Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC) at San Diego State University (SDSU) is excited to announce that it is hosting its second year-round student Startalk program in three languages: Chinese, Persian (Farsi), and Russian. The program is open to up to 36 highly motivated high-school students (12 per language) in grades 9-11 with no prior knowledge of the language. The program comprises 160 hours of instruction: 30 hours of hybrid instruction February–May 2023, 80 hours of in-person instruction during the four-week summer immersion camp, and 50 hours of hybrid post-summer instruction August 2023–February 2024.

The program uses a thematically organized curriculum and focuses on language learning through authentic texts and resources. Students acquire the language through lessons that are culturally rich and cognitively engaging and through meaningful real-world activities that prepare them to communicate outside the classroom. In addition to being immersed in the language, students also participate in a variety of authentic cultural activities that deepen their understanding and appreciation of the target language cultures.

By the end of the program, students are expected to reach the intermediate level of oral proficiency on the ACTFL scale.