2017

Yuan

I feel very grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in the UVA Startalk program. We usually started the morning with mindfulness sessions or yoga, which helped us to have a positive beginning for the day. We taught the kids online Mandarin lessons with our teaching partners. During that, the master teachers observed our lessons and gave us immediate feedback so we could improve. In the afternoon, we had demos to gain suggestions from Dr. Tseng, Henny Chen, Alice Lin, Na Li and colleagues, and after that we designed our lessons for the next day with group teachers.

Xu

Time flies, but memories last forever. I cannot believe this 5-week program comes to the end. We study hard, and learn a lot. I not only learned how to teach online lesson by using interactive technology tools like WizIq and Zoom, but good technology tools for teaching listening, speaking, reading and writing. I also reviewed effective teaching strategies like implementing standard based curriculum, using target language, student-centered teaching, using age appropriate materials, using authentic materials, and conducting performance based assessment.

Wang

I am so grateful to be one of the 12 teaching fellows in the 2017 UVa STARTALK program. This program not only has enhanced my understanding of teaching theories and techniques, but also provided me opportunities to learn about mindfulness and appreciative inquiry. I love how the spirit of teamwork and positive thinking is embedded in everyday program work. Every day was started with positive energy, encouragement, and love. Even though the schedule was very intense and some days could be exhausting, the experience is quite rewarding and unforgettable.

Shih

This five weeks program is quite an experience for me in this summer and in my teaching career. I not only learned how to deliver an online course but also learned a lot of technology skills related to online teaching. In addition, this program has a great staff team, which makes the program run smoothly. During the practicum, I reinforced my teaching skills on providing scaffolding to my students, which greatly helps them to generate more Chinese than I expected. This is a very rewarding experience of seeing my students make such progress just within 10 days.

Shi

Virginia Startalk Chinese Teacher Academy is one of the best training and teaching programs I have ever attended for past years. I had my high expectations when I applied to this program to be a trainee and an instructor because I heard great things about this program from other Chinese teachers. However, I will honestly say my experience gained from this program went beyond my expectations in many ways. Firstly, online training with Dr.

Meng

I am so grateful to be selected as one of the 12 teaching fellows in the 2017 UVA STARTALK program and spent 5 weeks online and offline with professor Tseng, all the teachers, program facilitators, assistants and lovely students. This program has enhanced my understanding of teaching theories and techniques, allowed me get the hands-on experience of online Chinese teaching, and gave me a deep understanding of how to run successful STARTALK programs for both teachers and students.

Huang

For me, the 2017 UVa STARTALK program has been one of the best professional development practices in which I have participated in the last five years. Within the five-week program, 12 Chinese teachers were working closely together: planning lessons, giving each other support and advice, and sharing teaching experiences. We learned, practiced, discussed online teaching technologies, strategies, students interactive activities, and backward design planning skills, etc. I am especially grateful for Dr.

Hsu

Attending the 2017 Virginia Startalk Chinese Teacher Academy made this summer one of the most memorable summers of my life. During this five-week program, I learned the Startalk-endorsed prinicples for effective teaching and learning, methodology for teaching foreign languages, technology for online teaching and had the opportunity to teach a group of highly-motivated students. I really appreciated the group lesson planning time with other participants.

Hong

It is a great experience here to collaborate with all the excellent Chinese teachers nationwide. As I said, I like the challenge and I get the challenge I need to facilitate me better for my new job. I think it is a good transition so far to put me in a position that I know high school students more and I can practice what I learn to my real life. I am using Zoom and promoting Zoom to my friends, my co-worker, my students and my fiancé.

Guo

It was the second time for me to attend the STARTALK teacher program in the University of Virginia. The program was exceptionally enjoyable and informative because it was an extremely rewarding experience that had allowed me to utilize new technology tools to teach online which I had never done before. Teachers in this program were from all over the country and have diverse backgrounds. This opportunity allowed me to observe and to learn from all the different attributes each teacher contributed. We also strengthened our relationship through our successful teamwork.

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