Author: Elizabeth Weise

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.

I just posted a newly updated list of all the Mandarin immersion schools I’ve been able to find here. If you know of one that isn’t on the list, please contact me. I’m going to do some number crunching about the state of Mandarin immersion this week and want to make sure I’ve included all…

Instructional Strategies: Successful Approaches to Immersion Teaching by Chris Livaccari Language immersion programs present a range of opportunities and challenges for practitioners. Many language teachers welcome the opportunity to create an immersive language environment in which their students are able to achieve high levels of proficiency and fluency in the target language, and to learn…

Proposed charter schools in Lynn, Andover invited to submit applications, but Newton and Westborough are not Posted by Your Town  September 27, 2013 10:22 PM   By State House News Service Seven charter school applicants have been invited to submit full applications, meaning the conversation around an educational alternative will advance in Fitchburg, Lynn and Springfield. They are among…

Cameraman Siguru Itoshimizu, right, films at the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley in October 2012, while NHK Japan Broadcasting Corp. producer Koji Hayasaki, left, listens to Principal Kathleen Wang, off camera. The school has received a $10.6 million USDA loan to build an addition in Hadley. (Republican file photo) Print By Diane Lederman, The…

By Lelan Miller 孟乐岚 Founder of Mandarin Matters in Our Schools in Texas (MMOST) and master’s candidate in Chinese Language Pedagogy   When I began learning Chinese right after the end of the Cultural Revolution, Chinese textbooks for non-native learners were almost non-existent, except for the then well-known John DeFrancis series published by Yale University…