Quick Overview of Language By Grade

During the 2010-2011 school year, our program includes:

• Kindergarten and 1st grade – Full immersion in Mandarin Chinese
• 2nd and 3rd grade – Full immersion in Mandarin Chinese + 60 minutes of English Language Arts every day
• 4th and 5th grade – Full immersion in Mandarin Chinese + 90 minutes of English Language Arts embedded with Social Studies & Science content, consistent with the new Common Core State standards
• 6th and 7th grade – Academic content taught primarily in English + 60 minutes every day of instruction in the Mandarin Chinese language*

*Note: At the middle school level, elementary immersion students will be able to continue content-based Chinese instruction in a 50% Chinese, 50% English immersion environment (our first elementary immersion class will reach middle school in the 2011-12 academic year). Current (and new) middle school students receive instruction primarily in English, with at least 60 minutes of Chinese as a foreign language daily, as stated above.

Our Curriculum

The school’s Academic Director, Dr. Luyi Lien, leads the Curriculum Development Department, ensuring that the content delivered in Mandarin covers all Minnesota State Standards and all components of the Core Knowledge Sequence, building both knowledge and Mandarin fluency from year to year. We have a select set of Curriculum Partners, who are leading experts nationally and internationally, and who work with us to maintain the highest standards and continually incorporate the latest research.

Our curriculum consists of:

• Character Education
• Core Knowledge Sequence
• Cultural Education
• English Language Arts
• Music
• Physical Education
• Singapore Math
• Visual Arts

It is this internally-created program that has given Yinghua’s students such a high level of Mandarin fluency and knowledge, and has captured national attention along the way. Both Yinghua Academy administrators and teachers are regularly invited to present at national conferences, such as ACTFL, NCLC, CAIS, and STARTALK. In 2007, the State of Minnesota awarded us a World Language grant for $100,000 to support the development of the Elementary School Program. And in 2008, the US Government awarded an $811,265 Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant to support the development of the Middle School Program.

Additional Resources

Curriculum Night 2011-2012 presentation – general

Specialist presentations forthcoming (9/23/11)