News and Events at CCDE
UMass Boston Summer Programs Boost Chinese Language Skills for Area Students, Teachers
July 28, 2008
BOSTON — High school and middle school students and teachers from Massachusetts and across New England took advantage of a unique opportunity to improve their skills as speakers and teachers of Mandarin Chinese at a pair of summer programs held at UMass Boston from June 29 through July 25, 2008.
The Mandarin Language Summer Camp brought 52 students in grades 6-12 to the campus for a comprehensive four-week program combining Chinese language instruction at three skill levels with cultural and historical education and related activities such as dramatic performances. Students were selected for the program based on recommendations from their teachers; those accepted were given free tuition.
The Chinese Language Teachers Summer Institute comprised two two-week sessions. The first session was focused on preparing participants to pass the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) exams and earn certification as teachers of Chinese, while the second session, aimed at teachers with three or more years of Chinese teaching experience, offered a multifaceted curriculum combining technology training with advanced pedagogical skills and resources. Both programs aimed to benefit the body as well as the mind by incorporating Tai Chi exercises into the daily schedule of activities.
The student program in particular drew raves from visiting evaluators, who praised the instructors for their "exemplary organization" and creative teaching materials, and concluded: "The University of Massachusetts at Boston Chinese program is a model of excellence in design, planning, materials development, and execution in every way, and is a best practices model for new programs."
The programs were presented by the UMass Boston China Program Center, the University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute at UMass Boston, and the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS), with sponsorship by STARTALK. Launched in 2007 by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland, STARTALK awards grants to educational and cultural institutions to sponsor summer programs serving teachers and learners of Arabic and Chinese. STARTALK is funded jointly by the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Defense as a component of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) announced by President Bush in January 2006.
The China Program Center, housed in UMass Boston’s Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education, seeks to advance scholarly and business collaborations between China and America through innovative programs including practical training, trade missions, government exchanges, and joint academic ventures. The University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute at UMass Boston was founded in 2006. Its mission is to promote understanding of Chinese language and culture in the communities served by the University.
