Mandarin Immersion at Marengo and Spanish Immersion at Monterey Hills Continue to Grow
SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. (January 16, 2018) – South Pasadena Unified School District’s dual language immersion program offers elementary-aged students the opportunity to study Spanish or Mandarin within a traditional elementary school setting. Designed for children and parents who desire a proficiency in a language other than English, the classes seek to expand world language experiences for young learners.
As part of planning for next year’s incoming kindergarten students, SPUSD invites all interested South Pasadena parents to attend the Dual Immersion Parent Information Meeting on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. in the District office boardroom at 1020 El Centro Street to learn more.
“We are seeing increasing interest in our Mandarin and Spanish immersion programs,” said Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services, Christiane Gervais. “Students are challenged by talented teachers who are experts in bilingualism and biliteracy while upholding South Pasadena Unified School District’s excellent curricula.”
The Mandarin dual immersion program is designed for English learners and English speaking students and follows a 50/50 instructional model in kindergarten through grade five, which means that approximately 50% of the class is taught in the target language and 50% is taught in English. This model helps students excel in both an alphabet based language (English) and a language rooted in a logographic system (Mandarin), where symbols represent words.
The Spanish classes start with a 90/10 instructional model, which means that in kindergarten approximately 90% of the class will be taught in Spanish and 10% will be taught in English. As students move up grades, the ratio of Spanish to English decreases. The Spanish language uses a similar alphabetic system to English so there is a more immediate transfer of instruction between languages.
In both Mandarin and Spanish dual immersion programs, English-dominant and target-language-dominant students are purposefully integrated to meet various goals including developing bilingual skills, meeting or exceeding state standards, and fostering an appreciation of world languages and cultures.
For additional program information including enrollment procedures for the Spanish dual immersion program at Monterey Hills and the Mandarin dual immersion program at Marengo Elementary, visit www.spusd.net and attend the parent meeting on February 6, 2018. Translation will be provided.