From WSOC TV–CHARLOTTE, N.C.

For several hours each day, students at Waddell Language Academy speak and write only in Chinese.

Nearly all their subjects, including math and science, have been taught in Mandarin since they were in kindergarten. They’ll likely graduate high school fluent without the slightest accent.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools began its Chinese immersion program in 2006 with just one kindergarten class of only 21 students. Now, there are nearly 250 students in grades kindergarten through sixth.

“We have an unfortunately long waiting list of students who will not have the opportunity to start this program in kindergarten, because demand exceeds our capacity,” principal Ynez Olshausen said.

Fifth graders Amina Shafeek-Horton and Milan Carter said they enjoy learning Chinese and speak it to each other outside of school.

Waddell is the only school in CMS that offers the Chinese immersion program, which will continue to expand through grade 12.

View the video from WSOC here.

Pearson, one of the nation’s largest textbook publishers, has translated its enVisionMATH program that into Chinese. From the company:

“enVisionMATH is an amazing elementary Math program written specifically to address the Common Core State Standards, and is based on critical foundational research and proven classroom results. We have customized that program to be translated into Chinese for dual immersion schools. As of right now, we have fully translated grades Kindergarten, 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd grade of the K-6 program and translated the table of contents. Grades 4-6 are currently being translated.

This program does include a digital path. The digital path includes the full English enVision Math digital path with the Chinese translated ebook and a folder for teachers which includes all of the translated reteach and practice worksheets for each grade.

The background for this project is that in 2011, Pearson began discussions in Utah to translate its math program, as Utah wanted to use enVisionMATH in their classrooms, says Pearson’s Lindsey Pietrowski. Utah has the largest network of Mandarin immersion elementary schools in the country.

“We proceeded to sell this program to dual immersion schools in the state of Utah and worked with Chinese language specialist, Sandy Talbot, to translate into the simplified Chinese character set,” says Pietrowski. “We did leave certain portions of the program in English that the dual immersion students may need to take home, such as  Common Core Bullets and other parent information.”

If your school is interested in viewing or ordering, they can work with their local Pearson Account Executive. If you don’t have one, please contact

Lindsey Pietrowski 

lindsey.pietrowski@pearson.com

K-12 Marketing Manager

Pearson Learning Solutions

Chicago, IL

www.pearsonlearningsolutions.com

I’m taking the weekend off with the family, but Happy New Year.

新年快乐!

Beth

Manabu Nagaoka, Executive Producer at the Sesame Workshop, emailed today to say that they are premiering Season 2 of Fun Fun Elmo, the Mandarin language show on SinoVision during Chinese New Year.

And even better for those of us in the United States, they’re uploading the First Season, all 13 episodes of it, onto their Sesame Street Youtube channel.

You can check it out here.

“It’s been exciting, and I am proud of these and the fact that we made twenty-six shows. Some documentary films were shot in China too with real kids!” says Nagaoka.

Be sure to check it out. The way they teach characters is really cool.

From the Chinese Language Initiatives Team. Have I mentioned you should subscribe to their newsletter? chinese@asiasociety.org

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News and Opportunities from the Field

Chinese Guest Teacher and Trainee Program: The College Board is accepting applications to host a guest teacher or teacher-in-training from China for the 2013–14 school year. Teacher Application Priority Deadline is January 30, 2013, and later proposals will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Trainee Application deadline is February 28, 2013. > Learn more.Call for Papers: The National Capital Language Resource Center (NCLRC), in conjunction with George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education & Human Development and support from the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), will host the 8th International Conference on Language Teacher Education, “Preparing Language Teacher Educators to Meet National and Global Needs,” May 30–June 1, 2013 at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Submission deadline extended to: January 31, 2013> Learn more.Digital Learning Day: The Alliance for Excellent Education is the proud host of Digital Learning Day, a national campaign that celebrates educators and the potential of technology in education. Join more than 17,000 teachers representing more than 3.3 million students and highlight your efforts to promote the effective use of technology in education. When: February 6, 2013 > Learn more.

Concordia Language Villages: Summer Villages combine world language immersion, new cultural experiences, and summer camp fun. Deadline for scholarship applications is February 28, 2013. > Learn more about programs and scholarships.

Connect Internationally with American Councils for International Education: Educational Seminars Program provides short-term professional development opportunities to U.S. teachers and administrators for one-way professional development programs to China. Educational Seminars provide airfare, training, travel healthcare, and living costs. Application deadline: TBD, 2013  > Contact: edseminars@americancouncils.org

Intensive Summer Language Institute (ISLI): This program provides fully funded fellowships for non-native speakers of Chinese who are teaching Chinese to spend six weeks overseas studying intermediate and advanced-level Chinese in Changchun, China. Fellowships are available to current K–12 teachers and community college instructors of Mandarin Chinese, as well as to students enrolled in education programs who intend to teach Mandarin. Program runs June 18–August 3, 2013. Application deadline: February 11, 2013 > Learn more.

Call for Proposals: The Annual Language Symposium 2013, co-sponsored by Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, and DePaul University, welcomes proposals from language instructors at all levels (high school and college/university-level) as well as researchers; all languages are welcome. This year’s symposium topic is “World Languages and the Roles They Play in Academia,” and will be hosted by Northwestern University April 12–13, 2013. Submission deadline: February 14, 2013 > Learn more.

Call for Papers: Jointly with Nanjing University, CLTA-GNY will hold the 11th New York International Conference on Teaching Chinese at Seton Hall University, New Jersey, May 4–5, 2013. The theme of the conference is Global Perspectives in Chinese Language and Culture Instruction. Submission deadline: February 15, 2013 >Learn more.

Middlebury Monterey Language Academy, United States: The Middlebury Monterey Language Academies offer a four-week, immersive, and residential language and cultural learning program at Pomona, Swarthmore, and Green Mountain Colleges. Students who are rising eight to twelfth graders can learn Spanish, French, Chinese, German, or Arabic. Scholarships and financial assistance available. Rolling admissions through May 1. > Learn more.

Middlebury Monterey Language Academy, China: Study Chinese in Beijing with Middlebury Interactive Languages, CET Academic Programs, and the Beijing Institute of Education. Apply to be part of a four-week residential program in China’s capital. Open to rising tenth graders. Rolling admissions through May 1. > Learn more.

CARLA Summer Institutes: Registration is now open for Summer Institutes offered by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota. The institutes link research and theory with practical applications for the classroom, and each includes discussion, theory-building, hands-on activities, and networking with colleagues. Early registration deadline: May 31, 2013 > Learn more.

2013 Educational Tours to China with the U.S.–China Education Council: Tour packages on offer include the Best of China (10 days), the Yangtze River Cruise (12 days), and Tibet & China’s Best (12 Days). > Learn more.

Chinese Teacher Training Program: Sponsored by Hanban, the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Greater New York is offering its popular teacher training summer program at Nanjing University. Courses include Modern Chinese, Classical Chinese Literature, Chinese Characters and  Calligraphy, and Seminar on Advanced Chinese. Program dates: July 15–August 9, 2013 > Learn more.

We welcome your feedback and encourage you to share information that is of interest to the wider community. Please feel free to contact us at chinese@asiasociety.org and forward this newsletter on to others who are interested in Chinese language and culture programs in the schools.Chinese Language Initiatives Team
Asia Society