What’s of course noteworthy about this is that kids coming from Mandarin immersion programs don’t need to spent two to three years learning Chinese while they’re in college–they arrive at college already speaking Chinese. Which gives them a tremendous leg up. — Beth

U.S. students losing interest in China as dream jobs prove elusive
BY ALEXANDRA HARNEY
SHANGHAI Thu Mar 12, 2015 5:15pm EDT

(Reuters) – American students are getting cold feet about studying Chinese in China, with many study abroad programs in the country seeing a substantial drop in enrolment over the last few years.

At the University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP), student enrolment in programs in China is expected to be less than half the level it was only four years ago. Washington-based CET, another leading study abroad group, says interest in China has been falling since 2013.

The apparent waning of interest worries some China watchers. Given the importance of the U.S.-China relationship, having a group of Americans across different industries who speak Chinese and understand the culture is “a matter of national interest”, says Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Wilson Center in Washington.

“We can’t respond coherently, effectively and fully to China unless we understand China on its own terms,” he said.

The Institute of International Education says the number of U.S. students studying in China fell 3.2 percent in 2012-13 to 14,413, even as overall study abroad numbers rose modestly.

American students’ apparent loss of interest contrasts with Chinese students’ clamor for a U.S. education. The number of Chinese studying in the United States jumped 16.5 percent in 2013-14 to more than 274,000.

Please see more here.

I think I’ve mentioned this site before, but it’s worth repeating.

This is a cool site where they’re taking Chinese newspaper articles and making them a little easier to read for students. The title is a dual-language pun, as bao, 报, means newspaper.

See their site here.

Here’s something students in San Francisco are doing that could easily be copied by programs elsewhere. It’s a little less intense than poetry-recitation contests, and (I feel I can say) a lot more zany and fun.

==

Dear Parents,

In partnership with Jinshan Mandarin Education Council – 金山中文教育协会 and promote Mandarin learning, SK is introducing our 1st annual Tongue Twister friendly competition on Friday, March 20, 2015, 2:00-2:40 pm in the cafeteria.

Students volunteer to enter or as a class and they will perform 2 well known grade level tongue twister on stage that afternoon.

All participants will receive a participation certificate and some fun prizes will go to the

Most Expressive
Fast and Accurate
Most Amusing
Most Imaginative
Most Difficult
Most Amazing

Come and watch the students twirl their tongues and spit out the words as fast as they can.

Attached is the tongue twister selections for this year. You are most welcome to try it.

Tongue Twister in Mandarin, 绕口令，performance and competition
Come to join us for the very first Mandarin Tongue Twister performance and competition from the Mandarin program.

When: Friday, March 20, 2015, 2-2:40pm
Where: Cafeteria
What: MI program students will perform tongue twisters and compete for prizes

This event is sponsored by JMEC.

绕口令表演及比赛
请来观看我们学校中文沈浸班级第一次绕口令表演及比赛

時间：星期五，三月二十曰，下午 2-2:40
地点：学校餐厅
事项：中文沈浸班 学生们将表演及比赛绕口令

这个绕口令表演及比赛是由金山中文教育協会发起及赞助。

Click the link below to see the tongue-twisters in Chinese:

K-5 绕口令

Translations:

K-5 Tongue-Twisters with Translation

CELIN Connection

VIDEO: Greenville hosts Chinese New Year celebration

Posted by Brad Klosner • Last Updated 4:52 pm on Thursday, March 05 2015

GREENVILLE — Residents rang in a joyous New Year over the weekend at the Greenville High School Performing Arts Center.

The Chinese New Year, that is.

Although the official Chinese New Year was Feb. 19, the Chinese Immersion Program students and staff at Walnut Hills Elementary School presented “Year of the Sheep: Chinese New Year Gala” last Saturday.

“We want to spread the news about the Chinese immersion program we have here,” Walnut Hills second grade teacher Curtis DeJong said. “We want to share the Chinese culture with the community.”

Please see more here.

From our friends at the Asia Society’s China Learning Initiatives.

A Road Map for Planning a Successful “DIY” Two-Way School-to-School Partnership Exchange Program: Part I
Timeline, Key Components and Other Tips

BY HEIDI STEELE
This article is intended for people who are running a “DIY” two-way exchange in which a school’s language teacher/coordinator is handling all of the arrangements and logistics, rather than those who have partnered with an educational tour company to manage the process. If you are running a DIY one-way program, there may still be information here that you will find useful.

While every program has its own specific structure, my hope is that sharing a road map of the planning process for our exchange program (between the Gig Harbor and Peninsula High Schools in the Peninsula School District of Washington State and the Mudanjiang No. 1 High School in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province) may help other programs get off the ground smoothly.

The planning and timeline below is for a one-month long two-way exchange program. Chinese students (usually between four and seven) arrive and stay in the U.S. for a two-week homestay with their American partners. Immediately following this, the entire group travels back to China, and American students stay for two weeks in their Chinese partners’ homes. Finally, the American students and I end the trip with four to five days on our own in Beijing.

Our program has a very simple financial arrangement. Each side is responsible for their own airfare and visas. On our side, the families equally share the cost of my plane ticket and visa, as well as the hotel in Beijing. All of the hosting expenses are born by the host school and/or families. If either side wants to extend their trip by visiting other cities (for example, our time in Beijing), the traveling side is responsible for the additional expense.

Please read more here.

This is a popular site at schools, but I think it’s not widely known among parents.

The cool thing about SnapLingo is that it’s real interaction with real Chinese kids, but it’s curated so you know your child is chatting safely. Kids will work a lot harder when they’re a real person, especially another kids, on the other end of the line. Check it out and report back whether your kids like it. I’m curious what they think.

You can see a video about how it works here.

Here’s their website.

SnapLingo

Students from China and America share language and culture through SnapLingo, an interactive app that improves language abilities through fun photo posts and chat missions.

SnapLingo is a mobile social platform that connects students (age 7 – 15) from the USA and China.  SnapLingo matches students as language buddies to practice foreign language and teach each other their native language and culture. Through guided photo missions, creative challenges, and rewards, students share the world around them while also seeing it through their language buddies’ eyes. Guided group sessions are used to spark conversation about culture and life abroad, while exposing them to foreign language giving them the chance to practice reading, listening, speaking, and writing.   It is on a secured network where parent/teacher involvement is required in the registration process.  Some schools are using SnapLingo to connect with their sister schools in China.  We can connect class to class.

A few chosen SnapLingo users will be given the honorary status of Bilingual Star.  Bilingual Stars improve their Chinese and earn cash rewards by communicating regularly with students in China.  Earn while you Learn!