Winston-Salem State University’s Department of World Languages and Culture will offer the STARTALK intensive Chinese summer program for high school and college students starting in July 2021. This is a competitive scholarship-based program for strongly motivated students who are passionate about learning language and culture. Tuition is free.
The WSSU STARTALK program is a part of the National Language Initiative, which is funded through a grant from the National Security Agency (NSA) and administered by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. STARTALK’s mission is to increase the number of U.S. citizens learning, speaking, and teaching critical-need foreign languages, with programs for students (K-16) and teachers.
As we all know, due to the worldwide COVID pandemic, our world (including education) has drastically changed. Our 2021 program will be hybrid or online; however, it will contain many of the immersive aspects as our previous program in 2019. You can see pictures and video from our 2021 program here. We are prepared to offer the program online right now, but depending on the pandemic situation, we may be able to offer part of the program in person. Using Zoom and other technology tools will allow us to create an engaging learning environment. Unlike other “online” programs, the online components of our program will be synchronous (70%) and asynchronous (30%), and offer a very low student to staff ratio, ensuring that the experience is productive and educational. The safety of our staff and students is of primary importance, so the COVID situation will be monitored, and practices will be in place to ensure the health of everyone involved. You can read about WSSU safety practices regarding COVID on the WSSU COVID Connect website.
WSSU STARTALK Summer Program
July 12 - 30, 2021
Join us for an exciting 15-day intensive on-line program to learn the Mandarin language and Chinese culture! This year's theme is Let's Go to China: Travel & Food.
The WSSU STARTALK Intensive Chinese Summer Program provides national standards-based language and culture instruction, preparing the young generation with essential and critical language skills for an ever-changing world. Students will virtually explore three cities in China (Beijing, Chengdu and Fuzhou) to learn about language functions related to travel and food, and cultures about the geography, the local attractions, people and community, important holidays and cultural events of China.
A total of 40 students (30 high school and 10 college students) will be accepted into the tuition-free program. No prior Chinese language experience is necessary.
No prior Chinese language experience is necessary. We still have a few spots available for the 2021 summer program. To accommodate all students interested in this program, we will extend our application deadline to May 31st, 2021. Once the program reaches capacity, you will be placed on our waiting list.
STARTALK Program
