A Proposed Model forChinese Heritage Schools
1st International ConferenceOn Heritage/Community Languages
February 20th, 2010By
Hseuh-Ming Tommy Lu, Ed. D
This presentation
is also posted
on our wiki site at:http://chineseschoolde.wikispaces.com
Introduction to heritage schools
National organizations– National Council of Associations of Chinese
Language Schools (NCACLS) – established April 16th, 1994 http://www.ncacls.org
– The Chinese School Association in the United States (CSAUS) – established May 10th, 1994 http://www.csaus.org/csaus02/
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Introduction to heritage schools NCACLS
– 15 regional associations• Association of Chinese Schools (New England to Virginia)• Houston Chinese Schools Association• Association of Chinese Schools in Southeastern United States (Georgia and
Alabama)• Association of Northern California Chinese Schools• Colorado Association of Chinese Language Schools• Dallas Fort Worth Chinese School Association• Midwest Chinese Language Schools Association (Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Indiana)• Michigan Chinese Teachers Association• Northwestern Association of Chinese Language Schools (Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming, Montana)• Southern California Council of Chinese Schools• AMCSA (Kansas) • Hawaii Chinese School Association• Florida Chinese School Association• Washington Metropolitan Area Chinese School Association• Association of New Jersey Chinese Schools
– 6 officers
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Introduction to heritage schoolsNCACLS
– 2003 data (Lu, ICICE2003)
• 592 schools
• 8,353 teachers
• 106,855 students
– 2009 data (NCACLS, 2009)
• 401 schools
• 5,354 teachers
• 428 certified teachers
• 70,559 students
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Introduction to heritage schools
CSAUS– 1996 data (CSAUS, 2003)
• 30 states, 70 schools
– 2003 data (CSAUS, 2003)
• 39 states, 207 schools
– 2009 data (CSAUS, 2009)
• 43 states, 410 schools, 100,000 students
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Introduction to heritage schools
Association of Chinese Schools http://www.acsusa.org– 6 regions
• R1 – New England
• R2 – New York state
• R3 – New Jersey
• R4 – Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware
• R5 – Greater Washington, DC area
• R6 – New York city and Long Island
– 57 schools, 1,100 teachers, 100 certified teachers, 12,500 students (ACS, 2009)
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Introduction to heritage schools
Chinese School of Delaware http://www.ChineseSchoolDE.org– Established 1971– 16 teachers (5 certified), 8 culture teachers, 121
students, Pre-K to 10th grade, advanced, and Level I classes (CSD, 2010)
– Two tracks• Heritage track 49.6%• Non-heritage track 50.4% (first time)
– Member of Heritage Alliance of CAL
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Introduction to heritage schools
Why two tracks?– Identity issues, Learning pace, Parents’ expectations
• Track A (heritage students)
• Track B (non-heritage students)– Adopted families
– Third generations
– Chinese enthusiastics (non-Chinese related families)
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Strengths of heritage schools
Community based (receive local support and support local communities)– Chinese New Year program– Reading program in libraries
Low overhead Length (from Pre-K to 10th or 12th grade) Identity (a place to be for heritage and adopted
learners) Resources for school districts (culture and teacher)
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Strengths of heritage schools Culture activities
– Chinese calligraphy– Chinese brush painting– Chinese chess– Abacus– Chinese musical instruments– Chinese history– Crafts/origami– Folk dance/songs– Chinese festivals– Chinese cooking– Mahjong– Table tennis
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Strengths of heritage schools
Contests– Speech– Chinese calligraphy– Chinese Yo-Yo– Chinese culture jeopardy– Chinese essay– Kite flying– Poster
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Strengths of heritage schools
Professional developments– Annual conferences (over 1,000 participants)– Workshops– Seminars– College Board sponsored events– Credit courses– Certification programs– Startalk programs
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Challenges of heritage schools Lack of hours per week (2 to 3 hours per week in
one afternoon) Lack of learning activities between weekends
(discrete learning) Lack of highly qualified teachers (volunteer
based) Lack of continuous and aligned curriculum Lack of assessment standards Lack of facilities Lack of career advancements
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Challenges of heritage schools
High turn over rate for both administrators and teachers
Unstable fundingSignificant gaps among different schools
(web sites, technologies, material developments, student learning outcome assessments, etc.)
Not recognized by most school districts and states
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Challenges of heritage schools
Shrinking enrollment of traditional students (heritage students)
Increasing demand from non-heritage families
Non-heritage students’ needs are underdeveloped
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Challenges of heritage schools
4GL Theory
Heritage language proficiency ends in the 4th generation.
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Proposed model
Increase learning activities between weekends– Online learning community
• Blog
• Wiki (http://chineseschoolde.wikispaces.com)
• Online courses
• Twitter (short but frequent exercises)
– CD ROM based learning
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Proposed modelChinese language proficiency levels breakdown by grades
Heritage students Non-Heritage students
Pre-K Novice High Novice Low-1
K Intermediate Low-1 Novice Low-2
1st grade Intermediate Low-2 Novice Mid
2nd grade Intermediate Low-3 Novice High
3rd grade Intermediate Mid-1 Intermediate Low-1
4th grade Intermediate Mid-2 Intermediate Low-2
5th grade Intermediate Mid-3 Intermediate Low-3
6th grade Intermediate High-1 Intermediate Mid-1
7th grade Intermediate High-2 Intermediate Mid-2
8th grade Intermediate High-3 Intermediate Mid-3
9th grade Advanced Low-1 Intermediate High-1
10th grade Advanced Low-2 Intermediate High-2
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Proposed modelChinese proficiency requirements for novice level
Level Characters Ability Cultures Idioms
Novice Low-1 0 Count Chinese New Year 0
Greetings
Novice Low-2 10 Family Family Members 0
Calendar ( 稱謂 )
Novice Mid 30 Colors Chinese Food and 0
Shapes Table Settings
Novice High 40 Seasons Chinese Origami 0
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Proposed modelChinese proficiency requirements for intermediate and advanced levels
Level Characters Ability Cultures Idioms
Intermediate Low-1 100 Directions Chinese Craft 5
Intermediate Low-2 200 Feelings Chinese History 10
Hobbies
Intermediate Low-3 300 Unit of measurement Mid-Autumn Festival 20
Intermediate Mid-1 400 Environment Dragon Boat Festival 30
Chinese Yo-Yo
Chinese Kong-Fu
Intermediate Mid-2 500 Cultural differences Chinese Calligraphy 40
Intermediate Mid-3 600 Translations Chinese Chess 50
Ma Jiang
Intermediate High-1 700 Problem Solving Chinese Valentine’s Day 60
( 七夕 )
Intermediate High-2 900 Express Opinions Chinese Elders’ Day 70
( 九九重陽節 )
Intermediate High-3 1100 Convey Thoughts Chinese Lunar Calendar 80
Advanced Low-1 1300 Lead Discussions or Debates Teacher’s Day (Confucius Day) 90
Advanced Low-2 1500 Gain New Knowledge Chinese Architecture ( 中國的建築 ) 100
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Proposed model
Traditional vs. simplified characters– Issues and myth
• Simplification of strokes is not an issue
• Mix characters with same or similar pronounciation is an issue
– Our approach• Be able to recognize both
• Choose one in writing or typing
• Mix not allowed
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Proposed model
For non-heritage students– Emphasis on culture more than language
For heritage students– Emphasis on both language and culture
For Pre-K and K students on both tracks– Use chants (兒歌 )
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Current Progress
Successful wikiRich collection of teaching and learning
materialsEasier for new teachersRecruit two Chinese school graduates to
come back to serve as teachersRecruit five Chinese school graduates to
come back to serve as TAs
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Current Progress
Unsuccessful bloggingMix results for web learningMix results for twittering
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages
Moving to the next step
Enhance wiki site Incorporate CD based learning – IQ
Chinese Increase web based learning – 3rd grade and
upUsing NCACLS’ SAT Chinese Practice
Test for benchmarking
1st International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages