USA based 2009 teaching conference reveals...

how Chinese is becoming mainstream in schools. School visits to Chicago schools, music, ealy language learning workshops, supply of Chinese teachers - it was all covered and more. Use the link to find out more.

How are perfect pitch and learning Chinese associated?

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America has published a study showing fluency in a tonal language such as Chinese helps develop perfect pitch.

"In my experience, musicians in China don't regard perfect pitch as anything remarkable because it's very common," says Deutsch the pyschologist author of the research.

Research on Learning Chinese in Australian Schools reveals more expert knowledge needed

See both the full report and the summary on www.learnosity.com

Mandarin Chinese does need good oral and aural practice. Unlike for French, German and Spanish, pronunciation is key. Without good pronunciation you cannot be understood; it is not just a matter of having a bad accent. Curricula, teacher training and resources for children learning Chinese must take this into account. Contact us for suggestions, we know how to tackle the problems detailed in this report.

Praise for pre-school Chinese programme one year on, but the non-interactive approach is questioned.

Animation Insider worries about the pedagogy of Ni Hao Kai Lan. January 26 2009

Although Ni Hao, Kai-lan still has a tendency to feature characters who speak fluently in Chinese yet whose dialogue remains entirely untranslated, but only on occasion, the terminology that is translated ties well into the episode's central story. At first I thought this balance was a breakthrough in preschool television, refusing to baby its viewers and allowing them connect the dots on their own; but I'm starting to wonder if there's a limit to what you can offer a viewer to take in on his own, before he simply shuts out any information he deems as partially incomprehensible. Ni Hao, Kai-lan does a good job in blending the everyday with the multicultural, but the series frequently puts itself at risk of being too good for itself. The risk isn't always necessary, but when it is, children's television is usually better off for it.

The importance of cultural connections and learning to learn ....

This article writes about bi-lingual preschools. It emphasises the advantages of learning a second language young including Mandarin Chinese. It talks about making cultural connections between languages and how learning a second language improves general literacy and awareness of how communication works.

January 3 2009

How to create a modern K-12 Mandarin Chinese Language Program /Curriculum?

The Portland Public Schools K-12 Mandarin Chinese Language
Developing successful programs and curriculums for children learning Chinese is a challenge. Here is how Oregon do it.
For more see their website http://casls.uoregon.edu/ppsflagship/en/index.php

Program strives to create a sustainable and replicable model in Mandarin Chinese language instruction in the United States. Our goal is for all students to become bilingual and bi-literate while aspiring to achieve high-level academic performance and deeper cultural awareness.

The PPS K-12 Chinese program is structured on the total language learning approach incorporating three key elements:

Content-Based Instruction: Regular academic subjects such as math, science, social studies, are taught in Mandarin Chinese.

Explicit Language Instruction: Teaching language and literacy for communicative purposes.

Experiential Learning Practices: Students engage in real and meaningful life experiences requiring them to use their language and cultural skills (i.e. study abroad, summer immersion camp, etc).

Hanban & American teachers learn from each other to create a sustainable supply of Chinese teachers for children

The shortage of teachers for children learning Mandarin Chinese is an issue. Hanban supplies teachers on exchange programmes but long term Chinese teachers living in the West need to be trained in Western pedagogy.

In Oak Creek, Wisconsin, local teachers are learning to take over from Hanban teachers having completed teacher training locally.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/35265114.html

Alice Boucher Elementary School offers Mandarin Chinese

Being bilingual will give children a better understanding of linguistics, give them a more worldly view in a changing international world and allow them to receive better jobs in the future, the panelists said.

"The benefits of immersion are great. Our immersion students usually do as well - but mostly better - than regular (education) students on standardized tests,"

About two dozen parents interested in enrolling their children in French, Spanish and the new Mandarin Chinese immersion programs attended the informational session Thursday at the Clifton Chenier Center.

Starting next year, Alice Boucher Elementary School will start offering Mandarin Chinese Immersion, which experts said could put children at a strong advantage in the future as China emerges as an economic leader.

Chinese for children features in North Carolina Innovation Day

Schools participate in Innovation Day
Three schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district will take part in a statewide Innovation Day program on Tuesday.

Carrboro Elementary School will be showcasing its Spanish Dual Language Program. Glenwood Elementary School will showcase its Mandarin Chinese Dual Language Program. McDougle Elementary School will highlight its SWIM approach to Positive Behavior Support.

Crescent School Okalhoma starts after school program for kids learning Chinese

18 November 2008
NEWS OK Oklahoman

With an eye cast toward the future, Crescent School officials hope a new program started this year will give their children the skills they need to compete in the 21st century.

The district has started an after-school program to teach first-grade students how to read and speak Chinese.

Three days each week, a teacher from the University of Oklahoma comes to Crescent to teach the children basic expressions — hello, goodbye — and other familiar words such as mother and father.

Eric Wood, a first-grade teacher at Crescent Elementary, assists during the afternoon programs. Wood said the young students have picked up the language with ease.

Garrison Sullivan, 6, said he likes the courses because he gets to "learn a new language.”

When asked whether learning Chinese was hard, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought about a response.

"No,” Garrison said. "It’s easy.”