Oregon Chinese Flagship Program

Faculty Program Outline

What is the UO Chinese Flagship Program?
The US government has designated Mandarin Chinese as a strategic language and has developed a plan to expand and strengthen existing university and K-12 language programs. In the fall of 2005, the National Security Education Program (NSEP) awarded the UO Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS) and the Portland Public School district the nation’s first grant aimed at creating a national model for Chinese Flagship K-16 education.

The Language Flagship (TLF) provides the financial support to U.S. universities recognized as leaders in the field of language education with the aim at graduating students with the academic and linguistic preparation for high-caliber graduate programs or high-profile professional positions. Graduates who obtain the national Chinese Language Flagship certification have professional-level Mandarin skills, and step into fields as diverse as their own learning interests, such as economics, government service, biochemistry, architecture, law, political science, international business, marketing, and intelligence analysis.

UO Chinese Flagship Program
The UO East Asian Languages and Literatures (EALL) and the Chinese Flagship Program provide academic and professional training as well as real-life experiences to nurture global professionals with the cultural, academic, and linguistic tools required to negotiate the changing U.S.-China dynamic in the twenty-first century. This program is designed to provide undergraduate students from all levels the opportunity to take part in an advanced Chinese Flagship program. Flagship students develop professional-level language proficiency while pursuing academic majors of their choice. There are currently seven other Chinese Flagship programs located at Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, Indiana University, San Francisco State University, The Ohio State University, University of Rhode Island, and Western Kentucky University. Flagship is an exciting opportunity for students who are academically driven and focused on securing careers in which they will utilize their Mandarin.

Internships, overseas study, and cultural activities complement students' academic work. The University of Oregon’s Chinese program welcomes students from all entry points to commit to accelerated Mandarin learning. Individualized study, study groups, peer tutors, an immersive language learning dorm, and summer intensive courses help students develop the prerequisite intermediate-high to advanced proficiency needed to enter Flagship course and program offerings. The Flagship program takes advantage of the academic experts on campus teaching cross-disciplinary content courses in Chinese. Course offerings include Psychology: Mind and Brains; Linguistics: Language, Culture, and Society; English: Globalization in Chinese Film; History: Chinese History Past and Present; Leadership and Change: Urbanization of Modern Chinese Cities; and Political Science: State of the World. These classes are supported by specially designed Language Strategies.

UO Flagship Program Objectives
More than a language program, the UO Language Flagship builds on the languages across curriculum model helping students develop superior-level proficiency skills through multi-disciplinary courses, rigorous explicit language instruction, and intensive overseas study. Designed for students pursing academic degrees of their choice, the program has no departmental degree requirements however students commit to the following
learning outcome objectives:

• Superior-level Mandarin (ILR 3) proficiency,
• academic and cross-cultural skills to complete in a global work environment, and
• the national The Language Flagship Chinese certification.

Program Growth and Demographics
Although originally designed specifically for incoming students with demonstrated intermediate-mid to advanced Mandarin proficiency, the UO Flagship program and EALL, in alignment with U.S. national proficiency goals, are working to fully articulate the UO Chinese program. This project will align pedagogical practices, develop and communicate course and program outcome goals, establish formative assessment benchmarks, and create an articulated curriculum framework.

Based on research and experience in Flagships across the country, the following principles are central to the planning process:

• Outcomes-based planning (“Backwards design”)
• Inclusion of authentic materials at all levels
• Inclusion of meaningful, level-appropriate academic content
• Balanced development of four skills
• Regular summative assessment to gauge progress
• Regular formative assessment to improve learning and instruction

Enrollment in Flagship honors-level courses requires minimum intermediate-mid prerequisite language proficiency. Flagship courses are not designed for native language speakers or students who already exceed superior-level proficiency in Mandarin.

Flagship Curriculum
The Flagship intermediate-mid to advanced level course introduces students to academic content in Chinese. This approach uses the languages across the curriculum model, surveying content in science, social science, and humanities. Students enroll in level-appropriate class and are provided intensive individual and discipline-specific language skills. At the core of the UO Chinese Flagship experience is the multi-disciplinary content courses taught by experts in their field. Content courses strengthen students’ language base while helping them develop critical thinking and response skills for interactions in professional and academic Chinese environments.

The programs Chinese rigor includes domain specific research, academic colloquia, systematic language assessment, study abroad at Nanjing University, and an in-country internship. Following their study abroad year, highly-qualified students with superior-level language skills will be eligible for the national The Language Flagship certification.