2019 Teacher Program Information
Eligibility
Chinese language teachers who currently teach in K-16 settings in the US are eligible to apply. They must be American citizens, permanent residents (green card holders), or H-1 visa holders. Graduate students are not eligible.
Application
Please click here to complete the online application according to instructions. The review committee will review application on a rolling basis. A telephone interview may follow after the review of online application materials. First come, first reviewed. Acceptance notification will be out by April 12, 2019 as the latest unless otherwise notified.
Course Credit & Tuition
The program offers 3 to 5 credits for the graduate level course on teaching Chinese as a foreign language offered by the School of Arts and Sciences at UVa. Teacher participants who are interested to obtain credits will pay tuition and associated fee at their own expense. Those who do not need to obtain credits will not need to pay any program fee. Teachers should make decision on the number of credits and complete online registration process by May 31, 2019 according to UVa regulations. Teachers who are Virginia residents will pay $350.00 per credit for tuition and $35.00 per credit for off-grounds general fee. Teachers who are non-Virginia residents will pay $730.00 per credit for tuition and $35.00 per credit for off-grounds general fee.
Syllabus & Curriculum
Course syllabus will be released to recruited candidates after the recruitment process is completed in May. Daily training sessions are conducted in Chinese and English. Required readings are in both English and Chinese. Participation in class may be in English or Chinese. Teacher participants should be competent in English in order to finish reading training materials in a timely fashion and successfully complete daily tasks and the E-portfolio.
Travel Reimbursement
Teacher participants who successfully complete curricular and programmatic requirements during the 5-week program, including online modules and onsite training, will receive travel reimbursement at the amount of up to $600.00. Those who do not complete all academic and programmatic requirements, or those who arrive after the program begins or leave before the program ends, are not eligible for travel reimbursement. Travel receipts such as boarding passes, meal receipts, etc. are required for full travel reimbursement.
Personal Expenses
The program covers almost everything. Teacher participants are fully responsible for making all of their travel arrangements. UVA STARTALK will not reimburse for laundry, meals on Sunday when no classes or training sessions are scheduled, and any personal trips over the weekend during the program. They should arrange their travel at their own expenses first and get reimbursement after the conclusion of the program. Be noted that only those who complete all academic and programmatic requirements are eligible for travel reimbursement.
Credit transfer toward the teacher certification
University of Virginia is a reputed top leading institution in the nation. In the past nine years, teachers who participated in the program and wanted to transfer credits had credits successfully transferred. However, each state may have different policies, and we recommend that you explore regulations in your state. You are fully responsible for credit transfer toward your teacher certification.
Number of teachers recruited
The program aims to recruit 12 Chinese language teachers nationwide. College faculty and teachers in secondary schools are encouraged to apply. Teacher participants in the past years have enjoyed a balanced mixture of teachers at the post-secondary and secondary school levels.
The 2-week residential teacher training program (July 1-13), preceded by 2-week pre-program online training (June 17-28) and followed by 1-week offsite practicum (July 15-18), aims to train 12 teachers to learn to teach Mandarin Chinese to 9-12 graders online. Please see the program schedule below.
Program schedule
Week 1: June 17-21 (Monday-Friday) ONLINE Training
Online training involves synchronous interactive sessions, and asynchronous self-learning, assessment, and discussions. The synchronous interactive sessions will be scheduled in the afternoon or evening in order to accommodate teacher participants’ availability in different time zones. Time commitment to synchronous training that allows trainees to interact with trainers and their peers ranges from 4-6 hours during this week. Tutorial sessions and office hours will be offered to facilitate individualized learning.
Week 2: June 24-28 (Monday-Friday) ONLINE Training
Online training involves synchronous interactive sessions, and asynchronous self-learning, self-assessment, and discussions. The synchronous interactive sessions will be scheduled in the afternoon or evening in order to accommodate teacher participants’ availability in different time zones. Time commitment to synchronous training that allows trainees to interact with their peers and the trainers ranges from 4-6 hours during this week. Tutorial sessions and office hours will be offered to facilitate individualized learning.
Week 3: July 1-6 (Monday-Saturday) ONSITE Training
Teacher participants should arrive at the hotel by 2PM, Monday, July 1. Campus tour and orientation begin at 3PM, and a welcome dinner begins at 6PM. Full-day training begins on July 2 and resume until Saturday on July 6. Classes are scheduled on July 4th as well.
Week 4: July 8-13 (Monday-Saturday) ONSITE Training
Full-day onsite training resumes. The first week of practicum for online teaching begins on July 8 and lasts until Saturday July 13. Teacher participants will leave UVA campus at or after 2PM on Saturday, July 13.
Week 5: July 15-18 (Monday-Thursday) ONLINE Training
The second week of practicum resumes until July 18. Teacher participants continue to work with peer teachers and the cohort team to complete online teaching at home or their own schools. Online closing ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 18.
Graduate Charlottesville Hotel
All UVa STARTALK teachers will stay at Graduate Charlottesville, a 3-star hotel and the newest in town. The hotel is closest to the central campus of the university and is at the Corner, where faculty and students frequently dine and socialize. It takes only 8-10 minutes to walk from the hotel to the training site on grounds. The hotel provides free parking and breakfast buffet for UVa STARTALK teachers. During the program, two teachers will share a hotel room that has two queen beds. Single-room accommodation is not available, and requests for a single room cannot be fulfilled in any case. Note that teachers will pay their own lodging fee if they decide to arrive before the program official arrival date or stay longer after the program concludes. Following is the hotel contact information and website for your self-exploration.
Address: 1309 W Main St, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Phone: (434) 295-4333
Website: http://graduatecharlottesville.com
Program Handbook
Each year teacher participants receive an online Program Handbook that has a wealth of information about academic requirements and logistics arrangement. The Program Handbook is created to help teachers best prepare for their trip to UVa STARTALK beforehand. More detailed information will be released as time approaches.
Contact Information
Please send further inquiries to uva-startalk@virginia.edu. We look forward to working with you this summer.