[Thanks for the Asia Society’s Chinese Language Initiatives group for the tip] Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations is excited to announce the official launch of ChinaFile, a new English-language online magazine on China. ChinaFile seeks to foster an informed, nuanced, vibrant public conversation about China and its place in the world. ChinaFile publishes original reporting and analysis…

From CNN. Neuroscientists have been discovering mounting evidence that being fluent in more than one language protects against age-related cognitive declines.  But there’s still the major question: Why? Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to get a closer look at the brains of both bilinguals and monolinguals, comparing how their activity differs during specific tasks. …

KPCC, the NPR-affiliate in Pasadena, Calif., recently produced a three-part radio series and accompanying web site about immersion schools in Southern California. You can find their web site, with lots of photos and interesting graphics, here. The links for the radio program are here for part 1, here for part 2 and here for part…

Especially given the really high levels of air pollution in Beijing recently, this short film about how residents in Beijing are using kites to monitor air quality is fascinating. Called FLOAT, it’s about a project about how scientists are using China’s long history of kite flying as a tool. The video is on the new…

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From our friends at the Asia Society’s Chinese Language Initiatives   By Christina Burton Howe Your community will be curious and interested in your Chinese language program, but not all stakeholders will understand the need for teaching critical languages and the benefits in using the immersion approach. Community members—teachers, administrators, parents, students, state education professionals,…