Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • Idaho’s only public Mandarin immersion school doing well

    Chinese spoken at Meridian elementary school

    By CYNTHIA SEWELL — cmsewell@idahostatesman.com

    Posted: 12:00am on Feb 21, 2012; Modified: 9:22am on Feb 21, 2012

    0221 local chinese05

    First-grader Keirstan Knutson, 6, a student at Gateway Elementary, uses an interactive smart board to show a math equation she hears in Chinese. DARIN OSWALD / IDAHO STATESMAN

    • Story Photos
    • 0221 local chinese010221 local chinese04

    • THROUGH AN INTERNATIONAL LENS

      Immersion, or dual-language, programs are increasing nationwide to help students learn through an international lens and become culturally proficient in our emerging global economy.

      Thirty years ago, the U.S. had fewer than two dozen language immersion programs. Today there are almost 450, said a 2011 report from the Center for Applied Linguistics, a nonprofit organization that advocates for foreign language instruction.

      Spanish and French are the most popular, 45 percent and 22 percent respectively, of the nation’s immersion programs. Mandarin Chinese is the third-most popular at 13 percent, followed by Hawaiian (6 percent), Japanese (5 percent) and German (3 percent).

      Want to go to Gateway?

      The school holds a lottery each year for available spots in its Mandarin Chinese immersion program.

      Applications, available on the Meridian school district website, are due by Feb. 29. Applicants will be notified of the lottery results by the first week of April. For more information, call the school at 855-4475.

      There are no additional costs to attend Gateway, except for the all-day kindergarten program, which costs $250 per month.

    Adam Li holds up a tomato and asks his kindergarten class to identify it.

    “Fan qie!” a half-dozen students eagerly call out.

    Li next holds up a potato.

    The students quickly respond: “Tu dou!”

    In the classroom next door, Susan Parker stands before her first-grade class using an interactive smart board to show various monetary combinations. She points to a $1 bill and a penny, inquiring about the amount. A dozen kids raise their hands. Parker calls on 6-year-old Keirstan Knutson

    Read more here:

  • Mandarin and other immersion popular in Calgary

    CALGARY — Six-year-old Adam Liu patiently practises his Chinese characters every day — after all, there are thousands to learn. And he’s already speaking Mandarin better than his father.

    It’s a family reality that’s expected to become even more entrenched when Adam’s little sister, Laura, starts kindergarten next year in the same Mandarin-bilingual program at Highwood Elementary.

    “We’re so happy with this program, it’s just wonderful. And I think it’s really beneficial for the kids,” says mother Linda Liu.

    The Canadian-born mom and her Taiwanese-born husband chose Mandarin for their kids in hopes of giving them a more rounded education in culture and language.

    But the edge they’ll have in the global economy will also give them a wide range of options once they choose a career, Liu says.

    “It’s a very competitive time right now — and Mandarin is a major language for them to have in terms of their futures.”

    Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Bilingual+kids+edge+studies+show/6178594/story.html#ixzz1mwVrlELh

  • Learning Mandarin via pop music

    From Judy Shei, author of the awesome 1st grade Mandarin YouTube channel at

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3YHwAQnbcQ&feature=youtu.be

     

    Someone asked me for some easy Mandarin pop songs to learn…  I asked my 24 year old cousin & her buddies for a few (thanks Facebook!) and below are some suggestions….  All are subtitled in traditional Chinese, my apologies.  I remembered memorizing my first pop song 6 months after moving to Taiwan and literally learning to read Chinese by the light of KTV (karaoke in a private room with just friends).  Enjoy!  I like the first two best.

     

    ‪張懸 兒歌 http://youtu.be/JJhmN_c9At8

     

    ‪張懸.-.[寶貝]. http://youtu.be/VH4zpLUQhLA

     

    ‪‪陳奕迅 – Baby Song http://youtu.be/3uiZJl1Yp_4

     

    ‪方大同-紅豆 http://youtu.be/UdV2VkNyR6Y

     

    ‪‪胡夏 《那些年》–那些年我们一起追的女孩 http://youtu.be/0YM2hl-Zmbs (lyrics in simplified in the description)

     

    ‪‪猜不透 叮噹 http://youtu.be/rG_mPhssUUk (has a short little skit in the beginning of a guy remembering a lost love, very cute)

     

    ‪‪‪梁靜茹_寧夏 http://youtu.be/i3GKD3ZUaiI

     

    ‪‪‪范瑋琪‪‪‪ – 一個像夏天一個像秋天 http://youtu.be/IhWjeCI7v_g

     

    ‪‪‪And of course this… The Moon Represents My Heart, subtitled in simplified Chinese.  The kids have already learned it and it’s a classic! http://youtu.be/IhWjeCI7v_g

     

     

    Most cities have a radio station that broadcasts in Mandarin. In the San Francisco Bay area it’s

    92.3 KSJO

    You can also listen online at

    http://www.china923fm.com/

     

    You can also putt the Shazam app on your phone so you can tag songs you like and download them.

     

     

     

  • Starr King Elementary in the Chinese New Years Parade in San Francisco

  • Upper class immigrants choosing public schools in New York City

    N.Y. / REGION   | February 15, 2012
    Affluent, Born Abroad and Choosing New York’s Public Schools 
    By KIRK SEMPLE
    Affluent foreign-born parents in New York City are sending their children to public schools in much greater proportion than native-born parents with the same incomes.

    please read more here.

  • Parents may have to chip in to keep immersion in Lake Oswego, Ore.

    Lake Oswego School Board members proposed and approved a bridge scenario for offering a first grade Spanish immersion class next year. The board is supportive of long-term development of an immersion program but did not commit to a K-5 program quite yet. Instead, it put a number of conditions on the potential expansion to first grade.

    Please read more here.

  • No additional Mandarin immersion Kinder in Lake Oswego, Oregon

    The Lake Oswego School District looks poised to offer transfer spots at its high schools next year, as board members on Monday unanimously approved continuing to develop a strategy implementing a new open enrollment law.

    Under House Bill 3681, school districts must decide by March 1 whether to allow out-of-district students to freely transfer into their schools. Districts can decide which schools and grades can accept students.

    Some districts consider the bill, which now prohibits districts from refusing to allow a transfer out of its schools, a financial gamble. If a district refuses to open its borders and offer open enrollment spots, students may still transfer into their schools through inter-district agreements.

    Lake Oswego Superintendent Bill Korach has mentioned offering open transfer spots in Lake Oswego and Lakeridge high schools, which could help balance out the disproportionate populations among the two buildings.

    Please read more here. (the mandarin bit is at the end)