Buffalo, N.Y. — Twenty high school students from across Western New York spent their summer taking part in one of the region’s most transformative language-learning experiences: the University at Buffalo’s 2025 STARTALK Summer Program. The three-week, tuition-free initiative immersed students in Mandarin Chinese through a curriculum designed around the Immersion Educational Approach, a methodology now shaping the future of world-language education in the United States.

Funded by a $137,500 National Security Agency grant, the program offered participants not only full access at no cost, but also three university credits upon successful completion. Led by Chuan Lin, associate teaching professor and director of UB’s Chinese Program, the initiative marks UB’s first selection as a STARTALK host institution — a notable milestone for the university and the region.

Immersion Educational Approach: Learning By Living the Language

At the heart of the program is the Immersion Educational Approach, an instructional model that places students in a learning environment where the target language is meaningfully used throughout the day. Instead of memorizing vocabulary or studying grammar in isolation, students actively experience Mandarin through communication, collaboration, and cultural practice.

The twenty participating students — many with little or no previous exposure to Chinese — quickly adapted to learning in an immersion-based environment. Daily sessions blended interactive instruction, small-group practice, and real-world communication tasks, allowing students to internalize Mandarin as a functional tool rather than an academic subject.

Program director Lin explains that immersion is one of the most effective ways to accelerate language acquisition:

Cultural Immersion as a Learning Accelerator

Beyond classroom activities, cultural engagement formed a core layer of the immersive experience. Students participated in workshops such as:

• Chinese calligraphy, building character-recognition through artistic practice

• Tea ceremony demonstrations, introducing cultural etiquette and key communicative phrases

• Guqin instruction, connecting history, sound, and linguistic expression

• Martial arts sessions, reinforcing listening and movement-based command comprehension

These hands-on experiences provided a cultural foundation that deepened language understanding and created emotional and sensory anchors for learning — both essential components of the immersion approach.

Student Growth Through Experiential Learning

The program culminated in a final showcase where students presented performances, dialogues, multimedia projects, and cultural exhibits entirely shaped by their own learning journeys. The outcomes demonstrated measurable proficiency growth across speaking, listening, reading, and cultural literacy.

Student reflections highlighted the strength of immersion:

One participant shared that the best part of the program was “knowing that everyone had a genuine interest in the language,” describing the environment as uniquely motivating and energizing. Another emphasized the effectiveness of immersion-based instruction, noting that early conversational phrases “got us talking right away and helped reduce the fear of learning a new language.”

Parents echoed this feedback. One parent wrote that their child had been “deeply introduced to a new language that can be intimidating for many,” while another praised project-based learning for improving retention and long-term interest.

Institutional Collaboration and Vision

The program design resulted from close collaboration between Lin and Erin Kearney, professor and chair of the Department of Learning and Instruction in UB’s Graduate School of Education. Their joint effort ensured that STARTALK at UB aligned with national standards for immersion program quality: learner-centered instruction, culturally grounded curriculum, and performance-based assessment.

Organizers say the 2025 STARTALK program reflects UB’s commitment to global education, critical language instruction, and preparing students to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.

A Model for the Future of Language Education in America

Immersion programs like STARTALK play a vital role in expanding the United States’ capacity for multilingual communication and cultural competence. As global dynamics shift, demand for speakers of critical languages — including Mandarin — continues to rise across fields such as international relations, business, technology, security, and global research.

The success of UB’s program demonstrates how the Immersion Educational Approach can make world languages accessible to learners at all experience levels while fostering curiosity, confidence, and cultural appreciation.

Through its innovative methodology, dedicated faculty, and strong institutional support, UB’s STARTALK Summer Program is helping redefine how American students engage with languages — not as distant subjects, but as living, interactive, and empowering tools for global citizenship.