Reply to Ward 6 and Miner ES: Grassroots Movement for Dual Language (Mandarin) Program

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Reply to "Ward 6 and Miner ES: Grassroots Movement for Dual Language (Mandarin) Program"

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[quote=Anonymous][/quote]

What I mean by support is that children need more than just school to truly learn a language.  Yes, I know that the prevailing wisdom on DCUM and maybe DC in general is that you can just dump your kid at your immersion school and your child comes out speaking perfect Spanish/French/Hebrew/Chinese.  But the reality is that children really DON'T become truly fluent unless families REALLY try.  That means hiring a babysitter/au pair/family member who speaks the target language to speak to the child.  That means interacting with that particular community to better understand the culture and language.  Every child I've ever spoken to without this sort of support does not really speak the language.  Yes, they can understand and put some words together, but that's not fluency.

Are you also prepared for the fact that parents can't help kids with homework unless they speak mandarin?  And yes, I realize that a good many subjects will also be taught in English, but Mandarin taught ones will be out of the reach of parents.  And frankly, in a school with 20% proficiency, parents NEED to be a part of the picture.  They can't feel that they're not able to help their kids.

Look I live near Miner, and I WANT THEM TO SUCCEED.  I want Miner to be the amazing school it definitely can be.  But I really don't think Mandarin immersion is the way to achieve that.  [/quote]

I really like this post, and wish this sort of thing were being said more on language immersion threads. I spent many years learning Mandarin, including several in China, and don't consider myself fluent. When I talk to Yu Ying kids around the Hill, I can usually tell which ones come from homes where an adult speaks the language. Even the babysitters and au pairs don't seem to pay off much, unless they're on hand to provide inputs year in and year out. Mandarin at Miner seems like a nutty way to fix the school.  I'm sure the backers are well-intentioned, but it's hard to imagine the results being good.  [/quote]

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