Asia Society’s Confucius Classrooms is a national network of 100 exemplary Chinese language programs. The Network serves as model sites for developing the field of Chinese language teaching in American schools.

About the Network
Asia Society named, through a competitive process, 100 schools and districts with exemplary Chinese language programs. These schools not only have effective Chinese language instruction, but also strong local leadership and support, a demonstrated commitment to international exchange and collaboration. As Confucius Classrooms, they act as resource centers for other schools in the region.

Each Confucius Classroom is linked with a partner school in China to enhance opportunities for language learning and to provide students, teachers, and administrators with opportunities to conduct exchanges and joint projects. Asia Society designed the selection process for the 100 U.S. schools, assisted them in creating linkages with schools in China, convenes an annual meeting in conjunction with the National Chinese Language Conference, and provides ongoing support through e-newsletters and professional development seminars, as well as collect data to assess progress.

Please read more here.

To Improve Kids’ Chinese, Parents Head to Asia

by SARAH TILTON AND JOANNE LEE-YOUNG

Some American families are packing up and moving to China or other parts of Asia to give their kids an immersive experience and a leg up in Mandarin. WSJ’s Andy Jordan reports on two families who thought Mandarin lessons in America just weren’t enough.

Michael Roemer had never lived abroad before he took a one-year leave of absence from his job as an attorney, rented out his family’s Orinda, Calif., house, and moved to Chengdu, a city in western China, in 2010 with his wife and two children.

Mr. Roemer’s goal: to give his kids, Erin and Conor, an up-close look at China and an edge in what is fast becoming a must-learn language. “Speaking Mandarin is important,” says the 57-year-old Mr. Roemer.

The Roemers are among a growing group of Westerners going to great lengths to give their kids a leg up in Mandarin. With China’s rising global influence, these parents want their children to be able to communicate fluently with the country’s 1.3 billion people. The phenomenon is similar to what happened in the ’80s, when Japan’s economy boomed and there was a rush to learn Japanese.

Some high-powered parents want their children to learn Mandarin, going so far as to packing up the family and moving to China. Emily Nelson has details on Lunch Break. Photo: Joanne Lee-Young.

But this time, after-school classes aren’t enough for some people. Families are enrolling their children in Mandarin-immersion programs that are springing up from California to Maine. They are hiring tutors, Skyping with teachers in Beijing and recruiting Chinese-speaking nannies. Some are stocking their playrooms with Disney videos in Mandarin—not to mention the iPhone apps aimed at making kids into Mandarin speakers.

Please read more here.

A “Languages for Jobs” Initiative

Policy Innovation Memorandum No. 24

Authors: Terrence G. Wiley, President, Center for Applied Linguistics, Sarah Catherine Moore, Language Policy Research Network, Center for Applied Linguistics, and Margaret S. Fee, Language Policy Research Network, Center for Applied Linguistics

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Publisher

Council on Foreign Relations Press

Release Date

June 2012

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The promotion of foreign language instruction should be a national priority. In an increasingly competitive international economy, a workforce with more market-relevant foreign language skills is a strategic economic asset for the United States. Yet foreign language education is on the decline, particularly at the primary level when foreign languages are best learned. Federal policy is not stepping up. Recent federal efforts to promote foreign language instruction are not designed to have a broad-based impact and have been focused almost exclusively on achieving national security goals. U.S. economic competitiveness goals are equally important, but there are no comprehensive efforts to promote the instruction of languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, German, and Hindi, in local school districts where foreign language education must occur to improve proficiency more broadly. The federal government should launch an interagency “Languages for Jobs” initiative, with funding levels at least equal to security language programs. As part of the initiative, the Department of Education would develop foreign language education accountability metrics and primary-level immersion programming that leverages the country’s existing multilingual population.

The Economic Case for Foreign Language Skills

The global economy is shifting away from the English-speaking world. Since 1975, the English-speaking share of global GDP has fallen significantly and will continue to fall. The Chinese economy will surpass the U.S. economy in size soon after 2030. Latin America (Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking) and South Asia (Hindi- and Urdu-speaking) are growing strongly as well. Exports have accounted for half of postrecession U.S. economic growth, and future U.S. growth will increasingly depend on selling U.S. goods and services to foreign consumers who do not necessarily speak English.

In a competitive global export market, there will be a premium on foreign language skills and international competency. It is an old adage that you can buy in any language, but you must sell in the language of your customer. Business services such as banking, insurance, and architecture are the fastest-growing U.S. export sectors, and selling these services requires employees able to work effectively in non-English-speaking countries. In a survey of large U.S. corporations conducted ten years ago—when exports were less critical for the U.S. economy—30 percent responded that personnel with insufficient international skills prevented their companies from fully exploiting business opportunities. Eighty percent believed their sales would increase if they had more internationally competent staff.

The widespread use of English as the leading global second language, especially in business, does not offset the disadvantage faced by monolingual Americans. A 2011 survey of more than one hundred executives in large U.S. businesses found foreign nationals have an advantage in competing for international jobs. Three-quarters agreed that language skills made it easier for foreign nationals to work in the United States than for U.S. nationals to work overseas, leaving Americans at a significant disadvantage at a time when U.S.-based multinational companies are growing faster abroad than at home.

Please read more here.

Note that this program is contingent on parent interest and that families may come from outside the district’s boundaries:

PRESS RELEASE – ORANGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

For immediate release Information: Superintendent’s Office (714) 628-4487

Mandarin Dual Language Immersion Program Proposed at Fletcher Elementary

June 21, 2012 (Orange, CA) – Orange Unified School District (OUSD) is collecting interest surveys from parents who would like to enroll their child in a Mandarin Dual Language Immersion Program. If offered, the program would be housed at Fletcher Elementary School during the 2012-2013 school year. The program will serve kindergarten through second grade, with future plans to expand through the secondary level.

The Mandarin Dual Language Immersion Program curriculum will be taught in equal parts Mandarin Chinese and English. Each specially-trained teacher will prepare a class of 30 students. A Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) cluster component will be introduced in either 2012 or 2013. GATE eligibility will be based on existing District criteria.

Interested parents are requested to complete an interest survey, available online June 21–July 6 at http://www.orangeusd.org/mandarin, by July 6, 2012. Opening the program in 2012-2013 is contingent upon the interest survey results. If the responses generate enough interest, a parent orientation meeting will be scheduled.

Parents of students living outside of OUSD’s boundaries must submit an Inter-District Transfer Form for approval from both their home district and OUSD prior to enrollment.

I’m lucky that my mixed-race daughters are growing up in San Francisco in an immersion school where their Chinese-English-Irish-German background is so common they look like a lot of the other kids in their classes. But it’s not like that everywhere. Here’s a nice book about mixed race kids, I’m Flippish! self-published by a mom with Filipino/Irish kids. Here’s an interview with the author, from HapaMama, a great blog for families with mixed kids.

What other books are there out there?

Immersion Conference 2012: Early Registration Deadline is June 29