Southland Elementary Chinese Immersion Program
Dear Kindergarten Parents,
You may have already heard about the exciting Chinese Dual Immersion program at Southland Elementary. We offer a Chinese Immersion Program for our first graders that will continue into sixth grade. Each year we will add a class to the program until we have an immersion class for every grade here at Southland Elementary. Jordan District is totally committed to this world language program and will provide additional Chinese language classes at the secondary level.
What is an immersion program?
Immersion means a student will be totally immersed in the second language during half of their school day. The teacher will speak only Chinese to them (except in cases of emergency). Our state has chosen to go with a 50/50 model. That means the students will be taught for 50% of the day in English and 50% of the day in Chinese. The students will be taught reading, writing, and language skills in English. Math and other content area subjects will be taught in Chinese, some of which will be reinforced in English. Students will complete their elementary years learning the entire Utah core curriculum as well as learning a second language.
The immersion model has proven to be the most effective model for learning a second language. Studies have shown that students who are in immersion programs score as well as or better than their peers on English standardized tests. Included in this correspondence is information about the benefits of the program, how to sign up for the program, and answers to questions you may have concerning our immersion program.
An informational meeting will be held on Thursday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Southland Elementary in the Media Center. If you have additional questions prior to this meeting or want to get your name on the list, please contact the school office at 801-254-8047.
Sincerely,
Terri Summers
2011/2012 Southland Elementary Chinese Immersion Program
Why should I choose immersion for my child?
There are several benefits to learning a second language-- social, educational, cognitive, cultural, and economic to name a few. Immersion has proven to be the most effective way to become proficient in a second language.
In CAL digest, April 2006, it states that “a growing number of U.S. parents view bilingualism as a laudable family goal. The reasons for this trend include a desire to maintain ties to the parents’ heritage language and culture, to provide children with academic and cognitive advantages, and to promote cross-cultural understanding and communication.”
The younger a child is, the easier it is to acquire a second language. By starting your child in 1st grade, he will have an advantage over students starting their 2nd language in junior high and high school. Mastering a second language makes learning a third language even easier. Many students who have participated in immersion programs go on to acquire a third language when they reach high school.
There are many studies that show students in immersion programs outperform students in all-English schools on a variety of English language tests—reading, writing, listening, etc. This may seem counterintuitive; however, students who know another language gain insights to understanding their primary language better.
Proficiency in another language can also open up job prospects in business, politics, tourism, or communications. In the global marketplace there are plenty of jobs that call for bilingual proficiency. “Individuals with multilingual competence are able to take professional roles that cross linguistic boundaries. Cultural and national boundaries around the world are coming down in increasing numbers.” (Cloud, Geness, Hamayan, Dual Language Instruction, 2000)
We invite you to consider the Chinese Immersion Program for your first grader.
Sincerely,
Terri Summers
2011/2012 Southland Elementary Chinese Immersion Program
Dear Kindergarten Parents,
Please attend a Parent Meeting to learn more about the Chinese Immersion Program:
When: Thursday, February 24, 2011 7:00 p.m.
Where: Southland Elementary Media Center
We look forward to seeing you there!
Several parents have asked why Southland Elementary chose Chinese for their immersion program.
First, we started this dual immersion program with funds from a state grant. The state awards grants to schools for specific languages. Jordan School District has three Spanish Immersion Language programs and four Chinese Immersion Programs. When the opportunity came to receive funding, we willingly applied and were lucky enough to receive a grant that will fund Chinese Dual Immersion through sixth grade. Each year a grade will be added to the program.
We know how important it is as members of a global society to learn another language, especially Chinese. Culturally and economically, knowing Chinese and English will open multiple opportunities for our students throughout the United States and the world. More people know and speak Chinese in the world than any other first language.
There are a lot of possibilities for jobs in business and economic areas that will be more easily obtained by students who know Chinese. New job opportunities are becoming available to Chinese speakers in education, business, retail, marketing, news media, politics, and finance. As our state competes for a place in our global economy, we will continue to see additional business enterprises relocating to communities where the work force is prepared to service a growing international clientele. The possibilities that exist for speakers of Chinese are available and will continue to grow.
This is a great time to take advantage of an opportunity to have your student learn a second language that will prove incredibly useful and practical in the future.
If you are interested in enrolling your student in the Chinese immersion program or would like more information, we look forward to your attendance at our Parent Meeting. You may also contact the office at 801-254-8047.
Sincerely,
Terri Summers
2011/2012 Southland Elementary Chinese Immersion Program
Dear Kindergarten Parents,
We are excited about the interest we are getting about the immersion program. We’re looking forward to our Parent Night on February 24, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. We need to get an approximate count of those who will be attending that meeting so that we can arrange a space and refreshments. Please sign the form below and return it to school by February 23. That will really help us as we make preparations for that event. Even if you are not planning to attend, please return the form. We want to ensure that everyone received this information.
Applications to enroll your child will be available at the Parent Night meeting or at http://departments.jordandistrict.org/curriculum/worldlanguages/dlimmersion.html
The process for enrollment in the immersion program is as follows:
Students are randomly selected based upon the following criteria
• First priority is given to students who live within the school boundaries.
• Priority is also given to siblings of students already enrolled in the program.
• If there is room in the program for more students, then priority is given to students residing within district boundaries.
• Only after meeting the above considerations will students living outside district boundaries be accepted.
Thanks for considering immersion for your future first grader!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
________ Yes, I will be attending the Parent Meeting concerning the Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program on February 24 at 7:00. Please put the number of people attending on the blank.
________ No, I will not be able to attend the meeting.
_______________________________________ ___________________________________________
(Kindergarten child) (Parent’s name)
*Please return this note to the school no later than February 23.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment