A Ph.D. student named Ji Ma in Language and Literacy at Georgia State University is doing a research project on how it works and is looking for teachers to interview. If your school does, perhaps you might want to forward this along to your teachers?

Here’s to more research into how Mandarin immersion works best, to benefit all our kids!

Beth

Here’s what she sent:

Currently, I would like to explore Chinese teachers’ experience in teaching subjects (science, math, and specials) in Dual Language Immersion programs, especially specials such as music, P.E., and art.

My research questions include:

1. what motivated the design of the curriculum? (teaching specials in the target language).

2. What are the teachers’ backgrounds in teaching content areas and specials? Do they get enough support and necessary training? Or do people (leadership level) make them design their own curriculum?

3. What are the teachers’ experiences in teaching the subjects?

4. What are the students’ and parents’ feedback on these subjects? 

The purpose of the study is to help and support Chinese teachers who teach content areas and specials by collecting teachers’ feedback and experiences. If anyone would like to share their experiences, please feel free to email me at jma16@gsu.edu. 
Thank you!

Sincerely,
马 骥 / Ji Ma （She/Her/Hers）
Ph.D. Student in Language and Literacy program

Department of Middle and Secondary Education (MSE) 

College of Education and Human Development

Georgia State University

KHOU May 21, 2021

Watch video here.

St. Michael’s Academy Battles Hate and Fosters Healing Through Asian Studies 

June 23, 2021
By Paula Katinas

The Tablet

WINDSOR TERRACE — At a time when attacks against Asian-Americans have risen more than 300% in New York, educators at one Queens Catholic school are using Asian-themed curricula to help students learn not to hate.

Administrators in some local K-12 schools are being urged to introduce lessons in Asian history and culture as a way to battle stereotypes and increase understanding of Asian contributions to American life.

They might want to pay a visit to St. Michael’s Catholic Academy in Flushing to see how it’s done.

St. Michael’s — where 70% of the students are Asian — has been offering an immersive American-Asian education for eight years. That means students have just as many classes in Mandarin as they do in English, and learn about Asian history and culture.

“We’re a dual language immersion school. Our Mandarin is aligned with New York State standards,” said Principal Maureen Rogone, who explained how it works at her school.

“In primary grades, if I’m teaching about plants and animals in English, I’m also doing it in Mandarin,” she said. 

Sister Mary Ruan, the outreach coordinator at St. Michael’s Academy, said parents there are excited.

“I speak in Chinese to them and they feel comfortable. They think, ‘I can communicate very well with the school.’ I tell them, ‘We are here to help you.’ They feel respected,” she said.

Please read more here.

This is what it looks like when the district closes your immersion program – this used to be the page on the Cave Creek Unified School District that proudly proclaimed its Mandarin immersion program.

By Justin Lum May 12, 2021 FOX 10 Phoenix

PHOENIX – Parents of students enrolled in a special ‘Mandarin Immersion Program’ offered by the Cave Creek Unified School District are not happy, as the program is expected to get cut by the district due to budgetary reasons.

There are three different World Language Programs in the district, but only Mandarin Chinese is being cut. Parents are upset because they say they are not getting any transparency from the district’s new superintendent, Dr. Cort Monroe, who started his role earlier in 2021.

Please see more here.

More on the closure and another article here.

Natalia Alamdari Delaware News Journal

June 9, 2021

After successfully reversing the district’s decision to end the Chinese immersion program at Red Clay’s Linden Hill Elementary, parents are now trying to recruit enough kindergarteners to keep the program alive.

In the months since the district unexpectedly cut – and then reinstated – the program, a steering committee of parents, advocates and district leaders reached a possible solution. 

For students already enrolled, the program would continue. 

But in order to keep the program going, 50 incoming kindergarteners in the school’s Pike Creek attendance zone must opt into Chinese immersion. 

Please read more here.

Parents fight closure of program – more here.

More on Delaware Mandarin immersion programs here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vxKLT2nmZ-duWPKZt0orFsKiKwKu9P7F/view

The popular public school program in Minnesota draws more open-enrolled students than any other elementary school in its district.

By JOSH VERGES 

Pioneer Press March 9, 2021

St. Paul Public Schools is moving forward with two costly construction projects and further delaying several others following an external review of its facilities work.

District leaders on Tuesday unveiled a new five-year construction schedule that features renovations estimated at $49.8 million for Ramsey Middle School and $31 million for Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy.

The district’s previous facilities plan, approved by the school board in October 2018, estimated the Ramsey project would cost $23.5 million and Jie Ming $6.5 million.

Please read more here.

Most of us with students in Mandarin immersion can’t read to our kids in Chinese, or play games with them in Chinese or do much beyond making sure they do their homework.

Thankfully, a whole raft of movies are now available in Mandarin, making “Mandarin movie night” a much easier thing than it was even five hears ago.

Here’s a nicely curated list of family-friendly movies that are either in Mandarin or have Mandarin dubbing available. Generally speaking Mandarin subtitles aren’t so helpful for kids because they just listen in English. Though playing a movie in Mandarin and having the subtitles going is a nice way to reinforce characters.

You can also play the movie in Mandarin with English subtitles, which the parents read while the kids listen (though this depends on how fast your kids read.)

These come from the mom at the Mama Baby Mandarin website.

20+ Family-friendly movies to watch in Mandarin Chinese

And here are a bunch of Mandarin dramas that are more for grown-ups, but would give you a nice sense of contemporary life in China, and you can watch them with subtitles. They might also be appropriate for high school students.

22 Binge-worthy Mandarin dramas to watch now