STARTALK

Each summer, a group of faculty in the Department of Linguistics hosts summer programs for language educators as part of STARTALK, a federal grant program funded by the National Security Agency. STARTALK grants fund several types of innovative programs that aim to support strong language learning outcomes for K-16 students, provide in-depth, quality teacher development, and develop materials and resources for educators in order to meet the goals for critical-need languages in the United States. STARTALK’s overall mission is to increase the number of young Americans learning and speaking critical-need world languages by offering creative and engaging learning experiences for K-16 students and teachers. 

In summer 2023, the Georgetown STARTALK-TASK: Task-based Training for Critical Language Teachers program hosted teachers of Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and Russian to learn about task-based language teaching through a course led by Dr. Lara Bryfonski (Instructional Lead and Project Director) and Dr. Alison Mackey (Project Co-Director). 

The Department has received funding for two programs in summer 2024: STARTALK-TASK: Task-based Training for Critical Language Teachers, led by Dr. Bryfonski and Dr. Mackey; and STARTALK-TECH: Technology-Based Tools for Teaching Critical Languages, led by Dr. Meg Montee and Dr. Mackey.

To learn more about STARTALK, visit the program’s website.