Elementary School Chinese Immersion

An immersion program is not about learning the language only, but rather learning through that language. It is an approach to second language instruction in which teaching and learning of core content occur in a language other than English. This means that the target language is the medium of instruction for the teacher and of learning for the students.
 

The Chinese Immersion program aims to develop students’ proficiency in both Chinese and English, while also fostering intercultural competence, strong academic performance and social-emotional well-being.

The benefits are well-documented. First and foremost, immersion students have the chance to develop intercultural awareness and global perspectives that are often undeveloped until much later. Additionally, students exhibit increased cognitive skills such as pattern recognition, higher order thinking, problem-solving, processing, spatial reasoning, print awareness, and sophisticated analytical skills. Academically, students achieve higher test scores in English, math and science and perform better on college entrance exams. 
 

Research has shown that learning Chinese has a value added effect on a child’s first language, English for most students. Further, students who achieve high levels of second language proficiency also achieve high levels of English language skills and metalinguistic awareness.
 

• Enhances cognitive skills
• Increases cultural competence
• Better prepares students for the global community where a second language is an asset
• Improves performance on standardized tests
• Teaches second language skills

Blue Valley Schools uses a dual language immersion model in which students are co-taught by two full-time classroom teachers, spending half of the day in the target immersion language and half of the day in English. Dual language immersion allows students to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in two languages, building academic fluency in both English and the immersion language.

Blue Valley Schools’ inaugural language immersion program began in the 2017-18 school year at Wolf Springs Elementary. A second Chinese Immersion site, Valley Park Elementary, welcomed its inaugural class during the 2018-19 school year. The Chinese Immersion program will transition to one site beginning with the 2024-25 school year. Mandarin instruction via Chinese Immersion will be available at Valley Park for grades 3-5 during the 2025-26 school year. Each consecutive year, a grade level will cease to be part of Chinese Immersion with the final class exiting after the 2027-28 school year.

Transportation will not be provided by the district to students who live outside of the Wolf Springs Elementary boundary and transfer to the school to participate in the immersion program.

Students enrolled in Chinese immersion will not participate in the elementary Spanish curriculum. Immersion in the Chinese language fulfills their elementary Global Language education component.

Students who do not participate in the immersion program will attend Spanish class like all other district elementary schools.

The Continuing Chinese Immersion Program in middle school introduces flexibility for students and families.  Students may choose to continue in their immersive Mandarin studies by signing up for the middle school Chinese Language Arts (CLA) course.  This is the main course in which students receive explicit instruction in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students may choose to also enroll in up to two semester electives for a deeper immersion experience. Students will have the option to enroll in Chinese immersion STEAM or Humanities. More information about the middle school experience is available on the district website. As the Chinese Immersion program develops and students complete the elementary and middle school immersion curriculum, the district plans to implement a continuing immersion program high school level.

Blue Valley’s immersion program begins in kindergarten and families will be asked to make a long-term, multi-year commitment to immersion education. The district plans for participating families to make a K-12 commitment to the immersion program.
 

Your child will be in a Chinese classroom for half the day. Part of this time is dedicated to Chinese language arts, however the immersion program is not about learning the language only, but rather learning through that language; therefore Chinese instructional minutes are spent learning the same math, science, and social studies standards as non-immersion students, only in the Chinese language.

Transitioning into a new class or into a new school can present new challenges for all students. These transitions can be supported by both the school staff and parents collectively. In the first weeks, immersion students might require additional support and encouragement as they acclimate to learning in a second language. Beginning on the first day of school, students will be instructed in the target language.

Yes. Blue Valley Schools asks all families enrolling for the first time to provide proof of residency (a purchase contract/lease or utility bill). Families selected to participate in the Chinese Immersion program will be asked to provide documentation to the school.

Blue Valley’s Chinese Immersion program begins in kindergarten. Students must be five years old by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the program per state of Kansas regulations. Students cannot be current kindergarten students at the time of application.

Heritage speakers can apply but will be treated equally with no preference provided. Preference will be given to siblings of current immersion students, regardless of home school. Students with special needs are also welcome to apply. The IEP team, along with other district administrators, will work with the family to determine if participation in an immersion program best meets each individual student's needs.

Before applying, it is highly recommended that you attend one of the annual information sessions for prospective families. These meetings are generally held in February. The Blue Valley immersion website will be updated once meeting details are finalized. 

An online application is typically available mid-February through mid-March. Participation in the program is determined by a lottery system.

In order to maintain the integrity of the immersion program and ensure participating students are developing in their language skills at a similar pace, students will not be admitted into the immersion program after their kindergarten year. Students who are not admitted to the program but are interested in studying the target language can look at Global Language elective offerings at the elementary, middle and high school level.

Whether or not you speak Chinese, the best way to support your student is by creating a supportive learning environment in your home language. This literacy-rich foundation is developed as you read, write, listen, and talk with your child in your own language and culture—building a meaningful bond through learning.

Showing enthusiasm for other languages and cultures also helps set a positive tone for exploration and encourages your child’s commitment to the program.

For more information, please refer to How to Help My Child Enrolled in Chinese Immersion document.

Please reference the proficiency targets document, which summarizes the targeted proficiency levels in listening, speaking, reading and writing in each grade level. In the Kindergarten year, students will very much survive on memorized phrases and parroting the teacher. In grades 1, 2 and 3, they will begin to create their own simple sentences on specific topics and engage in simple conversations. In the final two years, students will become more confident in expressing themselves unprompted, more complexly in new, creative manners over many topics. Realistically, students in elementary immersion will not achieve advanced language skills, however they will still be highly functionable on a wide variety of topics.

Proficiency describes what a person can do with a language in speaking, writing, listening, and reading—specifically in real-world situations that are spontaneous and unrehearsed. For each of these four skills, individuals are classified as novice, intermediate, or advanced. Because proficiency exists on a continuum, proficiency assessments do not have a passing score. Instead, results reflect the level of language complexity an individual can demonstrate in the target language.

As Blue Valley Dual Language Immersion grows, the district commits to regularly evaluate our program in order to maximize practices that best meet the needs of our learners. 

To this end, the district will collect data annually via the STAMP, a language proficiency test. This grade-level data will highlight programmatic strengths as well as areas where we can further adapt, refine and adjust our practices. This data will influence and guide decision-making related to resource selection, pedagogical practices, professional development, etc. In addition, this data will yield a holistic representation of the language development of cohorts as they age through the program.

The STAMP (Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency) will be given to immersion students every other year beginning in 2nd grade. It is not common practice to administer proficiency exams earlier than second grade.

Second-grade students will take the 2Se assessment, which includes listening and speaking and takes approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Fourth-grade students will take the 4Se assessment, which includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing and takes approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. Students will be given breaks between sections.

Test scores will be shared with parents, which we hope provides valuable feedback on their individual child’s language skills. STAMP scores are reported by skill (listening, reading, writing, speak) on a scale of 1-7, representing a benchmark proficiency ranging from novice-low to advanced-high. More details related to STAMP scoring can be found on the Avant Assessment website.

This FAQ was partially adapted from the following sources: 

• Chinese Language Learning in the Early Grades: a Handbook of Resources and Best Practices for Mandarin Immersion. Asia Society, 2012.

• ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012, www.actfl.org/resources/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012.