Township Perfect Scores!

Here are some of the papers from Washington Township students who earned PERFECT SCORES in their listening tests for Chinese!  Congratulations to everyone for doing such a great job!


恭喜! 
恭喜!  
Gongxi! 
Gongxi!

KE Fun Night!!!

On Saturday, March 31st from 5-8 PM KE will be holding their annual Fun
Night! Please join us for an evening of fun, food, raffle, and games! This
year Tanner Miller, former MP Golden Hawk Football Player, and current Iowa
Hawkeye, will be on hand to sign autographs! We hope to see you there!

Play as learning

Sometimes it is easy to forget that play is an important part of being a child.  It is a great thing when you can combine learning about Chinese and play in the classroom.

Here KE students made great pictures of themselves and labeled them in Chinese!!

Students in Forth Grade learning vocabulary through play!!

Everyone gets to participate and Chinese learning becomes a game instead of a class!!

Language learning gets a shout out!!

Here is a great essay from the Press Citizen written by Dr. Wesely of the University of Iowa.

When my husband and I joined the Iowa City community in 2009, we brought a 3-year-old and a 4-month-old baby with us. Because we had come to the city because I was hired at the University of Iowa as an assistant professor of foreign language and ESL education, I naturally was interested in finding out quickly about the opportunities for young children to learn foreign (also called world) languages.
I am writing to give English-speaking parents like us hope that great opportunities abound in our community for young children to learn non-English languages. I’m happy to report that, this very morning, my husband dropped off our daughter at her before-school Spanish lesson at Longfellow Elementary in Iowa City. On car rides around the city, I get to be quizzed (a nice turn of the tables) on the new words that she has learned.
As a part of my job, I have worked with a team to research early foreign language programs in the area (you can see the results of our efforts at www.education.uiowa.edu/teach/flesled/early-fl/). It is amazing how many extracurricular programs are available to teach young children language in Iowa City and surrounding areas. From parent-initiated programs like the one at Longfellow to the University of Iowa Confucius Institute’s Sunday Chinese classes for families, parents who wish to have their children learn a foreign language have many choices.
Schools also are beginning to establish (or to re-establish) early foreign language programs as a part of the daily curriculum, including a successful Spanish program at Willowwind School in Iowa City, a new (as of 2011-2012) elementary Spanish program in the Cedar Rapids Public Schools, and Chinese and Spanish instruction in the Mid-Prairie School District.
Iowa City public schools begin students’ exposure to foreign languages as a part of the curriculum at the junior high level. Though I certainly wish it began as a part of the formal curriculum much earlier, I have nothing but praise for the hardworking and innovative French, German and Spanish instructors who teach in the junior highs and high schools in the district. I hope that the district will continue to support their programs and allow them to grow in the future.
Starting to study a foreign language at an early age in a strong program designed to develop bilingualism has been shown to enhance basic skills in reading and math, as measured on standardized tests. Notably, this enhancement occurs for all students who take foreign language classes, regardless of their backgrounds. Research also shows that students who learn foreign languages at a younger age improve in their communication skills, creativity and self-concept.
As a language educator, however, I have to emphasize that the best outcome of learning a foreign language at an early age is the greater likelihood of actually becoming able to produce and understand the language later in life. This leads to societal and career benefits, to an opening up of doors that can simply not be opened without knowledge of the language. International connections and relationships can flourish, and more challenging and rewarding jobs can be obtained.
My personal belief is that many people in American communities are both too hard and too easy on themselves about learning foreign languages. We’re too hard on ourselves because we think that we should be fluent from our two years of high school and two years of college study. We are too easy on ourselves because, since that hasn’t happened, we have decided that it is clearly OK to give up and maybe even to claim that languages can’t be learned in the classroom.
The fact is, learning a language requires a continuous and sustained devotion of time, effort and energy. Why not give our youngest children a chance to start this process of learning a foreign language as early as possible? In Iowa City, there are lots of ways to do this — and for that, I am grateful.

Pamela M. Wesely is an assistant professor of Foreign Language and ESL Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning in the University of Iowa College of Education.

 The original article can be found here : http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201203030320/OPINION02/303030045

Great Family Literacy Night!

Last Tuesday Kalona held their Family Literacy night.  I was lucky enough to be able to have fun with students showing them how to make Chinese shadow puppets and telling the story of the monkey king.  Here are some of the photos.