Southern California Council of Chinese Schools
| February 22, 2009 |
Southern California Council of Chinese Schools
February 22, 2009
k12mandarin.org
- Feb 2009
- 25
- Feb 2009
- 25
Learning Chinese from Preschool/Elementary Chinese books
I have decided that there is no shame in using brightly colored children’s books to learn Chinese. Yes indeed, I have resorted to learning from books that are specifically designed for preschool to lower elementary ages because, quite frankly, they work.
For instance, the books in the “My First Chinese Words” series are perfect for those at a Chinese beginner’s level. I was able to quickly learn how to say and recognize the characters in the first sentence, “I love my mother” (Wo ai wo de ma ma). With each consecutive sentence, the basic sentence pattern (I love my ...
- Feb 2009
- 24
Chinese Education Conference 2009 in San Francisco
Hi Educators, Teachers, and Friends,
I want to make sure if you have a chance to attend the Chinese Education Conference in San Francisco in 2009, please drop by the Better Chinese booth.
This is the 2nd year that Chinese American International School (CAIS) is hosting the conference for the educators. We attended the conference last year and found it to be useful to meet perspective schools that are thinking about starting Chinese programs. Please go to their website to see details. Click here. The conference is from March 13-15.
There is another conference for CFL educators in ...
- Feb 2009
- 20
Visiting Chinese Teachers in U.S.: Challenges and Benefits
As Chinese language instructors and educators, we are all somehow connected to China. Some teachers teaching Chinese in public school systems in US are on exchange programs with College Board or university-level exchange programs. I talked with two high school teachers last week, both on a one-year exchange program, both excited and then frustrated.
What are some of the pros and cons for teachers in these exchange programs? I think the cons seem more obvious than the pros. Teachers only have one academic year to do so many things: getting used to the schools and US culture, getting to know the ...
- Feb 2009
- 18
Public Schools Offering Course Credits for Outside Chinese Classes
Lately, one of the most discussed topics in the education industry is the issue of budget cuts and limited financial resources. As involved and active members of the Chinese education community, the staff at Better Chinese have heard from many teachers and administrators who are worried about the future of their schools’ ongoing and/or developing programs.
I came upon this interesting article from Northern California’s Pleasanton Unified School District today. Read the article here. Due to budget limitations, the public high schools in Pleasanton, CA are working with the weekend Chinese schools in the area to offer high school course ...
- Feb 2009
- 17
Speaking Chinese during Chinese New Year
In light of Chinese New Year, Better Chinese storybooks have been featured in storytimes held in the South San Francisco Public Libary and Menlo Park Public library, bookstores (Books Inc.), and schools such as Starr King Elementary School in San Francisco.
During these storytimes, the children are incredibly eager to hear Chinese cultural stories as well as learn Chinese that is spoken during the holidays. Little did they know, I was just as enthusiastic about learning how to speak the proper Chinese holiday sayings. I quickly learned how to say “xin nian kui le” (Happy New Year) and “gong ...
- Feb 2009
- 14
Recognition of Successful Chinese Immersion Programs
College Gardens Elementary School’s Chinese Immersion Program is one of 3 successful programs in Montgomery County Public Schools in the Potomac, MD region. The district began implementing these immersion programs a few years ago, and now in its fourth year, College Gardens boasts 99 students and an admission process that involves a lottery system due to the high demand of parents who want to send their children to the school.
Read about CGES’s immersion program here.
Aside from the program at College Gardens Elementary, the district also provides immersion programs for Kindergarten through Grade 1 students at Potomac Elementary, as ...
- Feb 2009
- 10
Paper Horse - A Book That Trenscends Culture
Happy Chinese New Year! Lantern Festival was yesterday, that wrapped up the Spring Festival celebration. I want to share a small news that we are celebrating here in Palo Alto.
My wife has just published her first children’s book with an illustrator Xiong Lei, called Paper Horse. This book has received a great review from Kirkus Discoveries.
Read what they have to say. <From Kirkus Review www.kirkusreviews.com >
====
Right in time for the Year of the Ox comes a tale about a little boy and his paper horse, penned and
illustrated by the Brothers Xiong, China’s modern-day answer to the Brothers Grimm.
The Chinese ...
- Feb 2009
- 5
Resources and online curriculum for homeschooling the Mandarin Chinese language
As China gains more attention and influence in the world, learning Chinese is becoming increasingly popular. Every year there are more and more Chinese programs being started in schools. For the students who are homeschooled or whose schools don’t offer Chinese and don’t live in an area with access to a Chinese school, learning Chinese at home seems nearly impossible especially when parents don’t understand or speak Chinese. The task appears even more daunting with Chinese speaking, reading, and writing systems that are a drastic departure from the typical foreign languages learned in the US, such as Spanish or French.
Among ...
- Feb 2009
- 3
Mandarin Immersion Program Thrives with Supportive Parents
This is San Francisco Unified School District’s second year using Better Chinese curriculum in their classrooms, and to increase the amount of online usage from home, the district invited us on 1/23 to give an online demonstration to the parents of Starr King Elementary School and Jose Ortega Elementary School. I was pleasantly surprised to see around 30-40 parents show up for this meeting! It was really great to see so many parents who are supportive of the Mandarin immersion program and are dedicated to ensuring that their children’s schools will continue to grown and expand this program in the ...
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