Chinese Immersion Program Success in Prince George’s County, Maryland
Sep. 30, 2022
Photo: Deputy Rep. Robin Cheng, Taipei Econbomic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (fifth from the right) led the Education Division team (Director Dr. Aaron Chen, first left) to welcome the Taiwanese Mandarin teachers and invited them to have dinner.
Since the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative was launched by Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States(TECRO) and the American Institute in Taiwan(AIT)in December 2020, language education cooperation between the two countries has flourished. To be able to implement this language education partnership in the States, the Education Division in TECRO has then facilitated the Ministry of Education and the Maryland State Department of Education to sign an MOU. So began the Chinese immersion program in Prince George’s County(PGC). The goal of the Chinese immersion program is to develop a students proficiency in English, as well as Mandarin Chinese. Moreover, through the immersion program, to enhance their intercultural competence and academic performance.
In August 2021, the first 4 teachers came from Taiwan to start the Chinese Immersion Program in the primary and secondary schools in Prince George’s Public Schools. It is the second largest school district in the state of Maryland, it is also one of the top 25 largest school districts in the U.S. African-Americans make up the majority of the system's students, followed by Hispanic, Caucasian, Asian, and various other races. Chinese immersion teachers in PGCPS teach Math, Science, and Arts in Mandarin Chinese, they also share Taiwanese culture, to learn Chinese for the purpose of preparing students to be bilingual, bi-literate, and multi-cultural. The program achieved great success. Pupils enjoy learning content subjects through a foreign language in school. Both research and practice show that immersion language teaching is more economical and effective than foreign language teaching.
The Ministry of Education has made great efforts to promote the 'Chinese Teachers Program Taiwan' in the world for more than 40 years. Hoping to take this visiting teacher program in PGCPS, Maryland as a model and expand it to more states and school districts in the United States.