The Chinese Language Flagship Program at WKU has selected 22 students for the 2014 cohort. Sponsored by The Language Flagship, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, WKU is one of only 12 universities in the United States with a grant to support this immersion-style intensive Chinese program.
Logan Johnson, who was valedictorian of the Logan County High School Class of 2014, is one of those selected. He is attending Western Kentucky University of a full-tuition Governor’s Scholars Program Scholarship and on a WKU Regents Scholarship.
Many students in the Logan County School System have studied the Chinese language extensively because of a program which has brought native Chinese teachers to Logan County to teach the language over a period of years.
The 22 new students begin their study of Chinese at WKU with the goal of reaching a Superior, or near-native, level of Chinese proficiency before they graduate. To attain this challenging goal, students participate in multiple domestic and international intensive language programs and internships, including a year of study and professional work in Nanjing, China. Students who complete the program will receive national Flagship certification of their language proficiency and enjoy a peer network to support their future academic and professional pursuits.
In addition to the 2014 cohort, the program welcomes Dr. Yufen Chang, Assistant Professor of Chinese. Chang received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from Indiana University with a primary area of specialization in phonology. Her research interests include language attrition, acquisition of second language phonology, and Chinese phonology.
Ms. Xiao Zhu, a Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant from China, has also joined the instructional team this academic year to provide individualized tutoring to participating students during her year in the United States.
In addition to Johnson, the 2014 cohort includes: Nicole Andersen of Hiawatha, Iowa; Sarah Angelle of Monticello; Katharine Belarmino of Beavercreek, Ohio; Heather Carpenter of Lancaster; Emma Collins of Louisville; Linda Cruz of Carrollton; Cole Funkhouser of Louisville; Lashana Harney of Winchester; Dalton Harshbarger of Burlington; Kate Hart of Princeton; Salvador Hernandez of Nashville, Tenn.; Stevie Hoyng of Bowling Green; Anna Huffman of Elizabethtown; Slaid Leatherman of Versailles; Madison Miller of Richmond; Erick Murrer of Nancy; Ryan Purk of Owensboro; Nathan Read of Belleville, Ill.; Maria Sanchez of Knob Lick; Tristan Shaw of Glasgow; and James Vessels of Louisville.