Language immersion programs have become increasingly popular in cities and towns across the country.  If approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the Boston Chinese Immersion Charter School (BCICS) will launch in the Fall of 2011 and become Boston’s first Chinese immersion school program.

Language immersion programs are not a new concept; they were first introduced in 1965 in Montreal, Canada to provide English-speaking students living in a predominantly francophone province of Quebec with the opportunity to learn French.  According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, “children who learn a second language are more creative and better at solving complex problems than those who do not…Knowing a second language also gives people a competitive advantage in the workforce. These are some of the compelling reasons for parents to encourage the development of a second (or third) language with their children.” Chinese immersion schools have been well established in New York and on the West Coast, in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon.

Please read more here.

Why teaching toddlers Mandarin Chinese is a smart investment

 

“Relative to 10 years ago, Americans have completely changed their outlook about learning a language. We’ve seen a shift about the age that parents want their children to start learning. Imagine—10 years from now—this entire generation of [American] children, in all kinds of professions, being able to speak Mandarin Chinese fluently.”

By Melanie D.G. Kaplan | Oct 20, 2010 |

Now that China is the world’s second largest economy, it’s no surprise that a booming language immersion program has seen a 300 percent growth in demand for Mandarin Chinese.

Yesterday I spoke with Leslie Lancry, the founder and CEO of Language Stars, which offers full immersion language classes to toddlers, preschoolers and elementary school children. She currently has 15 language centers in Chicago and Washington, D.C., and offers programs at 140 elementary schools, teaching Spanish, French, Italian, German and Mandarin Chinese.

Lancry, who speaks five languages besides English, says Mandarin is the most popular first-learned language in the world and the second most popular language on the Internet. Parents recognize that learning Mandarin—and starting early–will help their children, she says, “It’s an investment in their future.”

Read more here.

Rockford high school students visited the Turkey pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai during their recent trip to China.

Rockford’s language programs excelling

By Danielle Arndt

In 2007, Rockford Public Schools was awarded $550,000 in federal grant money to start up its Mandarin Chinese and Spanish Immersion programs.

The district is now reaping the rewards of these programs as its students have begun to excel – matching or surpassing native speakers at various grade level

Rockford’s language programs excelling

By Danielle Arndt

In 2007, Rockford Public Schools was awarded $550,000 in federal grant money to start up its Mandarin Chinese and Spanish Immersion programs.

The district is now reaping the rewards of these programs as its students have begun to excel – matching or surpassing native speakers at various grade levels.

The funding has now run dry for these programs. The district had three years to use the money to get the courses up and running, which included financing books, teachers’ salaries and assessment costs.

“It’s important to evaluate how well you are doing and with anything new you have to prove yourself,” said Roguewood Elementary Principal Michael Hibbeln who served as the grant coordinator and helped to get these programs off the ground.

The Spanish Immersion program has grown from 143 pupils in 2007-2008 to 246 pupils this year, while the number of students enrolled in Chinese 1 grew from 54 to 96 students during that same time period.

A recent study shows, 95 percent of Rockford’s first-year Spanish Immersion students have oral fluency and listening comprehension skills consistent with other immersion programs around the country. The percentage Rockford was expected to target was 80 percent.

Despite the now documented growth and success of these programs, some district parents and local community members are disapproving of Rockford’s decision to keep these programs in the middle of a budget crisis. Critics cite the large class sizes elementary children and teachers are dealing with and the significant number of teacher layoffs.

However, Hibbeln said the programs do not cost the district additional money.

“The real cost is in the startup, but that we got the funding for,” he said.

Read more here.

Not immersion, but possibly an option for district’s that aren’t up for immersion. Though we’d love to hear from schools that have used this program. How did it go? And are there really enough scholarships to go around?

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PLYMOUTH —

The School Committee said “si” to a language immersion program for elementary school students.

The International Educational Systems (IES) Language Foundation will begin offering after-school classes for students in November. Parents must pay for the 24-week program, but scholarships are available for families who cannot afford the lessons.

Carol Ryan, a Plymouth resident and part-time teacher at the Bay Farm Montessori Academy, will coordinate the program.

IES offers instruction in four languages – Spanish, French, Mandarin and Arabic. Elementary schools can individually decide which language to offer but, thus far, it’s been unanimous. Seven of eight local schools have already agreed to offer the program and all seven have chosen Spanish as the language to be taught.

Ryan grew up speaking Arabic at home and teaches French and Spanish.

Each school will offer two after school session – one for student in kindergarten through grade 2 and the other for grades 3 through 5.

IES started offering language programs in 1982 in San Francisco. The program arrived in Massachusetts in 1990. Hingham and Quincy already offer the program on the South Shore.

Ryan, who has two children who are about to enter the local school system, approached administrators with the idea last year.

The IES program is especially helpful because it works with students when they are young and most able to absorb a new language.

Tead more here.

 

Want to see San Francisco’s Mandarin immersion program up close and personal? Check out this great documentary. And for the next three days it’s available with Chinese subtitles.

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Last 3 days to catch Speaking in Tongues in Chinese and Spanish on the PBS website…

Spanish: http://video.pbs.org/video/1563556910
Chinese: http://video.pbs.org/video/1563525997

At a time when 31 states have passed “English Only” laws, four pioneering families put their children in public schools where, from the first day of kindergarten, their teachers speak mostly Chinese or Spanish.

Speaking in Tongues follows four diverse kids on a journey to become bilingual. This charming story will challenge you to rethink the skills that Americans need in the 21st century.

SPEAKING IN TONGUES — 4 kids, 4 languages, 1 city, 1 world
Watch the trailer: http://www.speakingintonguesfilm.info
AUDIENCE AWARD for BEST DOCUMENTARY
San Francisco International Film Festival

COMING TO PBS  FALL 2010

PATCHWORKS FILMS
Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider, Filmmakers
415.387.5912

http://www.patchworksfilms.net