Update on our new Chinese Guest Teachers

Our 2012-2013 school year Chinese guest teachers are currently saying goodbye to their family and friends in China and preparing to take off for their journey to the U.S. On Sunday, July 22, they will arrive at UCLA for the STARTALK Guest Teacher Summer Institute, a 10-day pre-service professional development training organized by the College Board in collaboration with NCSSFL and the UCLA Confucius Institute.

The Guest Teacher Summer Institute includes opportunities for micro-teaching, as well as visits to local K-12 schools in summer sessions. The teachers have already taken part in a six-week training in China organized by Hanban that focuses on teaching Chinese as a foreign language and teaching Chinese culture.

The institute focuses on the following topics, among others:
-Cross-cultural awareness and effective communication in a U.S. cultural context
-Understanding the U.S. K-12 education structure
-Foreign Language Teaching Expectations in the U.S.
-Standard-based instruction and communicative teaching in the target language
-Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction
-Classroom engagement and classroom management principles and strategies
-Student-centered teaching
-Assessment

The Teachers will be arriving in Chicago at the O'Hare airport on August 3. We are in the process of planning a welcoming dinner in PdC later that week. If you are interested in attending, watch for details.

Click here for brief bio on Tang Min
Click here for brief bio on Zhang Yuanyuan
Click here for brief bio on Liu Jieyu