A Teacher of Teachers: ChiaChyi Chiu Spends Summer Sharing Her Talents, Passion for Language
Posted August 10, 2012
Chinese teacher ChiaChyi Chiu is busy sharing her considerable talents throughout the country this summer. She finished teaching her second STARTTALK program this week in Lewes, Delaware working with K-5 students in the Cape Henlopen School District. In June she led a teacher workshop, also through STARTTALK, at the Las Vegas Chinese School in Las Vegas, Nevada. “The workshop covered principles of good foreign language learning and teaching, key concepts related to oral language and literacy development, how language is learned and how teachers facilitate learning, strategies for instruction and assessment,” noted Chiu who designed the curriculum.
STARTALK is the newest component of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) designed to increase the number of Americans learning, speaking, and teaching critical need foreign languages including Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, Turkish, Swahili and Urdu and operates in conjunction with the National Foreign Language Center and the University of Maryland
Later this month Chiu will teach a workshop for teachers in Washington D.C. at the Yu YIng Public Charter School. The school uses Chiu's textbook she helped write entitled, "Flying With Chinese." Yu Ying is the first public school in Washington, D.C. to offer Chinese language immersion. “I absolutely love working with students and teachers and am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had this summer,” said Chiu. “As is always the case, I learn a tremendous amount from teaching others and this summer has provided me with some very rich learning experiences.”
ChiaChyi was born and raised in Taiwan. As a social work major at Soochow University, she worked as a volunteer with seniors and juvenile delinquents. She also worked with children with autism and developmental issues at the Liu Foundation, a special education institute in Taiwan. She came to the United States in 1989 and subsequently earned Master’s Degrees from Eastern Michigan University and San Jose State University. She is a two-time recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award from the Association of Chinese Schools.