Lakeside school the articulation of a high functioning chinese program

Jillian Tsai-- Middle School

Cheyenne Z. Matthewson -- Upper School

Lakeside School Chinese: the Articulation of a High-Functioning Chinese Program

Brief History of Lakeside School’s Chinese ProgramStarted in 2000 as a

desire of school to add a non-western language to our language course lineup

- Acknowledgement of the

rise of China

- Local community

Challenges of Starting our Chinese Program

Gaining parent support

Finding qualified teachers

Setting up our curriculum

Challenges of Starting our Chinese Program

Support of the parents

- Endowment/Financial support

- Parents involvement in the planning stage. Give them the sense of ownership, but not control of the program

Challenges of Starting our Chinese ProgramFinding and retaining

qualified teachers Where to find teachers?

- CLTA network at national and

local levels

- NAIS China Connection

- New teacher support -Mentor system

-Support of professional

organizations

Setting up curriculum

-articulating goals at each level

-selection of materials

(MS approaches vs.

US approaches)

-students language background

(heritage and non-heritage

learners)

Program Overview Middle School

- Levels A, B, C, D

- Students are required to

take one foreign language.

- Students who successfully

complete C or D may be

placed at the Upper School

Chinese II level.

- More than 20% students

enrolled in Chinese program

Program Overview

Upper School - Levels I-IV, IV/V, V/VI

- Graduation requirement:

at least two years in Upper

School and successfully

complete Level III.

- More capable students should

be able to enroll in Third Year

level college courses after

completing Level IV/V or V/VI.

Course Descriptions

Course Descriptions--Upper School

Philosophy & Approach

Communicative, Task-Based methods

Student-Centered classroom

Use of Target Language as much as possible.

Appropriate use of grammar lessons

Occasional use of grammar translation exercises.

Community and Connection-- Using Chinese in the real world

Fairytale project

Community and Connection-- Using Chinese in the real world

Connecting MS and US programs

Thank you!How to contact us:

Jillian Tsai 蔡季芬 E-mail: jillian.tsai@lakesideschool.org Website: http://www.swiftclassroom.com/lakeside/jtsai/index.php

Cheyenne Z. Matthewson 张晓云E-mail: cheyenne.matthewson@lakesideschool.org

Website: http://teachers.lakesideschool.org/us/languages/matthewson/default.htm

Lakeside School website: http://www.lakesideschool.org