Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/686175
Sometimes DI parents worry that their children aren't verbalizing much in kindergarten, and take them to a doctor. Often, says Cassetta, the children are merely "processing" both languages and it's a bit overwhelming. Eventually, something "clicks" for children, and in most cases, verbalization takes off. R I G O R O U S A N D C H A L L E N G I N G Enrolling in a DI program is a long-term commitment for students, families and teachers — and it is more rig- orous than a traditional classroom. And some languages are more difficult than others. Chinese, which is written with characters and not an alphabet, can be extremely challenging, say Fre- mont Unified District Teachers Association members who teach Mandarin at Azevada Elementary School. While nearly all of the students are Asian, not all of th em are Chin ese, and most students don't sp eak Mandarin at home. "It was hard in the beginning, and I cried a lot," recalls fifth-grader Dylan Ho. "But it got easier and easier." "In th e beginning, th ere are a lot of tears," says kindergarten teacher Jamie Choi . " There are blank stares. So I do a lot of charades. I act everything out. I sing a lot and dance a lot, and we practice lining up and sitting down. Everything is very active. I don't speak in abstract terms; I speak in relation to what they are see- ing or doing. In a few months, they begin to understand what I'm saying." Teachers make learning fun and culturally relevant with holiday celebrations, Chinese food and artwork. But it's not all fun and games. "Being in a dual immersion program is challenging and difficult," says second-grade teacher Yi Zeng. "Chi- nese is very different from English and there's no pattern, so they have to memorize all of the characters. When speaking, tones distinguish words. It's very hard to learn as an adult, so these kids are amazing." Expectations are set extremely high, says Chiu-Yen Jen, a fifth-grade teacher at the school. "Our principal tells the parents, 'If you decide to have your child come into this Mandarin program, you and your children must work very hard. It's a big commit- ment.' I am shocked at their performance. If you didn't Benefits of Dual Immersion Last year, nearly 32,000 California high school stu- dents earned the State Seal of Biliteracy on their diplomas — three times the number from 2012. Among the benefits of DI: • Native English speakers may lag behind peers in monolingual programs in elementary school, but by middle school oen equal or exceed monolingual peers' performance. • Test results show that most dual-language schools outperform other demographically simi- lar schools, locally and statewide. • DI programs are the most effective in closing the achievement gap. • DI students develop multicultural competencies along with social skills. Sources: PACE Policy Brief, 2015; research by Val- entino and Reardon, Stanford University Graduate School of Education, 2014. Azevada second-grade teacher Yi Zeng works with student Bailey Skaggs. 27 May / June 2016