Marin county, just north from San Francisco across the Golden Gate bridge, doesn’t have any Mandarin immersion programs. That’s surprising, given that there are more more than a dozen in the greater San Francisco bay area. Clearly some parents would like that to change, and one Mandarin-speaker is suggesting they turn to charter schools to get on as local school districts don’t seem interested.
Marin Voice: The case for bilingual education — why not Mandarin Chinese?
In November, Californians voted yes on Proposition 58 with almost 73 percent support, lifting restrictions on bilingual education for English language learners and authorizing school districts to establish dual-language immersion programs for both native and non-native English speakers.
This was an important win for parents who want their children to begin learning a second language at an early age.
Dual-language immersion is a method of teaching in which the learners study subjects such as math, science and social studies in a second language. Studies suggest that immersion is the most effective way to learn a foreign language, and that the critical window for learning is between birth and about 10 years of age.
Please read more here.
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council 
Leave a comment