Author: Elizabeth Weise

Note: This is an issue in colleges and universities but not, as far as I’ve ever heard, in K-12 programs. But it is real and anyone with kids in a Mandarin immersion program should know about what’s going on, if only to be able to address these issues when others bring them up. My theory…

Charter school issues are frequently contentious, so there’s an overlay here above and beyond Mandarin immersion. That said, parents who want their kids to learn Mandarin face an uphill road in many areas. If their local school district says no, one option is for them to try to launch a charter. But then they run…

Updated Jan. 17. Beth’s note: The premise of the article linked to below is an interesting one, and one that touches on many issues families and schools negotiate when it comes to immersion programs in general. The basic premise is that in two-way immersion programs in schools that have specific enrollment boundaries it’s too easy…

Beacon Hill school seeks to bridge language and cultural gap DECEMBER 21, 2017  By Jill Christensen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Barriers do not exist at Beacon Hill International Elementary School, both physically and culturally. With its open concept classroom style, Beacon Hill Elementary not only encourages cohesiveness through the layout of its classrooms, but it strives…

Students learn Mandarin or Spanish first, then English, at popular Denver public school English instruction is introduced gradually, beginning in third grade   Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post: Chinese teacher Yu-Hsin Lien, speaking only in Chinese, helps her 3rd grade students with classwork at the Denver Language School on Nov. 1, 2017 in Denver.  …

From Education Week May 31, 2017 12:51 PM Language immersion education is a relatively new field, so how can educators know if a program is effective? Shuhan Wang and Joy Kreeft Peyton, of Asia Society’s Chinese Early Language and Immersion Network (CELIN), consider this question and offer a checklist tool to allow program staff to…

I wanted to leave everyone with something fun for the holidays. If you’ve got additions, please email them to me. I’m always looking for new examples to add. You learned to belt out the entire chorus of “Gong Xi Gong Xi” or “Liang Zhi Lao Hu” long before you could say basic phrases in Chinese.…