I am happy to announce that Steller will offer a Chinese Language class as part of our growing after school program. This class that is taught by a Chinese instructor from UAA’s Confucius Institute will begin on January 11, 2011.

The class that is being taught is the same one that is being taught at UAA as a not for credit class. This means that this class too is not for credit. Those taking this offering should not take it expecting to get credit. I am working on a way that students may be able to earn P/F credit in a World Language but at this time that is not a certainty.

We currently have 15 students enrolled in the class [15 is the maximum].
Students, please inquire as the date nears for beginning of the class in case someone has decided not to attend. There is signup sheet near the whiteboard; if you put your name on that list you will be added to a wait list.

The Confucius Institute instructor’s name is Ms. Xiaojun Fan. The class will meet twice a week [Tuesday and Thursday] from 2:15 to 3:00 in relo 2. I might also add that the Confucius Institute is supplying the teacher and the materials at no cost to Steller.

Following is a description of what you can expect to be taught in this class.

H. Green
Principal/Steller
Steller has been offered a unique opportunity – hosting an after school Chinese Language class through the University of Alaska. If we move forward with this opportunity please be aware that there is no credit being awarded by UAA for this class. There may be an opportunity to get Pass/Fail credit through Credit Choice in a world language. This is still being formalized. Below is a detailed description of the program and rational for the program.

China is the most important trading partner with the US in the past decade. As Mandarin Chinese becomes one of the fastest growing foreign languages in the US, it is vital for Alaskan children to prepare themselves for the 21st century and keep up with the rest of the nation.

The UAA Confucius Institute (UAA CI) will be able to offer a 2-year after school program of Chinese at Steller Secondary School for students in grades 7-12.

Program Description
UAA CI offers a two-year after school language and culture program for students to get started on learning Chinese. The program set up is based on the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning.
Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.

Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.

Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.

Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.

The language class should be offered at least twice a week for 45-50 minutes. The ideal size of a language class is 15-20 students. If there are more than 20 students enrolled in the program, UAA CI can offer two classes of the same level at a different date and time. Cultural workshops (e.g. Chinese painting, Chinese traditional music, etc) will be offered once a month at different times as a supplement to the language course.

The focus of this program is language for communication in real life situations, building a foundation for continued learning in the target language. The goal is to facilitate the student’s ability to communicate, interact, and negotiate meaning in the Chinese language. The textbook is designed to help develop students’ proficiency in all four-language skills in Mandarin Chinese (listening, speaking, reading and writing) as well as in developing cultural awareness.
First year Mandarin Chinese will include such topics as: pronunciation and tones; Chinese character components and stroke order; greetings and introductions; naming family titles; food and school life; telling times, dates, and counting numbers; expressing feelings; asking favors, directions, price; talking about hobbies; social conventions and cultural background.

Second year Mandarin Chinese will cover the topics including friends, houses, shopping, environment and health, fashion and entertainment, traveling, etc.

Learning Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this program will be given the opportunity to improve their ability to:
Acquire the basic four skills of Chinese language learning:

Listening: understanding simple everyday conversation with repetition;

Speaking: handling some survival situations with appropriate expressions and repetitions;

Reading: reading simple, short texts;

Writing: writing some Chinese characters and short sentences learned in class.

Acquire knowledge of Chinese grammar sufficient to carry out the above functions.
Acquire general knowledge of the Chinese culture and the Chinese people.

Cultural Events:
When opportunities arise, the UAA CI will bring Chinese cultural events and Chinese performing arts troupes to Steller to give performances or workshops.