May 30, 2008

STARTALK, HCC’s Free Summer Language Program for High School Students, is back for 2008

(Columbia, MD) – Last year, Howard Community College (HCC) received a grant from the National Foreign Language Center at University of Maryland to begin a new program, STARTALK, aimed at increasing the number of Americans learning critical need languages.  Select schools across the nation, including Stanford University, were awarded this new grant, and HCC was the only recipient in Maryland.

STARTALK offers high school students the opportunity to learn Arabic or Mandarin Chinese and earn college credits tuition-free.  High school students (including incoming 9^th graders and newly graduated high school students) learn communicative ability as well as cultural awareness from experienced native language teachers in HCC’s lively, task-based classes.  There is no cost to the student other than the application fee (and waived for students with demonstrated financial need).  Successful STARTALK students receive eight college credits from HCC and are prepared to enter intermediate-level language instruction.  The admissions process is selective.

STARTALK classes are held Monday – Thursday 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on the HCC campus June 23 - August 7, 2008.

For more information, contact World Language Professor Cheryl Berman at 410-772-4861, contact Office of Admissions & Advising (hsinfo@howardcc.edu; 410-772-4599), or visit www.howardcc.edu.