By Elizabeth Weise S­­AN FRANCISCO – Most parents with children in a Mandarin immersion program know Better Chinese. It’s the source of a popular series of books many programs use in Kindergarten or first grade, My First Chinese Words, as well as easy-to-read books used in many grade school immersion programs, especially in California and…

Ah, to be in Utah, where they seem to have a sense of how this whole immersion thing is going to work out K – 16. There’s something so calming about having these issues worked on at the state level, so every freaking school district doesn’t have to work it out on their own, and…

You can hear author Diane August, a managing researcher and director of the Center for English Language Learners at the American Institutes for Research, discuss the report in a short introductory video below.       Don’t say I didn’t warn you. But if you, like me, can think of no better pleasure then spending a Sunday afternoon reading a…

Is Language Immersion Right for My Child? By Heather Singmaster on March 28, 2016 9:45 AM Parents regularly ask me if immersion is right for their child. I almost unequivocally say yes—years of research show that immersion language programs give children a leg up academically—this applies regardless of the socio-economic or ethnic background of a child. Students at…

Immersion program pros, cons shared with school board by LOUISE R. SHAW May 19, 2016 | 461 views | 0  | 24  |  |  BECKY WRIGHT invites her daughter, Vivian, to speak the Chinese words she has learned from her older siblings, at a board meeting last month. FARMINGTON—Dual immersion programs at elementary schools in Davis School District have become a major point of debate…

Monrovia is just east of Pasadena in southern California. It’s an excellent example of a District facing declining enrollment used immersion to fill up its schools with eager families. — By Courtney Tompkins, The Pasadena Star-News POSTED: 05/12/16, 5:36 PM PDT | UPDATED: 2 DAYS AGO Kindergarten teacher Steve Cook works with students on identifying Mandarin characters in the Dual Language…

I don’t have any first-hand experience with this particular program, but some families have asked me about programs for high school students, so I thought I’d post this as they seem to be good.  As always, having language classes at the appropriate proficiency level for students coming out of immersion programs is sometimes a problem. It sounds…