The Persian Language program in the College of Letters and Sciences has been awarded a grant of $100,000 by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland.
This grant, titled STARTALK 2009, is a competitive grant, according to Dr. Ramin Sarraf, Lead Faculty for Persian Bachelor of Arts Programs at National University. He said that only four student programs out of a total of 77 awards have received the grant for teaching the Persian Language. The grant is aimed at attracting a younger generation of students to foreign language studies at an early age.
Faculty member Dr. Azita Mokhtari has been in charge of designing and implementing the STARTALK-funded program, which is an intensive four-week, summer Persian language and culture workshop for 60 students from grades 7-12.
National University Virtual High School (NUVHS), under the supervision of Nancy Rohland-Heinrich, Vice Chancellor for Pre-College Programs, will be directly involved with this workshop and will offer high school credits through NUVHS to students who successfully complete the program.
The summer Persian language program includes 3-4 classes running daily for the entire day. Students in the program will have access to National University’s computer labs and advanced technology facilities. Textbooks, lunches, field trips, and high school credit will all be offered free of charge, thanks to the STARTALK Grant funding.
Dr. Sarraf said that the target population for the program consists of students of both Iranian heritage and non-heritage backgrounds.
