CLTA newsletter Sept 2018

CLTA NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2018
trips such as a martial arts workshop at the
Shaolin Martial Arts Cultural Center and a
hands-on calligraphy workshop Pacific Asian
Museum.”
delivery of instruction, and executed their
roles with great enthusiasm. Each morning
before students arrived, the team "rehearsed"
the day's lesson in order to pinpoint what
might be problematic in the upcoming
lessons. In the debrief after class, the team
troubleshot reflectively about the previous
day's lesson, as well as reviewed teacher and
student feedback reported on an online
learning platform and exit cards. Teachers
also effectively stayed in the target language,
using visuals, pantomime, and TPR to provide
comprehensible input. The energy and
enthusiasm of the teachers and TAs was
contagious, as reported by the students.
Hsiao-Yun Liao, the program director,
stated, “USC has one of the largest Chinese
international student population nationwide.
From this large pool of Chinese international
students, we were able select the best
candidates to act as our program teaching
assistants. Each class had two teaching
assistants allowing students ample
opportunities to interact with native speakers
in the classroom.”
She also pointed out that the Greater
Los Angeles community provided our
students access to numerous authentic
Chinese resources in terms of Chinese
language and culture, saying, “we were able to
plan meaningful cultural activities and field
The USC STARTALK Chinese
program was student centered and provided
age-appropriate, real-life inspired curriculum
by tailoring the language taught to reflect
students’ background and interests. Liao
pointed out that “we conducted a series of
student surveys before and during the
program to obtain information specific to the
students such as nationality, heroes, hobbies,
employment, family relations...” She stressed
that tailoring the language increased student
engagement and interest in the class. Teachers
and TAs minimized teacher talk by
emphasizing the gradual release of
responsibility. Each activity maximized
student participation.
Backward design was also executed
thoroughly in the program. Liao stated that the
program instructional team could effectively
adjust the learning activities based on the
students’ needs keeping daily, weekly, and
program goals in mind. The learning activities
were effective because of the backward design.
Assessment also played a critical role in
the success of the program. The daily can-do
statements were effectively assessed by the
daily learning evidence. The students used an
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