World languages

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:French is useless.

va te faire foutre, imbecile

[Anonymous]

WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/282484.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

Not unless they are living in the province and zooming back to the school for class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

MS and HS language study typically doesn’t result in fluency in any foreign language. You need more submersion for that — either a school language submersion program or an intensive study abroad or living abroad experience. I would imagine fluency in Mandarin purely through academic classes would be even more difficult than for, say, French or Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

MS and HS language study typically doesn’t result in fluency in any foreign language. You need more submersion for that — either a school language submersion program or an intensive study abroad or living abroad experience. I would imagine fluency in Mandarin purely through academic classes would be even more difficult than for, say, French or Spanish.

I think you mean immersion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/282484.page

This is super helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

MS and HS language study typically doesn’t result in fluency in any foreign language. You need more submersion for that — either a school language submersion program or an intensive study abroad or living abroad experience. I would imagine fluency in Mandarin purely through academic classes would be even more difficult than for, say, French or Spanish.

That is a pity. How does folks learn English in another country?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

MS and HS language study typically doesn’t result in fluency in any foreign language. You need more submersion for that — either a school language submersion program or an intensive study abroad or living abroad experience. I would imagine fluency in Mandarin purely through academic classes would be even more difficult than for, say, French or Spanish.

I think you mean immersion.

lol yes, sorry, brain needs caffeine badly. 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

MS and HS language study typically doesn’t result in fluency in any foreign language. You need more submersion for that — either a school language submersion program or an intensive study abroad or living abroad experience. I would imagine fluency in Mandarin purely through academic classes would be even more difficult than for, say, French or Spanish.

That is a pity. How does folks learn English in another country?

The way we typically teach language in the United States is partially responsible for the gap. We’re very worksheet and test heavy, and when we get into the later years we focus excessively on reading literature. When I took language abroad at a language institute the emphasis was entirely on communication, and there was no use of English ever (even at the very beginning) so we were truly immersed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

MS and HS language study typically doesn’t result in fluency in any foreign language. You need more submersion for that — either a school language submersion program or an intensive study abroad or living abroad experience. I would imagine fluency in Mandarin purely through academic classes would be even more difficult than for, say, French or Spanish.

That is a pity. How does folks learn English in another country?

They start several years earlier and usually have a media/online environment heavily in English, so their exposure and immersion is 100x more than a US student who does "language" class a few hours a week and does nothing else in the language anywhere.

Studies show more than 90% of foreign language instruction is a complete waste of time and always has been.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS comes closest to this in the DC area: For children on the French side of the school, there is total French immersion through kindergarten, then half of all coursework in French (and the other half in English) through the end of 5th grade. Starting in 6th grade, students take language & literature and history & geography in French, with the option to add Mandarin.

I am curious of Mandarin in middle school. Would they be fluent in Mandarin if they take from 6th to 12th? Thanks.

MS and HS language study typically doesn’t result in fluency in any foreign language. You need more submersion for that — either a school language submersion program or an intensive study abroad or living abroad experience. I would imagine fluency in Mandarin purely through academic classes would be even more difficult than for, say, French or Spanish.

That is a pity. How does folks learn English in another country?

They start several years earlier and usually have a media/online environment heavily in English, so their exposure and immersion is 100x more than a US student who does "language" class a few hours a week and does nothing else in the language anywhere.

Studies show more than 90% of foreign language instruction is a complete waste of time and always has been.

This is why the WIS approach is so productive for French (and Spanish). And I assume the WIS students who start Mandarin in 6th grade there are at least no worse off in terms of final outcome for that language than they'd be at any other school in the DC area. But a parent who has actual experience with the WIS Mandarin program (anyone??) should chime in!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:French is useless.

While Spanish and mandarin are the languages spoken by the most people , French is the language spoken in the most places. Look up the francophonie organization for a map of the francophone world. You'll be surprised ! There is a French school in all countries, and many cities within those countries. There is a French alliance providing cultural resources in most mid to big cities in the US and the rest of the world. I'm french and everywhere I go I find french speakers who aren't necessarily from France. I guess you haven't heard of French mom groups... They're prolific...

Great language to learn.

[Anonymous]

Immersion for some significant period of time is the only way to fluency.