Language Outcomes in Chinese Immersion

Myriam Metmyriammet@gmail.com

Source: Greg Duncan, Interprep Inc.

Source: Greg Duncan, Interprep Inc.

Getting to Intermediate

• Defense Language Institute• College majors• High school students

ACTFL Proficiency Levels and Employment The chart below correlates the anticipated level of proficiency to the number of years of language study.

SFUSD MANDARIN IMMERSIONProficiency Based Performance Expectations

Grade Level

Total Immersion

ACTFL CAWLSK1 Novice Mid Mid Stage I2 Intermediate Low Beginning Stage II3 Intermediate Med* Mid Stage II*4 Intermediate Med* Mid Stage II*

5 Intermediate High * End Stage II/Beginning Stage

III8 Advanced Low Beginning Stage III

12 Advanced Mid Mid Stage III

At the end of

Have limited work ability and survive and cope in country language skills.

Focus on Literacy

• How important is literacy?• What do parents think about literacy?• What do educators think about when they

think about Chinese iteracy?

Teaching Literacy in Chinese Immersion

• Setting goals and objectives: how well should our students read and by when?

• What about pinyin?• Which characters? In what order? How many?• What is critical for K-2 in terms of reading?

Writing?• What is critical for grades 3-6?• What materials are useful?

How Many Characters?

• China (estimates) = 2500 by end of grade 6• Chinese textbooks for heritage learners by

end of grade 6 =<1000

Full day immersion program in US

How Many Characters?50-50 Model in US

• K: 80• 1st: 100 • 2nd: 170• 3rd: 200• 4th: 260• 5th: 350•

COMMUNICATION ARTS IN CHINESE A knowledgeable immersion first grade studentR --develops and applies reading skills *recognizes 300 Chinese characters related to the first grade curriculum *recognizes 50 high frequency radicals *understands that radicals are the building blocks of Chinese characters*uses knowledge of radicals to decode the form and meaning of characters*uses context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar characters*understands Chinese character relationships: synonyms, antonyms, homophones, multiple meanings*understands that pinyin is a Roman alphabet form of Mandarin Chinese that is used primarily for typing in Chinese on a computer (type in pinyin and it appears on the screen as the corresponding character)*recognizes the pinyin forms of words related to the first grade curriculum R --comprehends what is read *understands logical relationships: simple sequence, compare/contrast*understands fact/non fact*uses comprehension strategies: predict/infer, monitor/clarify, question, evaluate, summarize

How Many Characters?“We used to set a number of characters by grade level, roughly 250 for grade 1, 300 to 450 for other grades,

but not anymore, as we see this did not help us identify students' proficiency levels, and the retention of the characters has been a big problem for some students …”

What does it mean to know a character?

• ‘recognize’”= match to sound• ‘recognize’”= match to picture• Name• Use to make meaning from text• Write text

SFUSD: Moving Forward

• Targets• End of year performance indicators• Instruction and assessment• Progress reporting

What Can Parents Do?

• Support through motivation and attitude• Reading/listening for pleasure• Homework buddies