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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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.[/quote]

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

That is a pity. How does folks learn English in another country? [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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