I am so very excited as we embark on another year of world language learning with our Sea Cliff students and families. In the past few days, whether meeting new kindergarten students or greeting our returning pupils, their optimism and enthusiasm has been palpable and infectious.. It makes coming back to work after a long vacation so much easier!
Over the next year, depending on your child’s grade level, we will be engaged in language and cultural learning in the form of games, storytelling, puppeteering, singing, digital creation, dancing, tai chi, movie making, and movement. Starting this year, Kindergarten through second grade will have Mandarin for half the year, when they get to the end of second grade they make the language choice for one language going into third grade until graduation. As someone who is simultaneously learning a few languages, I can tell you that mixing and matching languages can actually provide some meta-cognitive cross-fertilization.
Research proves that language learning is not rote memorization of facts or abstract knowledge to be regurgitated for tests, but rather a set of skills and tools that is acquired in a non-linear, holistic way through hands-on interaction with the world and others. It is this living, organic nature of language learning that lends itself so well to outdoor learning, where students can interact with a world full of unlimited possibilities and concrete objects, instead of just talking about or looking at pictures of the world. It is for this reason (and many others) that our program is at the forefront of “outdoor language learning”. For more information, please see this article that I wrote for a language learning journal see Page 40) which details the benefits of outdoor language learning: https://nysaflt.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/71-Spring-2022.pdf
Excepting for inclement weather, we will hold your child’s Mandarin class outside all year long, so please have your child dress accordingly and appropriately. In addition to classroom participation and engagement, students will have many opportunities to practice and connect with Mandarin outside of class. They will be encouraged (but never required) to take home “extra-credit worksheets”, as well as practice using the duolingo language learning app. There are directions for joining our class duolingo portal in the attached resource sheet, as well as many other on and off-line resources for your child to connect classroom learning to home learning: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DpmH76GNGTXCkeFuM8U34nQAyHsB-BxCCE2o7l8soWE/edit?usp=sharing
I will also be offering two student clubs : a “Tai-chi '' recess club (for first and second grades) and after-school Mandarin drama club (for Grades 3-5). In the recess club, students will learn the basic tai chi form, of which I am a trained instructor. In the after school club, students will have the opportunity to learn and practice their Mandarin skills to rehearse and perform a mandarin language drama written by myself and based on ancient Chinese legends and mythology. More information will be provided, including sign-up info., in the following weeks.
Selected students will also participate in the New York State and Long Island foreign language student video contests. We have continuously ranked no. 1 and best of division for these contests, and am looking forward to showcasing many more of our incredibly smart and talented students in this and coming years. Please see here for the previous years winners: https://nysaflt.org/virtual-video-contest/
Finally, I want to emphasize the importance of communication and cooperation between parents and myself as a key ingredient for your child’s language learning success in our FLES program. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments related to your child’s learning or our FLES program, please contact me by email any time.
Thank you for all of your support and enthusiasm, and I am so excited to start another fruitful year of language learning!