A program by the stellar folks at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition in Minneapolis. Definitely a must-attend for newer programs.

Immersion 101 for Chinese and Japanese

An Introduction to Immersion Teaching

June 24–28, 2013 (Teacher Session) June 24–25, 2013 (Admin Session)

New Chinese or Japanese immersion teachers and administrators will receive a research-based introduction to the challenges, options, and issues in the unique world of immersion education (K-12). Targeted institute participants include one-way (foreign language) and two-way immersion educators who teach subject matter through Chinese or Japanese for 50-100% of the school day and promote continued development of English (amount of instructional time in English varies by grade level).

On the first two days, the focus will be on issues of interest to new immersion teachers and administrators. Administrators and district personnel will have an opportunity to engage with key issues in immersion program design and implementation for character-based languages and discuss strategies for meeting those challenges with an experienced immersion administrator. During the following three days, novice teacher participants will be introduced to effective practices that inform language and literacy-attentive curriculum development and instruction with non-cognate, character-based languages whose writing system differs from English.

During this institute, you will: Become familiar with the educational philosophy, research, and practices of immersion education as well as the distinguishing characteristics and goals of various program models; Connect with colleagues and strengthen your professional network; Discuss the unique role immersion education plays in public education and explore administrative strategies for dealing with immersion issues at the school and district level; Examine effective classroom management and instructional strategies for immersion teachers who are new to teaching and learning in the United States; and Collaboratively develop content-based curriculum that systematically attends to language and literacy development.

Program Schedule (9 a.m.—4 p.m.) Day 1    All participants Immersion Philosophy, Practices, and Goals Types of Immersion Programs Immersion Benefits and Challenges Day 2    All participants Principal Perspectives Two Programs, One School Cross-Cultural Challenges Day 3    Teacher Participants Only Content-Based Curriculum Design Integration of Language, Culture, and Content Research-Supported Learning Activities Day 4    Teacher Participants Only Instructional Scaffolds Constructing Language Objectives Character-Based Literacy Instruction Day 5    Teacher Participants Only Mentor Teacher Panel Classroom Community Building Internet Resources for Immersion

Presenters

Tara Fortune, Ph.D., is the immersion projects coordinator at CARLA and will serve as the lead instructor and institute facilitator. She devotes most of her professional time to the preparation and continuing education of immersion educators throughout the United States and abroad. She oversees research initiatives in immersion which have recently included a focus on struggling immersion learners and immersion language assessment.

Guest Presenters will include several veteran immersion teachers and administrators who will share their specific expertise at the institute.

Designed for pre-service and novice K-12 immersion educators, administrators, district personnel or policy makers, and specialist teachers in immersion schools. It is not meant for experienced immersion teachers.

More here.