Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education

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  • Orange Co. requires parents raise $15 K to open Mandarin immersion school

    Fundraising, Hiring Underway for New Chinese Language Program

    Open enrollment could begin in December for the Mandarin immersion program—the first public school program of its kind in Orange County.

    When a Mandarin Chinese immersion program at Capistrano Unified was approved in September, the school board added a caveat that it be “revenue-neutral.”

    Parents were asked to set up a foundation to funnel donations. Thalia Tong, one of the parents leading the effort, said her group has done just that.

    The Bergeson Elementary Foundation, a registered nonprofit, has raised $2,000 of the $15,000 needed to launch the program.

    “We’re trying to set up corporate sponsorship levels,” Ton said. “We’re really going big. We want the best for our children.”

    Billed as the first public school program of its kind in Orange County, it might begin enrolling children as early as December, according to a Marian Bergeson Elementary newsletter.

    “Our school board for CUSD will be voting this coming week on the possibility of an early open enrollment period for the Mandarin Immersion program,” the email, written by Principal Barbara Scholl, reports. “If this is approved, there will be early enrollment in December and then another enrollment period in February.”

    The school board is scheduled to meet Nov. 14, but the agenda is not yet posted.

    Read more here.

  • Minnesota has 5 Mandarin immersion public schools

    Siblings Cassidy and Cormac Calcaterra wear their uniforms at Yinghua Academy in northeast Minneapolis. Yinghua opened in 2006 as the first Chinese immersion charter public school in the Midwest. It is one of five in Minnesota.
    Siblings Cassidy and Cormac Calcaterra wear their uniforms at Yinghua Academy in northeast Minneapolis. Yinghua opened in 2006 as the first Chinese immersion charter public school in the Midwest. It is one of five in Minnesota. / Special to the Times by Bryna Godar
    Written by Bryna Godar
    Second-grade Chinese immersion class teacher Melody He takes part of her class through a section in their math vocabulary book in 2010 at Madison Elementary School. / Jason Wachter, jwachter@stcloudtimes.com

    At Yinghua Academy in northeast Minneapolis, children’s art lines the walls — thumbprint trees, traced hands, self-portraits. It looks like most elementary school hallways, but the kids have signed their artwork twice, once in English and once in Chinese characters.

    Yinghua Academy opened in 2006 as the first Chinese immersion charter public school in the Midwest. Students learn a curriculum ranging from history to math, all in Mandarin Chinese. Teachers instruct students completely in Chinese for kindergarten and first grade. In second grade, one English class is added, and by sixth grade the curriculum is taught half in English and half in Chinese. Signs on classroom doors ask visitors to not speak English to the teachers in front of students.

    Read more here.

  • English movies dubbed into Mandarin

    This is to introduce Mandarin Chinese dubbed movies to the Mandarin Chinese learning community.

    Chinese have been importing American movies into China and dubbed them in Mandarin Chinese for the China market.  These are the exact movies our kids have been watching since their early age. For examples, Disney movies Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, The Sound of Music, or Hollywood style movies Gone With The Wind, You’ve Got Mail, Casablanca, High School Musical, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.  These movies have in turn become very good tool for our kids who are in the Mandarin Chinese program!

    There are many advantages as for using Mandarin Chinese dubbed movies.

    (1) These are the movies our kids are already familiar with. Instead of watching Chinese movies of background they are not familiar with, kids can instantly understand what’s going on.

    (2) The Chinese dubbed movies come English and Chinese conversation audio, as well as English / Chinese subtitles.  Having English subtitles is crucial because the kids can listen to the Chinese conversations, read the subtitles on the screen, and watch the episodes.  That way, the learners will not get lost between translation.

    (3) The kids can learn from standard Mandarin Chinese pronunciation.

    (4) They can improve Mandarin Chinese in many fronts, including enhanced listening comprehension of Mandarin Chinese while displaying English subtitles on the screen, or fast reading if they choose displaying Chinese subtitle while watching.

    (5) Kids can gain confidence in mastering Mandarin Chinese, increasing the possibility of succeeding while they still have fun learning.

    There are some websites on the internet that specialize supplying Mandarin Chinese dubbed movies.  One of them is Chinese Dubbed Movies Store . They ship product! s from within the United States, and typical delivery time is 2 to 3 business days with USPS tracking and delivery confirmation.  That’s more desirable than ordering from an oversea store whose typical delivery time is up to 30 business days. Google search “Chinese dubbed movies”, and you should find there store.

    Having fun learning Mandarin Chinese!

  • Immersion versus bilingual

    Debating the Efficacy of Bilingual Education Programs

    West Chester : PA : USA | Oct 31, 2011 at 11:24 AM PDT

    The debate on how best to educate ELL students continues, with little promise of a clear-cut way to proceed emerging anytime soon. At the same time, the diversity of languages of spoken in U.S. schools continues to expand. Languages include Spanish, Hmong, Urdu, Russian, Chinese, Polish, Korean, Tagalog, Swahili and more. Achieving the goal for all students to obtain a satisfactory level of learning is often compromised by the cultural, social, and language differences among various groups. The inability to come to grips with how to best approach the learning needs of ELL student’s,places them at greater risk of falling behind.

    The original enthusiasm for bilingual programs has diminished, as these programs are now criticized as being ineffective. Support for the immersion model has declined, as initial supporters now believe ELL students simply aren’t learning English quickly and thoroughly enough. They now suggest that the immersion program does not facilitate the ELL students’ ability to cope with the American culture, not just in school, but also beyond school boundaries. The slower learning curve experienced by ELL students in immersion programs may plague them for the rest of their lives.

    This belief is based on research that suggests Hispanics who were in school from the 1970s through the 1990s, and who were in bilingual programs earned less money on average than Hispanic students educated during the same period in an English-only setting. Hispanic high school dropouts which were in English-only classrooms are also fewer in number and more likely to return to school later. Immersion makes it difficult for the teacher to provide support for all students’ needs. In the case of a complex assignment such as a research paper, language and usage are challenging even for fluent students. The further complication of using a second language puts ELL students at a serious disadvantage, without special support. The immersion method of teaching is yet to establish itself as an effective program for minority students.

    Read more here.

  • How kids not in immersion have to learn

    IDES language program goes social with Rosetta’s TOTALe

    COMOX VALLEY ECHO NOVEMBER 1, 2011

    Anyone can tell you that the easiest way to learn a new language is through immersion, but not everyone can afford a plane ticket halfway around the world every time they want to practice their Mandarin vocabulary. Luckily, that’s not your only option.

    North Island Distance Education School (NIDES) is thrilled to announce the launch of Rosetta Stone’s latest dynamic immersion program, TOTALe, as part of its International Languages Program.

    TOTALe builds on the Rosetta Stone V3 program, bringing two entirely new interactive learning environments into the mix. In combining these three distinct aspects, TOTALe allows students to not only work on their lessons but also learn through fun activities and games or even practice their language skills with native speakers in online tutoring sessions.

    “This social aspect of the TOTALe program is very exciting for us,” says Jeff Stewart, principal of NIDES. “After a trial run of the program, we received a unanimous response from participants: learning alongside other students in a live virtual classroom led by native speakers is a huge benefit.”

    Accessible both through a student’s home computer and the computers at NIDES in Courtenay BC, Rosetta Stone V3 and TOTALe offer flexible learning plans. However, TOTALe is taking this flexibility one step further with a mobile companion, available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

    Read more here.

  • Learning Chinese the hard way, as an adult

    Liberty teacher one of few in district trained to teach Mandarin Chinese

    • SPECIAL TO VIEW

      Liberty High School English and Chinese teacher Denise Tatum visited Beijing in 2010. She has spent four summers studying Chinese in China.

    SPECIAL TO VIEW

    Liberty High School English and Chinese teacher Denise Tatum visited Beijing in 2010. She has spent four summers studying Chinese in China.

    RELATED CONTENT

    BY JEFF MOSIER
    VIEW STAFF WRITER
    Posted: Nov. 1, 2011 | 12:20 a.m.

    Denise Tatum spent nine weeks during the summer of 2008 at Middlebury College in Vermont speaking only in Mandarin Chinese. If anyone at the college heard a word of English from her, she would get a warning. The second time, she would forfeit her payment and be kicked out.

    “It was a long summer,” said Tatum, who now teaches Chinese and English at Liberty High School, 2700 Liberty Heights Ave. “But it was worth it.”

    Keeping in touch with the ones she loved was a challenge, too.

    To speak with her kids, Tatum would sneak out of her dorm late at night, hide behind shrubs or trees and whisper to them on the phone.

    “It was a very rough period,” Tatum said. “It was so much harder than being in China.”

    She would know. Tatum has participated in four Chinese language immersion programs in Chengdu, Changchun and Shanghai, China, since 2006, when she was first introduced to the idea.

    Read more here.

  • Mandarin in Utah

    Gov. Herbert visits dual language immersion program in Syracuse

    By Loretta Park

    Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau

    Wed, 10/19/2011 – 10:15pm

    Images
    MATTHEW ARDEN HATFIELD/Standard-Examiner Utah Gov. Gary Herbert visits Syracuse Elementary School on Wednesday. Herbert went to learn more about the school’s Mandarin Chinese language immersion programs. “We are a global economy,” he says. “The ability to communicate will mean economic success.”

    SYRACUSE — Gov. Gary Herbert learned firsthand Wednesday morning how dual language immersion programs are working in Davis School District.

    Herbert and his staff visited three classes at Syracuse Elementary School, where Mandarin Chinese is taught to 170 of the school’s 981 students.

    Herbert’s goal is to have the program offered to 30,000 students in 100 schools across the state by 2014.

    “We are a global economy,” Herbert said. “The ability to communicate will mean economic success.”

    Currently, 57 schools statewide offer the program in either Chinese, French or Spanish.

    The school offers Chinese to students in kindergarten through second grade in a typical dual immersion program where students divide their time between English and a second language to learn academics.

    Chinese is offered in four schools in Davis district. In Utah, 31 schools offer dual immersion programs in Spanish, 17 in Mandarin Chinese and nine in French.

    Read more here.