Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • Live from the National Chinese Language Conference in Los Angeles!

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    Two parents from the Broadway Elementary Mandarin immersion program in Los Angeles, Calif. (Venice, Calif. really)  are attending the National Chinese Language Conference in Los Angeles this weekend.

    You can read about the conference here.

    Natasha Heller and Jennifer Li will be writing up the workshops they visit which I’ll post here.

    While they’re at the conference, they are tweeting to@MandarinProgram.

    Los Angeles has such a vibrant and committed Mandarin immersion parent community, thanks to Natasha and Jennifer for sharing what they’re learning!

    Beth

  • Dutchtown, Ga.’s Mandarin immersion program finishes its first year

    Dual language immersion program completes first year

    By Johnny Jackson
    jjackson@henryherald.com

    Friday, May 9, 2014 
    © Copyright 2014 Henry Herald

    Students are learning science in Mandarin Chinese in Dutchtown Elementary’s dual immersion program. Kindergartner Karissa Abney was a helper in this classroom exercise. (Staff Photo: Johnny Jackson)

    Students are learning science in Mandarin Chinese in Dutchtown Elementary’s dual immersion program. Kindergartner Karissa Abney was a helper in this classroom exercise. (Staff Photo: Johnny Jackson)

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    Kindergartners in Dutchtown Elementary dual language immersion program are learning math and science in a a completely different language. (Staff Photo: Johnny Jackson)

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    Students interact with their teacher Mai Cantrell, who teaches math and science in Dutchtown Elementary’s dual language immersion program. (Staff Photo: Johnny Jackson)

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    Dutchtown Elementary kindergartner Karissa Abney helps her classmates through a less in identifying denominations of currency in Mandarin Chinese this week during a visit from state officials and language consultants. (Staff Photo: Johnny Jackson)

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    Dutchtown Elementary students sing out numbers in Mandarin Chinese as their classmate Karissa Abney points them out on a chart during a verbal counting exercise this week. (Staff Photo: Johnny Jackson)

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    Mei Cantrell’s kindergarten class is learning math and science in Mandarin Chinese as part of Dutchtown Elementary’s inaugural year with a dual language immersion program. (Staff Photo: Johnny Jackson)

    HAMPTON — Dutchtown Elementary is wrapping up its inaugural year of dual language immersion into Mandarin Chinese.

    Kindergarten teacher Mei Cantrell and paraprofessional Fei Fei Zhang speak to their students entirely in the foreign language. They teach 43 kindergartners in math and science, splitting half the day with a teacher and paraprofessional who focus on English/language arts, reading and social studies in English.

    The school’s dual language immersion program received its fourth and final visit of the school year from state officials and foreign language consultants Monday.

    Greg Barfield represented Georgia Department of Education’s World Languages and Global Initiatives Unit. He is the department’s programs specialist for international affairs.

    He was joined by fellow world languages programs specialist, Michaela Clas-Nix, and contracted language consultants Myriam Met and Greg Duncan.

    Please read more here.

  • St. Cloud, Minn. gets new Confucius Institute

    SCSU’s new Confucius Institute brings the East to West

    David Unze, dunze@stcloudtimes.com9:11 p.m. CDT May 6, 2014

    The Confucius Institute will work with statewide Chinese immersion programs, Chinese second-language programs, businesses and cross-cultural partnerships for all of China and Minnesota.

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    St. Cloud State University opened the doors Tuesday on its Confucius Institute, a partnership with China intended to teach the next generation of language immersion teachers and educate St. Cloud students from kindergarten through college about that country’s culture and global connectedness.

    The institute is a partnership with the Jilin Provincial Education Department in Changchun, China, and is in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education and the Ministry of Education in China.

    The institute will focus on the licensing and professional development of teachers, especially those involved with Chinese language immersion programs. St. Cloud’s Madison Elementary is home to one of seven Chinese full-immersion programs (where all instruction is in the target language) in Minnesota; a delegation of Chinese education officials toured the building Tuesday as part of the institute’s grand opening.

    Please read more here.

  • What Mandarin immersion looks like in Hong Kong

    It looks like they send their students to live for a year in Hangzhou. Now, that’s immersion!

     


     

    http://www.cis.edu.hk/community/phoenix-soaring鳳凰展翅/index.aspx

  • 放开手 – “Let it go” in Chinese!

    FrozenCheck out this great site where your kids can learn 放开手, Let It Go in Chinese.

    For those of us who are being subjected to endless renditions of it at home, make them sing it in Mandarin!

    The version sung in 25 different language is also very cool and worth watching.

    Here’s the video


     

    and then here’s a video of each of the 25 singers singing her line which is pretty fascinating to watch.

     

     

     

     

  • Next week: Big Chinese conference in Los Angeles

    This is one of the biggest Chinese language education conferences in the nation. Pricey but parents in the LA area with a great interest in immersion might consider attending. Or you might notice there are hordes of busses descending on your child’s school. No worries, it’s just NCLC attendees visiting local immersion programs.

    If anyone does attend and wants to write what they learned, I’d love to post it here.

    Beth

    NCLC14: See You Next Week in Los Angeles!


    Join us in Los Angeles, May 8–10, 2014 for the seventh annual National Chinese Language Conference! We are thrilled to announce that former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will keynote the opening plenary session the evening of Thursday, May 8. Over the course of three days, the main stage will host lively discussions, ideas, and inspiration from speakers including Nobel Prize-winning author Mo Yan and his principal translator, Howard Goldblatt; Chinese-speaking, banjo-playing Abigail Washburn; Janet Yang, a producer of Shanghai Calling andDisney High School Musical: China; Jessica Beinecke, creator of Crazy Fresh Chinese; Qingyun Ma, Dean of the School of Architecture at USC, and more!NCLC14 will offer more than 70 breakout sessions and rich preconference workshops with a focus on cutting-edge approaches to teaching that incorporate culture, technology, and international exchange; program quality and sustainability; early language learning; and best practices in the classroom leading to high levels of language proficiency and deeper knowledge of China. Learn how to effectively integrate the study of China and Chinese language; hear from visionary speakers and thought leaders in the field; enjoy performances that showcase cross-cultural artistic collaboration; visit Los Angeles-area schools to see K–12 Chinese programs in action. Learn more and register today!

  • Destination: Immersion

    (sturti/istockphoto)

    (sturti/istockphoto)

    By Heather Clydesdale

    As recognition of language immersion’s wide-ranging benefits increase, and schools across the United States establish new programs, many are finding that the journey is rewarding, but also has hurdles.

    At the 2013 National Chinese Language Conference, Shuhan Wang, Ph.D, president of ELE Consulting International, assembled a team of administrators and teachers who have successfully created Chinese immersion programs. In a workshop setting, she asked them to share their experiences and map the sometimes bewildering terrain that educators and administers must traverse for immersion initiatives to take root and thrive. Their discussion yielded helpful insights, and led to the launching of a new network, the Chinese Early Language Immersion Network at Asia Society (CELIN).

    Please read more here.