Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program

Transcription

1 1. Introduction Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program Kindergarten Curriculum Framework - Parent Guide Tarwater Elementary s Mandarin Immersion Program s mission is to provide a high quality program that emphasizes Chinese language and culture learning and core academic excellence. We will provide students a solid foundation of attaining proficiency in Mandarin Chinese through: Age appropriate curriculum Content based instruction core curriculum subjects such as math and social studies are taught in Mandarin Chinese. Experiential learning: Interaction with partner schools in China to obtain real world experience, performances, field trips, and weekly classroom songs and dance. 2. Learning Mandarin Chinese Learning Mandarin Chinese in an immersion environment is an exciting opportunity and will provide many benefits for your child. However, there are many differences between the English language and Mandarin Chinese and these differences translate into different methods and styles in how your child will be taught within the Mandarin Immersion Program vs. how your child has been taught and will continued to be taught the English language. Unlike the English language where children learn the 26 letters of the alphabet and are then taught to phonetically sound out most words, Mandarin Chinese does not have an alphabet but rather words that are comprised of Chinese characters similar to pictographs (a pictorial symbol for a word or phrase). This means one character represents one word and the best way to learn Chinese characters is through memorization and constant practice. Note: There are over 50,000 Chinese characters in use today. In addition, Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. There could potentially be four tones for a word. Using the wrong tone could change the meaning of the word completely. For example, depending on how you say ma it could mean mom or horse. Accuracy is critical right from the beginning as the wrong tone when speaking or forming the wrong stroke in a Chinese character could translate into an entirely different meaning. The first six months for you, as parents, may be challenging. In addition to your child entering Kindergarten, they will be learning a new language. You may feel nervous, anxious, 1

2 or unsure. Please know most children going into this new learning environment take it in stride and adapt. Take advantage of the Mandarin Program Parent Group and the resources provided on the Tarwater Mandarin Program website, keep the lines of communication open between you and your child s teachers, and express any concerns or feedback you may have. Above all, help your child s learning process by being positive, committed, and supportive of their new language acquisition! 3. Kindergarten Mandarin Program Curriculum Principles The following Kindergarten Mandarin Immersion curriculum principles have been developed to best assist our students in obtaining proficiency: 1. Ensure strong alignment and communications between English and Chinese speaking teachers. Teachers must partner together to develop the kindergarten curriculum and daily lesson plans. 2. Follow the new language instruction principles of developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. 3. An immersion program instructs and communicates entirely in the target language and does not use English to communicate or explain content. This method allows students to learn Mandarin similar to the way they learned their first language. This is different than traditional second language instruction where English is used to explain content and the target language is the subject of instruction. 4. Take a methodical and thoughtful approach in teaching students Mandarin. We will take our time in laying the right foundation before advancing to the next level. This will require patience from everyone involved and results may seem slower (at times slower than when a child learns beginning English) but is necessary to ensure students understand and comprehend the basics before progressing to the next level. 5. A combination of direct instruction and action instruction (songs, dance, movement, crafts, and videos) will be used to make lessons more comprehensible, interesting, and support the new language learning process. 6. In the area of writing Chinese characters, there will be an emphasis on accuracy right from the beginning. 7. homework will be assigned and estimated to take 10 minutes to complete. There will be approximately five minutes of homework in practicing the writing/forming of Chinese characters and another 5 minutes watching Chinese videos such as Wu Kong Sun and Xi Yang Yang (popular Chinese children s series). An extra 5-10 minutes of extra credit homework will also be available. 2

3 4. Kindergarten Mandarin Program Sample Schedule Chinese instruction: 2 hours a day Content area: Chinese and Social Studies Area of Instruction Frequency Objective & Activities Pronunciation Dialogue Practice () Recognizing Chinese Characters Sigh Characters Writing Chinese Characters Video Time (During Snack Time) Build Pinyin foundation Build tonal foundation Learn greetings, counting, self expression Learn how to exchange information and follow directions Build recognition and memorization of Chinese characters Use character cards Videos on the evolution of Chinese characters Learn basics in writing/forming Chinese characters Free-writing, drawing, and coloring methods will also be used Students will watch A Kaleidoscope of Chinese Culture Introduces students to the culture Provide real world exposure to how the language is used Students will also watch other popular children s videos to reinforce topic for the week/month and areas of instruction Social Studies Curriculum will align with state standards Story time Children s stories to introduce Chinese culture and legend Action Songs 1X a week Songs with associated actions/movement Action Instruction Crafts 3X a week 1X a week Drill dance* with music Practice counting Learn words for parts of the body and action verbs Learn how to follow directions Build coordination between listening and moving Build team spirit Students will make crafts as part of the thematic unit for the week Help reinforce topics introduced Build multicultural awareness and appreciation Develop hand/eye coordination * A drill dance is a popular form of fitness dancing in China. Starting in pre-school years, children gather outdoors and learn exercise movements, how to follow directions, and team work. 3

4 5. Important Chinese Holidays Detailed dates will be published according to the 2015 Lunar calendar Will work with parent volunteers to develop holiday related activities Date Holiday Chinese Name Food Related Item/Activity 9/8/2014 Mid-Autumn Day 中秋节 Moon cake 9/10/2014 Teacher s Day 教师节 Thank you cards 10/2/2014 Double Nine Festival 重阳节 Invite grandparents or elderly (Respect Elder s Day) relatives to class Feb/March Chinese New Year 中国春节 / 新年 Eat dumpling 2015 Feb 2015 Lantern Festival 元宵节 / 灯节 Eat Tang Yuan May 2015 Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 Eat Zongzi 6. Field Trips Kindergarteners will attend 4-8 field trips during the school year Of these field trips 1-2 will be connected with the Chinese culture. There might be 1-2 additional field trips the Mandarin Program will conduct dependent upon cost/funding and available activities 7. Before and After School Activities The following classes and activities are being planned for the 2014/2015 school year: Before school: Chinese Folk dancing class K-2 nd 3 rd -6 th (Mon. & Wed.) Before school: Chinese language class K-2 nd 3 rd -6 th (Tues. & Thur.) After school: Mandarin Club (TBD) In the future: K-6 th Ping Pong class (looking for a good instructor) In the future: K-6 th Wu Shu class (looking for a good instructor) In addition to the activities above, we are in the process of developing a private tutor list for parents that maybe interested in obtaining additional assistance for their children. 8. Partner Schools in China We are excited to be putting in place partnerships with elementary schools in China. The purpose of having a partner school is to provide real life experience of both Mandarin language and Chinese culture. There are many benefits of having a partner school in place including: 1. Providing students an opportunity to converse with similar age native speakers. 2. Students will obtain experience in conducting real life conversation and communication and hold real, meaningful conversations. 3. Enhancing cultural awareness and appreciation. 4. Possibly develop a teacher or student cultural exchange program in the future. 4

5 Due to the size and varying regions of China, we hope to have in place three different partnerships in three different regions to further enhance our students learning process and provide meaningful and relevant experience. We hope to have partnership agreements in place with the following schools: Chenghua Experimental Primary School (in south of China) Cuiwei Primary School (in Beijing) in process of setting up partnership A school from Changchun, Jilin Province (northeast China) - we are still in the process of identifying a school We are also in the process of evaluating the technology methods to use to best communicate with our partner schools. Some ideas include: The use of Skype for real time conversation Ipad (Facetime) or other application Dropbox for video recorded messages We will need technology volunteers to assist us in identifying and setting up the best communication medium with our partner schools. 9. Assessments One of the best methods to understand the proficiency level of your child after they have completed a year of the immersion program is to complete an assessment. This will also help establish a baseline as they progress to the next grade level. Your child s Mandarin teacher will conduct a Mandarin oral proficiency assessment at the end of the Kindergarten school year. In addition, there are two additional optional assessments that we encourage you to consider for your child. Certificates for each of the tests will be issued based on the proficiency level your child demonstrates. Additional information about these tests will be provided by your child s teacher. The Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK): A series of tests to assess the Chinese language proficiency of non-native speakers. It assesses the examinees' ability to use the Chinese language in communicative activities and understanding. The HSK is the abbreviation of the Chinese Pinyin name of this test: Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi. The test is divided into six levels: HSK Level 1 is appropriate for beginning students. Students who have taken two to three Chinese classes per week for one semester and have mastered approximately 150 common vocabulary words are suggested to take the Level 1 test. HSK Level 2 is appropriate for beginning students. Students who have taken two to three Chinese classes per week for two semesters and have mastered approximately 300 common vocabulary words are suggested to take the Level 2 test. 5

6 The Youth Chinese Test (YCT): Appropriate for young learners of Chinese under the age of 15. There are several levels to the test: Level 1 is appropriate for those who have received 3 months of Chinese instruction. Level 2 is appropriate for those who have had one semester of Chinese instruction. Level 3 is appropriate for those who have had two semesters Chinese instruction. Level 4 is appropriate for those who have had more than two semesters of Chinese instruction. 10. Mandarin Program Parent Group (MPPG) We value and welcome parent involvement and especially need the help with our new program. There are a variety of roles parents can serve. The following is a list of some of the main areas where we need parent assistance. Please contact?? if you are interested in becoming involved. Fundraising for Chinese books, Chinese food as part of our lesson plans, T-shirts for performances, costumes, props, etc. Program Communications Organization of activities Chaperons for field trips Serve as advocates and champions of the Mandarin Immersion Program Provide suggestions, feedback, and assist us in continuously improving the program Technology support 11. Outreach and Donation from Our Community A special thanks to the following organizations who have assisted us in the implementation of our program: Hamilton High School: Collaboration and book donations for our program. Hope Chinese School: Book donations The Chinese Cultural Committee: Complimentary hand craft classes in November Confucius Institute, Arizona State University: For providing an advisory and consultative role in the implementation of the Mandarin Immersion Program, assistance in teacher recruitment, and training. 6