An OU institute is hosting a Chinese summer camp in affiliation with a federal program aimed at increasing the number of Americans learning critical-need languages such as Chinese and Arabic.

OU’s Confucius Institute received a $100,000 grant from the federal government’s STARTALK program to hold a camp that teaches Chinese to children, said Sharon Gou, Confucius Institute director.

The grant covers the majority of camp costs, but parents still pay a $200 fee for the two-week camp, Gou said. Some of these costs are offset by 15 scholarships, she said.

Chinese is one of 10 critical-need languages offered through the STARTALK program.

The Chinese language camp is held on the Norman and Tulsa campuses. The Norman campus has 34 students enrolled, and the Tulsa campus has 26.

Teachers and students begin the morning with either Tai Chi or Kung Fu at 9 a.m. before beginning their language classes at 9:30 a.m.

One of the camp’s instructors, Luping Wang, teaches the beginner-level students. Wang has been teaching for six years, beginning with Chinese children at a local Chinese school.

She now teaches at Norman Public Schools when the camp isn’t in session.

The beginner level focuses on getting students confident that they understand what the instructor is saying, Wang said.

After lunch, students study one of five culture classes on a rotating basis that are taught by culture experts at a professor level.

Monday’s culture class was taught by OU professor Alan Atkinson and featured the classical Chinese novel “Journey to the West.” The novel is a story about a pilgrimage from China to India.

“He has combined art with history and tied it into the story, “Journey to the West,” Gou said.

In the afternoon, students are taught music, Chinese chess and calligraphy.

The camp will last until July 8, but a field trip to Branson, Mo., to see the New Shanghai circus has been planned for July 9, according to the camp’s website.