Cascade Elementary School begins Chinese immersion class
First-grade students, with parents in tow, entered Cascade Elementary School in Orem on Monday for a weeklong camp that will prepare them for Alpine School District’s first elementary Chinese immersion program starting this school year.
The 6-year-olds’ expressions ranged from total excitement to complete panic. The parents weren’t much different. However, no one seemed more excited to start school than Weixin Le, the new Chinese teacher.
“I’m thrilled with the new program,” Le said. “I see this program going so many places.” Le was born and raised in Orem and graduated from Brigham Young University, but her parents are from mainland China. She was raised in a Chinese-language home and understands the “dual” language concepts and struggles.
According to Cascade principal Doug Finch, Le will never speak English to, or in front of, her students, even though she speaks fluently.
The Chinese immersion program will have 50 children the first year. They will divide into two classes with a half day in Chinese and the other half in English. Both classroom experiences will cover Utah State core curriculum.
Sandy Talbot, the Utah State Chinese immersion program director and language consultant, was on hand the first day to see how things were going. “There are 14 elementary schools with Chinese immersion programs in the state, with six of them new this year,” Talbot said.
“There are 1,200 kids in second and third grade between Ogden and Provo in Chinese immersion,” Talbot said. “There’s a lot of interest in it. This is not something that started overnight. The state’s support is behind this.”
In preparing for the program, Talbot indicated the state and school were in it for the long haul. Private consultant Myrian Met, the national icon for immersion programs, comes to Utah twice a month to work with the state to develop immersion programs.
“We did extensive research in the business community. We asked businesses, ‘When these kids graduate, what do you want them to do with the language?’ ” Talbot said. “They want them to be able to take that language and put it in a job comfortably. They could be neurosurgeons, journalists or teachers.”
The parents dropping their kids off at class didn’t have that big of a dream, but did hope their child would be able to communicate with Chinese speakers.
Matt Leavitt dropped his son, Oscar, off and lulled around waiting in the hall to see how his son would adjust.
“I’ve seen Spanish immersion programs in California where I’m from,” Leavitt said. “They were very effective. I believe that Chinese will be a useful language for my son. I have an open mind and I want him to be comfortable around the Chinese and pick up enough to be able to speak close to a native speaker and learn good diction.”
Curt Doussett’s son, Hudson, is in the program, too. Although Doussett said he would have preferred Hudson in a French immersion class, and Hudson’s mother, Tonia, wanted to see him in a Spanish immersion class, “we know Chinese will be a good language especially for international business. Living in Utah, it’s important to be exposed to diversity in cultures,” Doussett said.
“There’s no question that immersion programs are growing,” Finch said. “With the excitement and enthusiasm of the parents, it’s like ‘Fields of Dreams.’ If we build, they will come.”
After the first day of camp ended, Le said she is pleased with her new students.
“As a teacher, you always expect your students to meet your expectations,” Le wrote in an e-mail. “I was thrilled and very impressed today to find that my students by far exceeded my expectations. They learned quickly, they were easy to manage, and they are hands down the most eager group of learners I’ve ever had the privilege of teaching. If the rest of the school year pans out the way our first day of Star Talk camp did, then I know for sure this program will be successful.”
Wasatch Elementary school in the Provo School District is preparing for its second year of Chinese immersion. According to Jane Smith, school secretary and assistant to the principal, there are 100 first-grade students and 76 second-grade students. The interest is big at Wasatch. The school initially planned for only two classes, but they have doubled that to four classes.
On the flip side, both Finch and Talbot recognize they may have some residents that are not so excited about the program as they are, particularly in the realms of global government, culture, etc. To ease some concerns, Talbot said the children will not be doing things like saying the Pledge of Allegiance in Chinese. Their Chinese history understanding will come through tidbits in the literacy part of the program.
“They will be true blue Americans,” Talbot said. “They will be proud to be global Americans.” She added that when the children reach fourth grade, all of the American history and other things that are part of our core curriculum will be taught in English just like every other fourth-grade class.
According to Finch, the summer camp is part of Star Talk, a federal grant program specifically for language exposure and learning. Three years ago, Finch said he visited China, and when he got back, he immediately applied for an immersion program at the school.
“I’m finding the kids are asking for this,” he said. “They are looking at being more global. This is what the world is looking for. With teaching both English and Chinese, it’s a nice blend and makes a bridge of understanding of both cultures.”
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