What are "Pre-Camp" and "Post-Camp"?
Pre-camp: Wednesdays, April 19 - May 31, 2023
Before the summer camp begins, the COCC/STARTALK My Summer in China pre-camp offers 15 hours of online learning to prepare students in basic knowledge of Chinese language sounds and written characters (offered via Zoom and Canvas). Pre-camp also shows students how to use pinyin (a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese) to input Chinese characters on their tablets. During an April 2023 orientation session, the program personnel will connect with the students and families to introduce the program and share expectations for pre-camp.
Participants who have previous Chinese-language experience and who wish to skip the pre-camp can take an online placement test to determine whether they can waive the pre-camp requirement and still be eligible for college credit. These participants will still be required to attend the post-camp in the fall in order to be eligible for college credit. Please email mysummerinchina@cocc.edu for information regarding the placement test.
Pre-camp Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the basic concepts of the Mandarin sounds system (pinyin and pronunciation); be able to identify 21 initials and 36 finals by listening and reading; be able to type out the sounds using pinyin.
- Understand the four tones and neutral tone and their tone marks; be able to identify the tones and pronounce the rehearsed words using the appropriate tone.
- Understand the basic concepts of the Mandarin writing system: strokes, radicals and phonetic components, and character composition; be able to identify strokes and composition, and to trace characters using the appropriate stroke order.
- Have memorized some useful classroom expressions and survival expressions.
- Have a basic overview of the Chinese language, including history, languages and dialects, the formation of Chinese characters, and grammar features.
Post-camp: August - December 2023
Following the summer camp, participants will remain engaged through weekly online
instruction and language exchange sessions, as well as via an online learning community
(Canvas). The assignments within this online learning community will include students
posting videos about their learning experiences and connecting with language partners
in China. Post-camp instruction will be entirely online and will include 30 hours
of learning. The post-camp is an extension of the summer camp in which participants
will continue to learn the sub-theme of "School."
Post-camp Learning Outcomes:
- Identify some elements of a classroom, a school schedule, or levels of school.
- Exchange school information with others.
- Describe a student’s daily routine.
- Compare the school system in the US and in China, and identify how the difference affects the way people live.