By Elizabeth Weise

Mandarin immersion programs in the United States continue to expand, with nine new programs scheduled to launch in the fall of 2017 for the 2017-2018 school year. For the coming school year, there will be at least 235 Mandarin immersion programs in 30 states and the District of Columbia.

Here’s an update for the current State of Mandarin Immersion, based on the database of programs I maintain here. I have tried to keep it as up to date and accurate as possible, but if you find errors, please send me an email so I can correct them

March 2017 Numbers

Total schools as of the 2017-2018 school year          235

New schools for 2017-2018

School type

Public                                                  170      72.3%

Charter                                                25       10.6%

Private                                                 40       17.0%

What grades

K – 5 or 6         149                  63.4%

K – 8                38                    16.1%

Middle school 35                    14.8%

K – 12               5                      2.1%

High School     7                      2.9%

Middle + High School  1          0.4%

TOTAL             235

Percent Time in Mandarin 

50/50                                      125      64.7%

More than 60%                       65        33.6%

80 and above                         59        30.5%

Strand versus whole school

Strand             164      84.9%

Whole             29        15.0%

Simplified/Traditional

Simplified       162      83.5%

Traditional      32        16.4%

Programs by State:

Of total, California is 24.6%, Utah is 19.1%

This highlights how immersion students end up with college language credit in high school – not bad for 15-year-olds!

Forest Hills Schools, WMU, agreement allows students to earn Chinese minor

Forest Hills Public Schools and Western Michigan University Extended University Programs have entered into an agreement that allows students to earn a full Chinese language minor along with their diploma. The “Collegiate Pathways” program launched in 2017-18 at Forest Hills Northern High School. WMU instructors will teach the classes on site. In 2008, Forest Hills launched a Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program. File photo of Forest Hills Mandarin immersion teacher Qianxi Jiang giving first-year program students a lesson at Meadow Brook Elementary.

By Monica Scott 

March 02, 2017

 

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Forest Hills Public Schools and Western Michigan University Extended University Programs entered into an agreement Thursday, March 2, that allows students to earn a full Chinese language minor along with their diploma.

Officials say the “Collegiate Pathways” program launching the 2017-18 school year is the first of its kind. The dual-enrollment program will be at Forest Hills Northern High School.

“This partnership with Forest Hills provides a model we hope will be used to deliver similar programs for other districts,” said Dawn Gaymer, associate provost for WMU’s Extended University Programs.

Please read more here.

From our friends at PandaTree

click here.

Though as long-time China correspondent for NPR Anthony Kuhn notes in this story, he’s being studying and working in China for almost two decades.

It’s worth clicking to see the clip of him asking his question in Chinese – and then reading about how the mere fact that a foreigner is fluent made him an online sensation.