Reading and writing translate to centuries of shared knowledge and can be expanded upon with the ability to acquire multiple tongues. In response to today's most widely spoken languages, Chinese/English and Spanish/English dual language immersion programs continue to grow across the United States. Unfortunately, the lack of uniformity in the…

This article describes the practical application of an innovative bilingual preschool program that involves two-way immersion of both English and Chinese in classrooms. This has not been written about extensively, especially in the context of early childhood classrooms in Asian countries. The primary goal of the two-way immersion kindergarten is…

This is the third and last paper in a series published by the National Alliance in partnership with Public Impact, highlighting the experiences of school leaders in charter schools across the country. While the impact school leaders have on student performance has been well documented, there has been little attention to how leaders' experiences…

Research has demonstrated that second language immersion is an effective means of facilitating primary school students' second language acquisition without undermining their competence in their first language. Despite the rapid growth of Chinese-English bilingual programmes in China, limited empirical research has been conducted thus far by which…

The lure of entering the China "market" has led numerous North American colleges and universities to open campuses or offices on Chinese soil--in anticipation of bolstering enrollment numbers, wooing a promising supply of Chinese students, and offering their American or other international students the opportunity to live and study…

A dual immersion program in Chinese and English at the 3e International School in Beijing is helping children become fluent in both languages, even though many students spoke neither language when they entered the school. Children enter the program as young as two years old. Studies indicate that bilingual children have higher levels of cognitive…

This article describes three big programs from Delaware where the less commonly taught languages find their home in Delaware elementary schools. Odyssey Charter School, located in Wilmington, is one of the very few Greek-language-focused public schools in the nation. The school began in 2006 as a Greek immersion program that concentrated on the…

A 2004 College Board survey revealed that school districts around America wanted to offer Chinese, but finding qualified teachers was a problem, says Selena Cantor, director of Chinese Language and Culture Initiatives for the College Board. So last year, a new College Board program brought guest teachers from China to school districts in 31…

This article features the Foreign Language Assistance Program, also known as FLAP, which holds the distinction as the only federally funded program that exclusively targets foreign language instruction in elementary and secondary schools. Funded under Title V of No Child Left Behind, FLAP provides 3-year grants to states and local school districts…

Relatively few public school students are currently learning the Chinese language, but experts predict the number of K-12 schools offering such instruction will soon soar. With China poised to become the next global economic superpower, policymakers say it is essential that American schools expand their Chinese studies. Here, the author discusses…

As East Asian countries continue to develop into major powers in the economic world, students come to Indiana University's East Asian Summer Language Institute to improve their chances for careers in those countries in international law, teaching, and business. Advice on proper etiquette is also included. (MLW)

Describes an English immersion "Bridge Program" for Hong Kong children that aims to provide a bridge between primary schooling in Chinese and secondary schooling in English. Also discussed are the role of communicative language teaching in content subject teaching, theoretical assumptions of Canadian immersion programs and the Bridge…

This book emphasizes the process of learning in immersion programs, particularly those related to reading. It explores language learning processes and experiences among French late immersion grade 9 students and Australian teachers completing a university-based Chinese immersion graduate diploma. Using students from each group as key informants,…

In response to rapidly falling foreign language enrollments, the State University of New York College at New Paltz designed and actively promoted a language immersion program in the summer of 1981. The program consisted of instruction in twelve languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian,…