Learning centers in both Naperville and Schaumburg are planning a unique way to introduce area children to China’s Mandarin language at a very young age this fall. Beginning Sept. 8, a KinderCare Learning Center in Schaumburg and a Knowledge Beginnings center in Naperville will offer an immersion program in Mandarin for 3- to 5-year-olds.

Their parent company, Knowledge Learning Corp., has selected only five locations across the nation to host this program. Patricia Koh created the Mandarin bilingual immersion program 20 years ago in Singapore, and is now bringing it to these limited locations in the United States.

She was at an open house Tuesday evening at the Schaumburg KinderCare for parents curious about the program. In Singapore, Mandarin is a second language after English, but Koh said she’s seen kids benefit from such early immersion in a second language for two decades. (more…)

Shortly after arriving here from the Phillipines, Maria Nelinda Walmsley signed up for English classes. Now, four months later, she gave a moving speech at a special “celebration of achievement” Wednesday at the Loyola Community Learning Centre.

The 50-year-old Walmsley addressed about 40 immigrant adults who were celebrating a year of academic success in the English as a Second Language and Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada programs offered through the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board.

Walmsley came to Canada in February — almost a year after marrying Belleville businessman Ramon Walmsley. She entered Loyola, located in Community Resource Centre Quinte on Isabel Street, a month later. (more…)

When asked what was behind her motivation to teach the English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at the Bulverde/Spring Branch Library, Tammy Anderson said it was her way of giving back what was given to her mother.

Her Japanese mother came to the United States in 1961 and has maintained a life-long relationship with her ESL teacher because of her gratitude and the strong bond they formed during the classes. Anderson is the driving force that’s kept the ESL classes going at the Bulverde/Spring Branch Library for several years.

A basic ESL class is available to non-English speaking students and is taught by Patricia Harris in Spanish since that meets the needs of most people in this area. Anderson teaches an intermediate class entirely in English since she is not bi-lingual. (more…)

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Current Tam Math Department Chair Peter Foster will be leaving next semester to teach math at Sir Parashurambhau College in Mumbai, India. The Fulbright Program, which aims to increase mutual understandings between the United States and other cultures through the exchange of skills and knowledge, is the sponsoring program.

After a short stay in India in 2004, Foster says that he always wanted to go back. Following the first semester in India, he will travel throughout the country from January to July 2009. He will come back to Tam for the 2009 – 10 school year.

“I think India is a fascinating country,” Foster said. “I love Indian food. My favorite thing to do is walking around the streets and seeing how people go about their lives and just see how different it is.” (more…)

Staff members with the Ventura Unified School District’s Adult and Continuing Education program and the founders of Open English share a vision.

Both see a future where language courses use technology to speed Latinos and other English language-learners toward fluency. In fact, the adult education program and language-learning business recently teamed up to help accomplish that.

With Open English providing the Internet platform and Ventura Unified’s program supplying the academic expertise, a multimedia studio and students to test new content, the two have begun sculpting an interactive language-learning system. (more…)

Russell Sage Junior High School (J.H.S. 190), in Forest Hills, will be the second intermediate public school in Queens to implement a Dual Language Program, beginning this fall. The program, which teaches core classes like science and language arts in two languages, has grown in recent years, with programs at more than 60 schools around the city. So far, all but one of the 15 Queens schools that host the programs have been in lower grade levels, in some cases starting as early as pre-kindergarten.

“It’s not just a regular language program, its not just Spanish or French,” explained Lillian Berenberg, assistant principal at J.H.S. 190, and the head of the program there. “The students are walking away bilingual, biliterate and bicultural.” The program at J.H.S. 190 will comprise one class of seventh graders in its first year, consisting of 15 strong, native English speakers, and 15 native Spanish speakers, none of whom are particularly proficient in his or her non-native language. (more…)

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If your family speaks a language other than English at home, you may have questions about your child’s language development. If a child learns to speak or understand two languages, he/she is bilingual. Learning two (or more) languages at once has special advantages for children, but there are challenges, too. Here are some things parents should think about.

Language is more than just speaking or reading. The language your child speaks will help him form his identity. Children who continue to speak their first language, even though they learn English, have a special link to their family’s culture. They may view themselves more positively because they know they are part of a larger cultural group. (more…)

More than 250 of the roughly 2,000 teachers employed by the Amarillo Independent School District have at least 25 years of experience. They are rare at a time when most teachers leave the business within the first five years. A few of the veteran teachers in Amarillo ISD shared some secrets behind a fulfilling career in education.

Warren Whittington, 67, started teaching 45 years ago when South Georgia Elementary School was a brand new campus. He moved to Eastridge Elementary School in 1970 and now teaches English as a second language. (more…)

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