Information for parents of kids in Mandarin immersion education
This is what my 2nd grader brought home from school today. It’s volcanic rock types from their science lesson. We figured out lava, tuff and what we think is igneous, but aren’t positive.
What does your child’s homework look like? Send it in and we’ll post it!
Mandarin immersion schools are popping up everywhere. Next year we know of new ones opening in the cities below. Are they all happening? Any others we don’t know about?
Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)
Cambridge, Mass.
Alameda, Calif.
Lake Forest, Ill.
Barrington, Ill.
Boston, Mass. (possible.)
Burlingame, Calif (possible)
High interest in Mandarin classes in Vancouver (UPDATED)
By Janet Steffenhagen 16 Feb 2011 COMMENTS(5) Report Card
Vancouver’s new Mandarin bilingual program has attracted almost twice as many students as it can accommodate.
The program received 112 applications for 68 spaces – 22 in kindergarten, 22 in a K-1 split and 24 in Grade 1.
Associate superintendent Val Overgaard told the Vancouver Courier the district expected a lot of interest. “We knew going into registration time that there were many interested parents as they had been calling to ask when the program would start,” she’s quoted as saying. “It’s good news to have such a large group of interested parents, and bad news that we will have to turn some away.”
The program is expected to open in September at John Norquay elementary, where the district intends to add one grade each year. The only similar program is in Coquitlam, and demand there has also outstripped supply.
For details on the alternative programs offered in Vancouver schools, go to the agenda for a Wednesday committee meeting and click on the District Specified Alternative Programs link. There are 23 such programs in secondary schools and six in elementary schools – not counting French immersion. Only Kitsilano secondary and University Hill secondary do not have district programs, although Kits has French immersion and University Hill offers a program in conjunction with UBC called University Transition.
Read more here.
Dear parents and immersion advocates,
I wanted to make sure you are aware that the school district in Burlingame, CA is actively considering implementing a Mandarin immersion program. The district recently started a Spanish immersion program that is thriving. This is the time to speak up in support of a new program. Some information is below.
For continued updates and to connect with other families and advocates in the area, I recommend joining the Yahoo! group “burlingameimmersion.” I am the moderator, so just make a note that you saw this message, and I will approve your membership. (I will note that I no longer live in Burlingame – though I may move back for a program like this! – so I can’t answer questions directly, but there are people on that mailing list who can.)
1. Burlingame School District will be opening a new school, probably in 2014-15. As the school board determines what type of school it will be, they are considering various possibilities including starting a second immersion program in Burlingame (Mandarin).
2. The board welcomes input from the community on what type of school or what types of programs people would like in Burlingame.
3. For those interested in or supportive of a second immersion program (Mandarin), this is the time to express their opinions by:
(1) attending board meetings where Hoover/2220 Summit Dr. is being discussed – now through early to late March
(seehttp://bit.ly/gyIZNp for meeting agendas);
(2) contacting the District Office and/or Board members to express opinions (e-mail/letter is the easiest to share).
Contact information can be found here:
Xie xie,
Julie
By Neil Gonzales
The Burlingame Elementary School District has narrowed down options for the recently reacquired former Hoover School and is targeting a potential construction-bond measure for November to fund the site’s renovation.
Earlier this week, the district board told staff to focus on three scenarios for the property: making it a neighborhood school again serving kindergarten to fifth-grade students, turning it into a technology academy, or housing a Spanish- or Mandarin-language immersion program there.
The board is expected next month to make a final decision on what kind of institution Hoover will be.
Making it a K-5 campus would require the district to redraw student-attendance boundaries and move some children from other schools to Hoover, said the district’s chief business official, Robert Clark.
Or, the district could make Hoover a magnet school that features programs in science, technology, engineering and math, Clark said.
Another alternative is housing a second Spanish-immersion or a new Mandarin-immersion program there, he said.
The district already has a Spanish-immersion program at McKinley School.
The district could also move some students from Franklin School to a K-5 Hoover campus, Clark said. That would free up classroom space at Franklin for a Mandarin-immersion program.
Read more here.
Are their wait pools for Mandarin immersion programs across the country? In San Francisco we’re usually able to get most families who sign up in, though they often have to wait until the actual start of school, which is pretty harrowing. Down the peninsula, the Mandarin programs are routinely full, I’m told. What happens in your school? Please post below.
Parents camped out at Glen Elementary this week as they tried to secure a spot for their kids in the school’s French immersion kindergarten class.
Assistant superintendent Sylvia Russell said the Coquitlam school has limited space so it will likely have only one French immersion kindergarten class next year.
“It’s a bit of a problem for us because we just have too many kids living in that catchment area for French and English to be able to put them all into that beautiful brand new building,” Russell said Tuesday.
“It just doesn’t fit all of them, so there’s a little bit of an adjustment that probably needs to go on there in terms of the boundaries.”
A first-come, first-served registration system is currently in place, but the school district might switch to a lottery draw for French immersion kindergarten next year at Glen Elementary — as well as at other high-demand schools such as Panorama and Glenayre.
A report from the 2010 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Conference, by the helpful folks at the Mandarin Center.
This year’s ACTFL conference had a record attendance of 7,200 participants. Only six years ago Chinese was not heavily represented, but this year Chinese presentations accounted for close to 20% of the presentations.
The number of students taking the Chinese Advanced Placement exam has almost doubled.
As further evidence that Chinese language learning is gaining momentum, here are numbers from the CollegeBoard, the organization responsible for AP testing:
AP Chinese Language and Culture – All students
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| 3,261 | 4,311 | 5,100 | 6,388 |
That’s a lot of students, but what’s really interesting is that the number of students taking the AP Chinese test who don’t come from Chinese speaking families has TRIPLED, a 218% increase. In AP jargon, these are called ” the Standard Group.” According to AP, “Standard group students generally received most of their foreign language training in U.S. schools. They indicated on their answer sheets that they did not regularly speak or hear the foreign language of the examination at home and that they have not lived for one month or more in a country where the language was spoken.”
Here are their numbers:
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| 363 | 568 | 759 | 1,153 |
In terms of grade distribution, in the Total group, 77% of the students scored 5, the highest level score AP has. An amazing 96.5% scored 3 or higher, the score typically accepted by colleges.
To put this in perspective, for other languages, AP scores of 5 range from 11-20%.
Here are the top US schools by volume for Chinese AP. Almost all of these students probably come from Chinese-speaking households, as only Cupertino has an immersion program old enough to have students in high school.
| School | City/State | Exams |
| Monta Vista High School | Cupertino, CA | 121 |
| Lowell High School | San Francisco, CA | 107 |
| Mission San Jose High School | Fremont, CA | 72 |
| Lynbrook High School | San Jose, CA | 71 |
Cultural Literacy in Chinese Immersion programs
“To write is to think”
In order for immersion students to be academically successful, they need to be literate in Chinese. Nothing advances or enhances proficiency like reading. Students need sustained silent reading.
Literacy Academics:
1. Academics in primary grades
2. Concept development in later grades
For example, there are several content standards which must be met by immersion students at specific grade levels.
Now write your answer in Chinese. You may be able to say it, but it is another level of comprehension to be able to write it. This is how hard (and how well!) our kids are working.
Flagship Programs
The government has sponsored nine Chinese flagship programs across the US. The purpose of the Flagship program is to prepare students to function professional in Chinese within their chosen field of interest by providing intensive linguistic and cultural training in a variety of domains. Graduates of the Flagship program are expected to attain a superior level on the ACTFL proficiency scale which equates to near-native proficency.
The K-12 Flagship programs exist to make sure that there are appropriate opportunities for students entering college already fluent in Mandarin. At most colleges, a student coming from an immersion program would only have a year or so of classes at the appropriate level, because they would already know what most students learn in the first two years of college Mandarin. Flagship universities offer subject matter classes in Chinese.
In order to achieve their goal, there needs to be an articulation between high schools and the Flagship colleges, and many argue from K-16. Stronger literacy skills equates to faster articulation to advanced content training. Students from immersion programs have an advantage although students with secondary Chinese training (i.e. high school foreign language) can begin in the Early Flagship program. Immersion students will be able to spend more time in content classes. Graduates of the Flagship program are better prepared to use their target language professionally.
Language and Culture
Language is the doorway to culture. Culture is the doorway to language. One door doesn’t replace the other. Together they serve as a foundation.
In gaining knowledge about a culture, students understand the relationship between practices and gestures. For example when Americans use their fingers to count to 10 they need both hands. The Chinese can count to 10 on one hand. In America we use the “OK” hand gesture where in Asia the “thumbs up” gesture is more common.
Students also need to understand the relationships between products and perspectives in the Chinese speaking world. Examples of Chinese products are: red envelopes, the Great Wall, legends like Mulan, red knots, songs, instruments, poems, paintings, the color red, dragons, bamboo, lotus flowers etc.
The culture triage is made up of practices, products and perspectives. Teachers need to connect products and practices into a meaningful experience that helps the students develop the perspective(s) that the teacher is trying to achieve.
Culture is not necessarily about the “big” festivals like Chinese New Year or the Dragon Boat Festival. Cultural details that permeates everyday life are more important than big events because it is learning about a society in daily life.
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council 