that students can
do the learning target?

14. 14
•give students a reason for needing/wanting to invest in the lesson?
•make the learner the active participant and NOT the teacher?
•engage ALL learners (as compared to just one or two at a time)?
•provide multiple and varied opportunities for students to hear
words/expressions supported by visualized contexts that make
meaning transparent?
•provide authentic reasons for using the words and expressions?
•vary in level of intensity and mode?
•represent the BEST use of instructional time?
Do the activities in the lesson

15. Sample Lesson Plans
www.startalk.umd.edu

16. Lesson-Planning Checklist
www.startalk.umd.edu

17. Teacher Professional Development
• Classroom video collection
– Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey
– OneWorld Now!
www.startalk.umd.edu

18. Example: Novice Level
www.startalk.umd.edu

19. Teacher Professional Development
• Multimedia workshop
– Student-Centered Language Classroom
Through Cooperative Learning
– Chinese Immersion: Lesson-Planning in the
Content-Based Classroom
www.startalk.umd.edu

20. Language-Specific Materials
for Chinese
• Chinese Student Programs Resource List
• Chinese Teacher Programs Resource List
www.startalk.umd.edu

21. STARTALK Impact
Three Measures of Impact
 Program Director Survey
 Student Participant Survey
 Teacher Participant Survey

22. Generating Interest
Manage for Quality
ACTFL
standards
Best
practices
Resources
Effective
teachers
Language-
specific
materials
Classroom Outcomes
Real-life
communication
Meaningful
assessments

23. STARTALK Impact
Program Director Survey

24. Have school-based or university
language programs been started in
your community as a result of your
STARTALK program?
Yes
34 (26%)
No/I don't know
97 (74%)

25. Have after-school, community, or
heritage programs been started in your
community as a result of your
STARTALK program?
Yes
28 (22%)
No/I don't
know
101 (78%)

26. Has academic year enrollment in your
institution's world language program
increased as a result
of a STARTALK program?
Yes
55 (42%)
No
51 (39%)
No Program
25 (19%)

27. STARTALK Impact
Student Survey
Sample size = 1,011

28. Did you continue to study your
STARTALK language
after the program?
Yes
783 (77%)
No
228 (23%)

29. How did you continue the study of your
STARTALK language?
338 (44%)
133 (17%)
49 (6%)
28
(4%)
229 (29%)
K-12 School Program
College/University
Community Program
Study Abroad
Other

30. Has STARTALK had
other influences on you?
Yes 566 (61%)
No 364 (39%)

31. STARTALK Impact
Teacher Survey
Sample size = 312

32. Current Career
80%
10%
7%
2% 1% 1%
Teacher 80%
Language Teaching Field
10%
Outside of Language
Teaching 7%
Unemployed 2%
Student in Language
Education1%
Student outside of
Language Education 1%

33. Are you currently teaching
a STARTALK language?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Yes 63%
No 37%

34. Have you incorporated STARTALK
principles in your classroom?
Yes
369 (94%)
No
23 (6%)

35. Did the STARTALK program facilitate
your progress toward certification?
Yes
152 (50%)
No
155 (50%)

36. What does this mean for Chinese
programs?
• Interest has been generated among
students
• Teachers are moving toward
certification
• Resources are available
• Instructional materials
• Teacher development materials

37. How do we leverage these
resources and interest?
• Identify stakeholders
• Make the case for the study of
Chinese
• Do not dismiss the small steps
• Engage in creative thinking

38. Questions?
Betsy Hart: bhart@nflc.umd.edu
Jiahang Li: jli@nflc.umd.edu
www.startalk.umd.edu