Sixth International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education: Connecting Research and Practice Across Contexts

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

Chinese

One-Way Second/Foreign Language Immersion
Two-Way Bilingual Immersion

Elementary (K-5)
Middle School/Junior High
High School

Chinese language and immersion programs need Chinese-specific guides to help them better design and implement curriculum while also providing resources for teacher development and parent engagement. Presenters describe three published briefs and other resources that meet this need. Participants and presenters generate a list of other topics for briefs.  

The field of Chinese language and immersion education in grades K-12 is gaining popularity across the United States, and the need for Chinese-specific resources to guide program development, implementation, and sustainability is particularly acute. This presentation will describe a new online resource for the field, a series of Briefs developed by CELIN (Chinese Early Language and Immersion Network) at Asia Society. Development and publication of the Briefs is the result of a national effort. They are written by renowned scholars and experienced practitioners and provide clear and concise guidance that is useful to educators, parents, and policy makers in the areas of curriculum design, instruction, and assessment. The topics of the Briefs that will be presented are: Designing and Implementing Chinese Language Programs: Preparing Students for the Real World (focused on curriculum and instruction); Mapping Chinese Language Learning Outcomes in Grades K-12; and Developing Initial Literacy in Chinese. Participants will become familiar with the content of the Briefs and ways to access, use, and disseminate them; share other resources that they know of or that they have developed on these topics; and co-develop a list of additional resources and topics on which future Briefs can be developed that will support them and others in the field. The session will combine Power Point presentations and Q & A and discussion. It will begin with an overview of the content and development of the Briefs (45 minutes), followed by time for participants to ask questions, share additional resources, and engage in discussion to develop a list of possible future Brief topics and other needed resources (15 minutes). Participants will receive printed material about the Briefs and will be asked to sign in so that they can connect with Chinese language educators and researchers across the country for future information sharing and collaboration.