Sharon Carstens’ daughter went through the Portland, Ore. Mandarin immersion program, so she’s seen up close and personal how these programs work and where they sometimes fall short. She also is a fluent Mandarin speaker herself. So like the professor she is, she set out to think “how would we do immersion if we could…

Here’s a nice blog by a U.S. college student who’s got a younger cousin in a Mandarin immersion school in the states. This young woman graduated from Oberlin College last spring after majoring in East Asian Studies  and studying Chinese. She’s now on a two year fellowships to teach at a university in Shanxi province.…

Thanks to Madeleine for writing such a lovely essay to help parents understand what Mandarin immersion is like from a student perspective! Madeleine Adams, Portland, Oregon When I started out at The International School (TIS) in Portland, Oregon in the Mandarin immersion program at the age of two, my parents had no idea just how…

The Mandarin Institute in San Francisco is conducting a national survey on assessments and resources used in Chinese language classrooms.  Please encourage your school to  complete the survey. The more responses they get the more they’ll have to share. This should be very useful information for programs nationally. Beth ===== Do you want to know… What are…

Montgomery County has the oldest public Mandarin immersion program in the United States. Most MI programs seem to be converging on having student take and pass the AP Chinese test in high school, which requires a year or two of high-level Chinese in high school. Not allowing kids who’ve been in immersion for nine years…

The Language Shift By Anthony Jackson on September 18, 2013 5:39 AM Language shifts have happened in societies since the beginning of recorded history. Today, Marty Abbott, head of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), explains a language shift currently taking place in the United States. I am pleased to be part of this movement. I…

Here’s a neat idea from some parents in Los Angeles. It’s a social group for parents with kids in Mandarin immersion to go out and do things together. Find them on Facebook here.