Dr. Dali Tan

  • College Board endorsed consultant for AP Chinese Language & Culture
  • This session is offered in Event 2: June 28-July 01, 2021

Meet your consultant for the APSI in AP Chinese Language & Culture

AP Chinese Language & Culture APSI Online Course Description

Dr. Dali Tan is a Professor of Chinese at the Northern Virginia Community College and has been a Chinese teacher in the United States for over twenty-eight years.  She has extensive experience teaching Chinese to students from 5th grade to college seniors as well as adult learners and heritage Chinese school students. She served as a board member of NECTFL and President of CLASS. She was the Director for NOVA STARTALK eTower Infrastructure Grant Project which has produced several Open Educational Resources modules based on a famous Chinese painting called “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” — etower.nvcc.edu.  he was the co-project director for a five-year research project entitled “Language Socialization in Chinese Study Abroad Homestay” which is 2010-2014 research project of CALPER (Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research at Pennsylvania State University) funded by Title VI Grant from the Department of Education. 

Dr. Tan is also a Pre-AP World Languages and AP Chinese consultant for the College Board and served on the College Board SAT II Chinese Committee for five years and the AP Chinese Development Committees for two years. She has conducted many AP Chinese one‐day workshops and AP summer institutes for the College Board since 2006 both in the US, in Thailand, and in China. 

She was the 2003 recipient of the Teacher Recognition Award issued by the U.S. Department of Education. 

Dr. Tan’s research and pedagogical articles have been published in China, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States.  Her publications include “Study Abroad in China: Transformation of Students’ Perspectives on the World and Themselves,” “Criteria to Guide Textbook Decisions: Reflections from a Classroom Teacher and Teacher Trainer” and “Pearls of Ancient Chinese Wisdom for Twenty-First-Century CFL Classrooms”.

She has co-authored many other texts, including “The Power of Pattern Stories for Chinese Literacy.” “Building Global Communities: Working Together toward Intercultural Competence” and “STARTALK eTower: Increasing Chinese Language and Cultural Proficiency Through Open Access Online Technology.”

Course Description: Walton Chinese APSI

This course surveys the basic structure, content, and skill development necessary for teaching AP Chinese course. This course will focus on the AP Chinese Language and Culture course and exam in relation to the ACTFL World Readiness Standards and 21st Century Skills. Consultant and participants will share best practices and classroom strategies in improving student performance in all three modes of communications (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational) and will carefully examine effective instructional resources.

Topics will include the following:

  • Examination of sample student answers from free response sections of an actual AP exam as well as released scoring guidelines for these sections
  • How to take full advantage of all the College Board AP resources
  • Best practices and classroom strategies in improving student performance
  • Integration of the ACTFL World Readiness Standards into instruction and assessment
  • Cultural integration into the AP course
  • Integrating 21st Century skills into communication modes
  • Authentic materials, immersion environment and differentiated instruction

What participants should have with them if possible:

  • Textbooks you are currently using
  • Student work samples
  • Your sample assessments
  • Your syllabus
  • Your favorite thematic unit
  • Authentic materials you have used in your classes
  • Any others you think might be helpful for discussions and exchanges
  • A list of effective instructional technology tools and apps you have used for both face to face and remote online instruction

I will broadcast from my home  in Northern Virginia via zoom.  We will share with each other the same way as we would in person via Zoom and some Zoom break out sessions; we will make the best of our online interactions, with the goal that every participant takes away new ideas and experiences to bring into their own classrooms.

 The following is an overall schedule of events.  The actual activities of the institute will be tailored and adjusted according to participant input and questions, and time restrictions.

“Less is More:” All AP Chinese teachers feel that that it would be nice to have more synchronous instructional time with our students, especially when we have to do remote instruction.  Throughout the week, we will discuss and share methods by which our limited class (and out of class) time can be used most efficiently and effectively.  

APSI Agenda

2021 Walton AP Chinese Summer Institute 

Consultant: Dr. Dali Tan

I will broadcast from my home  in Northern Virginia via zoom.  We will share with each other the same way as we would in person via Zoom and some Zoom break out sessions; we will make the best of our online interactions, with the goal that every participant takes away new ideas and experiences to bring into their own classrooms.

 The following is an overall schedule of events.  The actual activities of the institute will be tailored and adjusted according to participant input and questions, and time restrictions.

“Less is More:” All AP Chinese teachers feel that that it would be nice to have more synchronous instructional time with our students, especially when we have to do remote instruction.  Throughout the week, we will discuss and share methods by which our limited class (and out of class) time can be used most efficiently and effectively.  

Daily Agenda

Monday 6/21

  • Ice/Breaker Activities and Initial introductions and input from participants about their background and what they want to get out of this institute
  • Introduction to the nature and scope of the College Board’s AP Chinese course
  • Fall AP registration (which is still a bit new!)
  • 2020 course and exam description – guide to using the binder
  • AP classroom, and personal progress checks
  • World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and Other AP Resources

 Tuesday 6/22

  • The three modes of communication and the integration of four skills
  • AP Chinese Language and Culture Course Guidelines
  • Review of the Free-Response Section on AP Exam 2021
  • Reading and Scoring Process and Sample of Student Responses

Wednesday 6/23

  • AP Course Audit and Developing a Syllabus for the AP Chinese class and AP Audit
  • Using Authentic Materials and Hands-on Lesson Planning  
  • Effective Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners and Learning Strategies
  • Deepening the Impact of Our Activities 

Thursday 6/24

  • Teaching Cultural Perspective—Beyond Product and Practice
  • Integrated Performance Assessment and other Best Practices
  • Lesson Plan (student-centered activities) Presentation and Sharing 
  • Q & A and Evaluation