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Characterizing Mandarin Immersion Learner Language: A Fine-Grained Analysis

  • October 28, 2015
  • 12:20 PM - 1:10 PM
  • Peik 225, Minneapolis Campus, U of M

In collaboration with three of Minnesota’s seven Mandarin immersion programs, CARLA’s Immersion Projects designed a multi-year assessment project to measure the oral language development of 277 students in Kindergarten, Gr. 2, and Gr. 5. In this presentation we will briefly review findings on the median proficiency levels attained by students at these grade levels. We will then examine results from a fine-grained linguistic analysis of three students’ Mandarin learner language using a variety of complexity, accuracy and fluency measures. Finally, we will discuss implications for Mandarin immersion teaching and learning.

Presenters: Tara Fortune is an immersion teaching specialist and director of the Immersion Research and Professional Development Project at CARLA. She devotes most of her professional time to the preparation and continuing education of immersion educators throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Zhongkui Ju is a graduate student in the MEd. Program of Second Language Education, working at CARLA as a research assistant working on the Mandarin Immersion Project. His research interests are second language acquisition, Chinese immersion education and biliteracy. 


Cosponsored by the Second Language Education program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota.


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