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Frequently asked questions

1. What is STARTALK

  • STARTALK is a federal grant program funded by the National Security Agency. STARTALK grants fund several types of innovative programs that create strong language learning outcomes for K-12 students, provide in-depth, quality teacher development, and develop support materials and resources for educators in order to meet the goals for critical need languages in the United States. Those goals include increasing the number of students enrolled in critical language studies, increasing the number of highly effective critical language teachers in the U.S., and increasing the availability of quality teaching and learning materials. STARTALK grants currently support programs offered in the following critical need languages: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Persian, and Russian.

  • In West Virginia, we offer you a Mandarin Chinese year-round engagement program at West Virginia University.

2. What does your program offer?

  • We offer you a year-round Mandarin learning experience, including three semesters of virtual learning and a summer residential camp at West Virginia University. 

  • Upon their successful completion of our STARTALK program (4 terms), students can expect to reach the intermediate-low level on the ACTFL standard.

  • The summer residential camp offers a fun immersive learning environment for students to apply their language skills in context and network with others who share interest and passion in learning about Mandarin-speaking cultures.

3. Am I eligible?

  • We recruit 40 motivated high school students who live in West Virginia and neighboring states and are interested in this competitive opportunity to advance their academic studies through our federally funded language and cultural enrichment program. 

  • Students will need to have a computer and reliable Internet to succeed in our program, but all the tuitions and fees are funded through our generous STARTALK grant.

  • Candidates need to be in the 9th, 10th, or 11th graders in Fall 2022

4. Why should I be in this program?

  • Funded by the National Security Agency, our 2023-2024 STARTALK Mandarin program is a new educational extracurricular initiative to promote critical language learning in youth in the United States. Successful participation in this program can bring students global experiences and add to students’ credentials in their resume in relation to their intercultural competence! 

5. Should I get college credits?

  • STARTALK participants in our program can elect to earn college credits through the WVU HS ACCESS program if they are eligible. Find out more about the ACCESS program and eligibility.

  • STARTALK participants who are enrolled in the WVU ACCESS program to earn college credits are considered WVU college students. Hence, in addition to the STARTALK requirements, they will follow the WVU academic calendar and the course syllabus to fulfill the credit-earning course requirements. In short, there will be two sets of requirements for STARTALK students who elect to earn college credits through our STARTALK program: (1) the STARTALK requirements and (2) college course requirements. 

  • STARTALK students are encouraged to consider the option of earning college credits through our STARTALK program. However, students should evaluate their academic maturity, time management skills, and level of commitment when deciding if a college course in addition to the STARTALK learning experience is right for them.

  • If admitted into our WVU HS ACCESS program, all the associated tuitions and fees will be covered by our STARTALK program.

6. Can I get high school credits?

  • We are not offering a dual-credit course, but students are welcome to speak with their own school to determine if the system will provide world language high school credits.  All decisions will be made by the student’s high school

7. What is my virtual learning schedule?

  • Students can identify their availabilities on their application forms before each term starts. The scheduling plan is to have different classes on different days of the week to accommodate our students’ schedules. After students are placed into the class,  students will stay in the same class throughout the term to maintain the learning consistency and continuum.

  • The tentative class schedule is as follows.

    •  Class A: 7:00-8:00 pm Mondays and Wednesdays

    • Class B: 7:00-8:00 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays

    • Class C: 7:00-8:00 pm Wednesday and Fridays

    • Class D: 7:00-8:00 pm Thursdays and Saturdays

    • Class E: 7:00-8:00 pm Fridays and Sundays

    • Class F: 6:00-8:00 pm Sundays

8. What are dates for the program?

  • The dates below are for the STARTALK program, NOT the credit-earning college courses through the WVU HS ACCESS program.

    • Spring 2023: 15 weeks; 30 hours online; 2/12-5/27/2023 

    • Summer 2023: 16-day resident camp at WVU; 7/21-8/5/2023

    • Fall 2023: 15 weeks; 30 hours online; 8/20-12/9/2023

    • Spring 2024: 10 weeks; 20 hours online; 1/14-3/23/2024

  • The credit-earning college course schedule will follow the University academic calendar. 

9. Who are my STARTALK instructor?

  • The Instructional Lead for our STARTALK program is Dr. Ching-Hsuan Wu. Under her supervision, the instructional team will include experienced college professors from universities across the nation and local high school teachers. 

10. Can I be absent?

  • Absence is strongly discouraged. STARTALK participants with more than three unexcused absences may be removed from the program. 

  • Participation is graded. Poor participation can affect the student's eligibility to continue into the next term.

  • If enrolled in the WVU HS ACCESS program to earn college credits, students will follow the attendance policy in the class syllabus. In general, points will be deducted for absences.

11. Will I receive a grade?

  • All the STARTALK participants will receive a report card at the end of each them. The report card will show a letter grade with comments from the STARTALK instructor.

  • STARTALK students who are also enrolled in the WVU HS ACCESS program will also receive an official WVU transcript. More about the transcript.

12. Where do I stay during the summer camp?

13. How much do I need to pay?

  • Selected STARTALK participants do not need to pay for this great learning experience. All the associated STARTALK tuitions, fees, and summer camp expenses are 100% covered by our program.

  • Students are responsible for having a computer and stable Internet connect.

  • Students are responsible for their transportation to arrive at Hodges Hall on the WVU downtown campus at noon on 7/21/2023. They will also need to arrange their pick-ups at noon on 8/5/2023.

14. Do I need to turn on my camera in class?

  • Students are required to turn on their cameras and microphones to participate in the class activities during our virtual learning sessions. 

15. Whom should I contact if any questions?

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