STARTALK Mandarin Language
Summer Camp

Beginning Chinese Language (PRFTRN 018)

Designed for students with minimum Chinese background, this three-week intensive course will develop the basic skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing with a focus on listening and speaking. Upon completion of the course students will be able to greet and respond to greetings, introduce themselves, friends and family members, and express their likes and dislikes in many topic areas. They will also be able to describe their physical features, nationalities and share facts such as birthdates, family tree and history. Students will experience Chinese culture through language learning integrated with hands-on activities such as calligraphy, crafts, Tai Chi, games, music and field trips to Chinese communities.

Intermediate Chinese Language (PRFTRN 019)

This three-week intensive course is designed for students with 1-2 years of prior Chinese language learning experience in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. While students will have the opportunity to develop skills in all four areas, the focus will be on listening and speaking, expanding vocabulary and understanding Chinese culture. Upon completion of the course, student will be able to conduct conversations on general topics in a comparatively fluently manner and pace. Additionally, they will have exercises using complicated sentence structure. To further assist the study of language, students will experience Chinese culture through multi-media and hands-on activities such as calligraphy, crafts, Tai Chi, games, music and field trips to Chinese communities.

Advanced Chinese Language (PRFTRN 022)

This three-week course is designed for students with 2-3 years of prior Chinese language learning experience. It provides further study of Chinese through intensive training and practice, both written and spoken, with the goal of complete target language communication. In classroom discussions students will conduct conversations on various topics including daily life and school activities as well as write 3-4 paragraph passages in Chinese. With a focus on reading and writing students will learn to use complicated sentence structures and idiomatic expressions in a grammatically correct way and will be able to write 3-4 paragraph passages using Chinese characters. Furthermore, the course will explore definitions of culture and analyze the dynamic role of language in culture with the purpose of raising cross-cultural awareness while developing proficiency in language.

Housing

The Mandarin Language Summer Camp is a residential program for students living 25 miles or further from Bentley University in Waltham, MA. A limited number of rooms have been reserved for students requiring accommodations.

Travel & Study in China with UMass Boston

Students participating in the STARTALK Mandarin Summer Camp will receive a scholarship for the 2009 Study in China Program offered by the UMass Confucius Institute and the Division of Corporate, Continuing and Distance Education at UMass Boston. Travel for two weeks to Beijing, Luoyang, Xi’an and Shanghai: July 19 - August 3. Click here for more information.