Inside the UK’s first bilingual English and Chinese primary school Kensington Wade tempts tiger parents with full immersion in Mandarin OCTOBER 7, 2017 By Joshua Chaffin in London As a girl growing up in an English-speaking household in Singapore, Prema Gurunathan grudgingly studied Mandarin. Now a mother in west London, she is taking no chances…

I know (really I do) that we’re very lucky in San Francisco to have four Mandarin immersion grade school programs, three middle school programs (well, two are continuations in K-8 schools) and two high school programs. I also know there are a lot of San Francisco area folks who read this blog. So I wanted…

CELIN (the Chinese Early Language and Immersion Network) has a nice article up about Mandarin immersion programs in Minnesota, which gives a good overview of what’s happening in that state. It also gives a good perspective on the different types of schools that exist and how they fit their area’s own unique needs and requirements.…

Not only am I a huge proponent of reading as a key component of becoming fluent, but I’m also a huge Jane Austen fan, and Emma is one of my favorites. And now the lovely folks at Mandarin Companion have rewritten it in modern day China, using only 200 characters. Level 1. Just tell your…

This type of what we would term a preschool in the U.S. always amazes me. London, as far as I know, only has one Mandarin immersion K – 8 school. If you don’t speak Chinese at home, having your child learn Mandarin when they’re 3 and 4 is an interesting choice if there’s nowhere they…

Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley, Mass. has faced criticism for several years due to one of the fundamental issues many Mandarin immersion schools face – Mandarin immersion isn’t for everyone. At the same time, public schools must be for everyone. And yet not everyone wants Mandarin immersion, not every parent and, at…

A local mom, Jessica Covington, has put together a great list of resources for parents with children learning Mandarin in the San Francisco Bay area. She’s graciously allowed me to post her information. Definitely check out her blog, which has a lot of fun information about travel and kids. (And guest columns are always welcome…