Note: These resources are provided for informational purposes only, and represent a collection of resources pulled together by College Park Teachers and Parents, as well as others in the larger community. FMS does not offer an endorsement nor receive any sort of advertising fees for including the resources listed below.
Mandarin After School, Weekend, & Summer Camp Options
Click here for a list of after school, weekend, and summer camp options to support Mandarin learning.
E-Mail Listserves & Helpful Websites
Friends of Mandarin Scholars (FMS) Friends – This is a general e-mail list for all community members who support Friends of Mandarin Scholars (FMS), and who are interested in sharing events and resources that support Mandarin immersion education for students in the San Mateo Foster City School District or nearby areas.
Asia Society – “What Research Tells Us About Immersion” (2012) – A great primer on Mandarin immersion, that includes general research on the benefits and challenges of Mandarin immersion, as well as profiles of Mandarin immersion programs throughout the US.
Bay Area Chinese Education Community – general e-mail list organized through the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council (MIPC) for families in Mandarin immersion in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council – The Mandarin Immersion Parents Council is a source for families about Mandarin immersion education. In 2007 the MIPC began as a support network for parents, students and staff in the San Francisco Unified School District’s Mandarin immersion program.
Parents of African-American Students Studying Chinese – PAASSC.com is the online presence for the Parents of African American Students Studying Chinese organization. While we provide a variety of meet-up opportunities for children and families in the Bay Area the goal of our website is to encourage and support families in their pursuit of a bilingual education for their child.
Trilingual Mandarin Families – a list for the many parents with kids in Mandarin immersion who speak a language other than English or Mandarin at home – trilingual families. This is a list to talk about strategies, issues and for those considering Mandarin immersion who have questions of other trilingual families.
Apps and Websites available for iOS or Android devices
Pleco allows you to use English, pinyin, radical or zhuyin to look up the word and the result can be switched between traditional or simplified version by one touch. The radical function is especially useful when you don’t know how to pronounce the character. These are all for free versions, with paid add-ons available as well.
http://stroke-order.learningweb.moe.edu.tw/home.do
http://www.yellowbridge.com
http://www.mandarintools.com
http://learningchineseonline.net
http://edu.ocac.gov.tw/biweekly/index.htm
http://www.instantspeakchinese.com/pinyin
http://www.pinyinpractice.com/tones.htm
http://www.shufawest.us/language/tonedrill.html
http://edu.ocac.gov.tw/lang/chineselearn/index.htm (Chinese games)
https://childroad.com/s/ – Read-and-listen library of stories in Mandarin
https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-english-pinyin-dictionary.php
Subscription-based websites/programs used by College Park Elementary School
http://www.skritter.com
http://www.rosettastone.com/education
Curriculum Resources
American Council on The Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Standards, adopted in 2012 – http://actflproficiencyguidelines2012.org
The direct application of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines is for the evaluation of functional language ability. The Guidelines are intended to be used for global assessment in academic and workplace settings. However, the Guidelines do have instructional implications. The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines underlie the development of the ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K-12 Learners (1998) and are used in conjunction with the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1996, 1998, 2006) to describe how well students meet content standards.
California Department of Education (CDE) World Language Content Standards for California Public Schools (K-12), adopted in 2009 – http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/worldlanguage2009.pdf
The standards are intended to provide guidance to administrators and teachers in implementing a World Languages and Cultures program for a diverse student population at any point in the curriculum from Kindergarten through grade 12. Communicative proficiency is to be developed in linguistically and culturally appropriate ways.