We proudly co-sponsor the 2016 Why Learn Chinese Competition

                                    Why Learn Chinese Competition
WAACE’s “Why Learn Chinese Competition” is a written/visual submission-based competition. Students all over Washington can enter for a chance to win prizes up to $200 by creatively answering the prompts:

6th-12th “When American Dream Meets Chinese Dream…” 

K-5th      “A famous Chinese Person Who Has Influenced you”

What does the American dream mean to you? Do you know the Chinese dream? How can both dreams come true? What our young generation can do to improve a more positive US-China relationship? Why learn Chinese?

Competition Objectives

Our goal is to generate interest in learning Chinese among American students, to give them the competitive edge and global perspective needed to succeed in the modern-day economy, and to increase Chinese language learning capacity in Washington.

President Obama, during the first state visit to Washington by China’s President Xi Jinping, announced a sweeping new nationwide initiative to see 1 million American students studying Mandarin by 2020. Inspired by President Obama’s 1 million strong” initiative, our vision for this year’s competition is to let the youth voice on building a more positive relationship between US and China be heard by US president. Through this grassroots initiative, we wish to engage and prepare students to enter the dynamic global environment of the 21st century, where we—the younger generation—will be responsible for maintaining the growing economic, political, and cultural ties between the US and China. Ultimately, we hope to spread awareness about the growing importance of learning Chinese, and provide a platform of expression for the reserve of community support for bringing Chinese into more schools.

Encouraged by China’s President Xi Jiping, and with the strong support from the Consulate General of China, we are honored to hold an even bigger competition by including elementary students this year. We hope our competition will help students put more enthusiasm in learning Chinese language and culture and participating actively in the friendly exchange between US and China. 

Competition Description

Who?

Middle and high school students are welcome to submit entries to creatively address the question of “When the American Dream Meets the Chinese Dream”.  What does the American dream mean to you? Do you know the Chinese dream? How can both dreams come true?What our young generation can do to improve a more positive US-China relationship? Why learn Chinese?

In order to encourage young learners, WAACE also provides a particular prompt of “Describe a Famous Chinese Person Who Has Influenced You” to K-5 students.  All entries are evaluated with the same criteria.

What?

Contestants can submit either:

A written entry: an essay (450-600 words), poem (8+ stanzas) or

 A video entry: a song, speech or another creative format (2- 5 minutes)

When?

Online submissions until July 31 , 2016.

Where?

Complete the registration form at  http://www.waace.org/wlc.html and submit responses digitally using the entry form. Send video entries directly to president@waace.org, or upload to an online sharing service and submit the link. Limit one entry per contestant.
The entry must be original, in English or Chinese, and depict the prompts of ” When the American Dream Meets the Chinese Dream” (6-12) or “A Famous Chinese Person Who Has Influenced You” (K-5) Limit one entry per contestant.

The award ceremony will be held at the University of Washington. Date TBA.

Why?

Share ideas on the importance of China, and win cash prizes!

Grand Prize: $200

Winner’s entry will be recommended by WAACE and mailed or emailed to the White House. The grand prize winner will also be the ambassador for 2017 WLC competition. 

Three categories: High School, Middle School and Elementary School

First Place: $100 (1 from each category)

Second Place: $80 (3 from each category)

Third Place: $50 (5 from each category)

Finalists (top 15%):

Certificate of Excellence

All entries will be reviewed by a judging panel composed of certified teachers and professionals with Chinese experience. They will be looking for superior ideas, message, and content rather than writing/performing skills. Our chief judges will decide the grand prize.

CLTA-WA 2016 Summer Workshop

Using Technology to Engage Students in Creative and Curious Learning   

Presenter: Kristie Bennett
Skyline High School – Sammamish, WA
Sponsor:  Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT)
Date:         Sunday, August 21, 2016
Time:         1:00pm – 4:00 pm
Location:   Library, University Prep
8000 25th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Cost:         Free for members; $20.00 for non-members
(CLTA-WA annual membership fee:  $30.00 for 07/01/2016—06/30/2017)

Registration: here

The participants who attend the workshop in its entirety will receive 3 clock hours from WAFLT. No partial clock hours will be given.

Refreshments will be provided.   CLTA-WA Homepage: https://jxi.ywi.mybluehost.me/

Workshop Program (Please bring a laptop/tablet):

1:00 – 2:00  Presentation: Tools and Tips for Using Technology to Engage Students
2:00 – 3:00  Small Group Brainstorming Session
3:00 – 4:00  Independent Work Time to Implement Ideas

Workshop description: 

Presentation – Tools and Tips for Using Technology to Engage Students:
Students are creative and curious by nature, so it’s imperative to appeal to this nature in education. By allowing students to be creative and curious in the classroom, we can increase engagement and retention across all subjects. Technology offers us many new and exciting tools that can help us reach this goal. Our presenter, Kristie Bennett, will share some tools and tips that she has encountered that can be applied in our classrooms. The presentation will offer a brief overview of numerous different tools available to teachers to provide as many options as possible to foster further discussion.

Brainstorming Session:
Following the presentation, participants will break into small groups to brainstorm ways they could apply the technologies and tools presented in their own classroom. By engaging in conversation with our colleagues, we will get a range of perspectives and unique ideas, further prompting our own creativity and inspiring us to try new things in our classrooms. Following small group brainstorming, we will compile our ideas visually using Answer Garden

Individual Work Session:
We will end the day with an individual work session. Teachers can work on their own or continue working with a partner to develop lessons, ideas, or projects to implement in their classrooms and curriculum. The goal is to immediately apply our learning so that we have something to walk away with that can directly benefit us in the coming school years.

About Kristie Bennett:
Kristie Bennett has been teaching Physics, IB Physics, and Astronomy at Skyline High School in Sammamish, WA, as well as Astronomy at University of Washington since 2012. She is currently pursuing her National Boards certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Science with an emphasis in physics and astronomy.

For the past 2 years, Kristie has served as Educational Technology Specialist for Skyline. Using her passion for education and her love of technology, she has developed a conference series designed to help teachers find new and exciting ways to implement technology in their classrooms. Kristie enjoys cuddling her cat, Schrödinger, talking about Pluto, making video games, and finding new ways to make science (and learning) accessible to all ages!

Kristie’s Inspiration: 

“I have no special talents; I am only passionately curious.” –Albert Einstein

Teaching Writing: Instructional Scaffolding and Lesson Planning

中文写作之教学实践

Presenter: Nyan-Ping Bi

Senior Lecturer, Department of Asian Language and Literature, University of Washington

Co-sponsors: East Asia Center, University of Washington

                         Department of Asian Language and Literature, University of Washington

Date: Saturday, September 17, 2016

Time: 1:00pm – 4:30 pm

Location: Thomson Hall 101, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195

Cost: Free for members; $10.00 for non-members

(CLTA-WA annual membership fee: $30.00 for 07/01/2016—06/30/2017)

Registration:

Online registration: here

Sign-ins and onsite registration: 12:30-1:00, Saturday, September 17, 2016

The participants who attend the workshop in its entirety will receive 3 clock hours from East Asia Center, UW. No partial clock hours will be given. Refreshments will be provided.

CLTA-WA Homepage: https://jxi.ywi.mybluehost.me/

Workshop Description (Workshop conducted in Mandarin Chinese):

中文写作之教学实践

Teaching Writing: Instructional Scaffolding and Lesson Planning

The workshop will first help its participants examine what criteria should be considered when designing writing lessons. Secondly, it will facilitate participants in developing a road map that monitors their planning and implementation when

teaching writing. The goals of the workshop are 1) to familiarize participants with teaching strategies that meet their instructional needs and motivate their students to become active learners when completing writing tasks; and 2) to help participants produce a framework of writing lessons that they can experiment with in class after the workshop. The workshop will provide hands-on practice and participants are expected to share their ideas and experiences with each other. The workshop also encourages participants, before attending, to inventory the challenges they have encountered when teaching writing.

The following announcement has been posted as a courtesy only. Please contact the organizations listed in for more information. However, if you are interested in applying for the CLTA-WA scholarship which can be used for the 2016 WAFLT–COFLT, please see CLTA-WA Professional Development Grant Application.

***The following announcement was posted as a courtesy. Please contact CIWA directly for any question***

2016-CI-Day-flyer

Please join us to celebrate the 2016 Confucius Institute Day. This year, we will host a three hour educational event and cultural experience at Skyline High School. This event is sponsored by the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington.

REGISTER HERE

Location: Skyline High School
1122 228th Ave SE, Sammamish, WA 98075
Date: Sunday October 23rd, 2016
Time: 1:00-4:00

Details:

Travel throughout China in one Afternoon! The afternoon event will take attendees throughout China’s major cities and provinces. Different from the previous CI Day events, this will be a student-created event. There will be various booths representing different cities and provinces of China and showcasing that location’s special characteristics. Participants will experience hands on activities throughout the afternoon.

Attendees will explore…

Beijing
Shanghai
Chongqing
Sichuan
Guangxi
…

A total of 15 places to explore!

2016 CLTA-WA Fall Workshop

Multiple Intelligences in the Language Classroom: Vocabulary Galore – Activities for all Levels and Diverse Learning Styles

Presenters: Paloma Borreguero, Lakeside School, Seattle
Dr. Debbie Bensadon, Lakeside School, Seattle
Debby Heath, Lakeside School, Seattle

Co-sponsors: Confucius Institute of the State of Washington (CIWA)
East Asia Center, the Henry M. Jackson School of international Studies,
University of Washington

Date: Sunday, November 6th, 8:30am – 1:30pm

Location: Room 101, Thomson Hall, University of Washington

Cost: Free for CLTA-WA members; $15.00 for non-members (CLTA-WA annual membership fee: $30.00 for July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017)

Registration: https://goo.gl/zqaOG6

Refreshments will be provided. Participants who attend the workshop in its entirety will receive 4 clock hours from University of Washington. No partial clock-hours will be given.

Workshop Description:

The presenters will present a variety of activities that take into consideration the different learning styles of students and exploit their different intelligence. Research shows that human intelligence is a collection of different intelligences (verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic) and by taking this into account activities can be designed to enhance the acquisition of vocabulary for students with diverse learning styles.

Schedule:

8:30-9:00 Registration
9:00-11:00 Presentation
11:00-11:30 Break
11:30-1:30 Presentation

About Presenters:

Paloma Borreguero

Her love of teaching brought her to Lakeside School in 2005. Prior to that, she coordinated the Spanish Language Program at the University of Washington for 14 years, where she supervised the teaching assistants and new faculty as well as co-directed the Center for Spanish Studies, which organizes workshops, seminars, and working groups on topics related to the teaching of Spanish and research on language, literature and culture. She has taught at the elementary, high school, and university level, in public and private institutions both in Spain and the United States. In addition to teaching young people, her interest has always been in helping teachers develop professionally, which has led her to participate in and present at multiple national and international workshops and seminars. She has also worked with the Lakeside Mentoring Program to ensure that our new faculty members have a smooth transition. Currently, she directs the Lakeside Upper School Summer School Program that allows students from the greater Seattle area to take intensive credit and noncredit courses during the summer for six weeks. As a native of Madrid, Spain, she brings in elements of her culture; however, her deep affinity for all things Latin American makes her more Pan-Hispanic than purely Spanish. She has been fortunate to go with Lakeside students during the summers on our Global Service Learning trips (GSL) to the Dominican Republic, where she saw the theory of the classroom transform into the practicum of interacting with another culture and experience the personal growth of students. She loves people and listens to stories about them and learning about other cultures, so outside of school she likes traveling, reading and cooking.

Debbie Bensadon, Ph.D

Debbie Bensadon earned her Ph.D in Hispanic Languages and Literatures from the University of Pittsburgh.She was an assistant professor at Eckerd College for three years where she taught Spanish, Latin American Literature and freshman seminars. She is currently teaching her fifth year in Seattle at Lakeside School where she teaches all levels of the Spanish program. Dr. Bensadon left academia for high school education because she finds teaching to be most rewarding. For her, the teaching is not just about communicating effectively in Spanish, but rather a vehicle through which students can learn life skills to understand and engage with cultures and people that are different from themselves. In these terms, she prioritizes the development of cultural competency and critical thinking skills along with the learning of the language. One of the most rewarding moments in the teaching profession for her is seeing students exceed their own expectations and goals they set for themselves. Beyond the content, she considers that it is more important for students to feel confident and empowered and able to take on challenges both in and outside of the classroom.

Debby Heath

Originally from Buffalo, New York, she has been teaching Spanish for over 25 years in 4 different schools in California, Washington, and Switzerland. She is currently teaching Spanish in the Upper School at Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington. She started studying Spanish in middle school, and continued on in high school and college, further honing her skills as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras. After returning to the U.S., she taught at the Overlake School in Redmond, Washington; Crossroad School of Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, California and in Zermatt, Switzerland for an international program for American high school students. Her love of travel and learning has led her to live in Spain, Mexico, Honduras and Ecuador. In addition, she has traveled extensively through Cuba and Central America with her husband and two daughters, who are also bilingual. Together with her colleagues, she has presented at both local and national conferences. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the Cascade Mountains, roller blading, cycling, and spending time with her family.

The following announcement has been posted as a courtesy only. Please contact the organizations listed in for more information. However, if you are interested in applying for the CLTA-WA scholarship which can be used for the 2016 ACTFL conference, please see CLTA-WA Professional Development Grant Application.

2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION AND WORLD LANGUAGES EXPO

November 18-20, 2016
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, MA
(Pre-Convention Workshops – November 17, 2016)

The ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages Expo is an international event bringing together more than 6,000 language educators from all languages, levels, and assignments. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive professional development experience that will have an impact on language educators at all levels of teaching and in turn impact their students to succeed in their language learning process. The program, which will feature more than 700 educational sessions in a variety of formats, will focus on innovative programs, emerging trends that impact the language profession, and research-informed practices. More than 250 companies will be exhibiting their latest products and services.

2017 Washington State Chinese Language and talent Competition will be hosted jointly by the Washington Association for American and Chinese Education (WAACE), Confucius Institute of the State of Washington (CIWA), Cultural Exploration of Greater China Foundation (CE) and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction World Languages Program (OSPI-WL). It is co-sponsored by CLTA-WA.

The format and competition categories of the 2017 WA Chinese and Talent Competition will be different this year, but is anticipated to be just as exciting!

What’s NEW this year?

• Instead of the onsite competition, the 2017 WA Chinese Language and Talent Competition will be a VIDEO competition.
• There will be NO Chinese Chess, Drawing, and China Knowledge Bowl contests this year, but they will definitely be back in the near future with other new categories. We would love to see you compete in our other categories this year.
• In addition to the awards presentation, first place winners will be invited to perform live at the ceremony.
• Submissions will begin on March 7, 2017 and end on April 7, 2017.
• The award ceremony will still be held at Chief Sealth High School in late May.
• Contestants can submit their entries accompanied by entry form, release and waiver on the registration website. http://www.waace.org/wa-chinese-competition.html
• The winners of the competition will be notified by the end of April 2017.
• All the winning entries will be shared on WAACE’s web site and CIWA’s web site as resources to benefit Chinese teachers and learners.

For more information regarding the competition, please visit the registration website at http://www.waace.org/wa-chinese-competition.html.

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to email competition@waace.org.  We look forward to your participation again in 2017.

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