skip to main content

MIP Parent Resources

WHY MANDARIN CHINESE?

WHY MANDARIN CHINESE?

  • Mandarin is spoken by approx. 1 billion people.  It is considered an important “world language” by the US Departments of States and Defense.
  • China is a country of growing global importance, with rapidly increasing trade, manufacturing and cultural links to the rest of the world.
  • Learning Mandarin will prepare our children to be versatile and competitive in the future global workforce
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF IMMERSION?

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF IMMERSION?

  • Enhances a scholar's mental development and intellectual growth
  • Achieves proficiency in both English and the target language
  • Increases understanding of of other cultures
  • Improves overall school performance and problem-solving skills
  • Gains access to more career choices and opportunities
WHAT IS MANDARIN IMMERSION?

WHAT IS MANDARIN IMMERSION?

Immersion is a unique educational experience with the goal of developing bilingualism, biliteracy, and multiculturalism in students. It is an educational model that provides academic instruction in English as well as in a target language--in our case, Mandarin Chinese.
 
The MIP Program here at Bergeson is a one-way immersion model and therefore no prior exposure to Mandarin is needed.  This was determined by our student population and the percentage of students in each language group (predominately English speaking). We integrate Mandarin into everyday curriculum and our program is designed for our students to develop communication and literacy skills in both Mandarin and English. Research shows that the earlier a child is introduced to a language, the greater the likelihood that he or she will become truly proficiency in that language.