How well does Mandarin immersion work in preschool?

It’s becoming easier to find Mandarin immersion preschools in many cities where there are Mandarin immersion school-age programs. But many parents wonder how well they work and what they should be looking for when touring preschools.

Thankfully, our friends over at the Chinese Early Language and Immersion Network (CELIN) at the Asia Society convened a meeting last February to look into the matter. Held in New York City with leaders of the early Chinese education schools, universities, and state initiatives, they have now released an excellent paper on what they found. It’s aimed more at educators than parents, but as with all the CELIN briefs, there’s a lot that will be interesting to parents.

Here’s the link to the report.

These are the questions they sought to answer:

1. Who are the providers of and key players in Chinese immersion preschool education in 2020–2021?
   What are the successes and common issues, needs, and challenges that they face?
2. What does a quality Chinese immersion preschool look like?
3. What does research inform us about the role and value of preschool education? How does Chinese immersion preschool education contribute to a child’s growth, development in bilingualism and biliteracy, and school achievement over time?

Also, definitely check out their other briefs here.