Summer break can be a fun time for much-needed rest, family vacations, and camps to explore new activities and sports. However, the time away from the classroom can also lead to unintentional learning setbacks – which can be especially true for language learners.
As an advocate for early language learning, LingoAce has partnered with schools, non-profit organizations, and other educational institutions to provide funding and resources directly to teachers and American classrooms. Over the summer, LingoAce partnered with the Utah Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program for a summer reading contest to encourage their students to keep up their reading and listening skills. Mandarin Chinese is one of 6 languages offered through the state's public school Dual Language Immersion program, where students follow a K-12 pathway to reach advanced levels of language proficiency prior to high school graduation.
More than 1,000 Utah students participated from 36 elementary schools. Each student read 56 books on average over the summer, totaling more than 48,600 books and 3,661 hours of reading.
Knowing that finding books to read can be challenging, LingoAce made their Chinese language e-book app free to Utah students and their families, giving them access to more than 1,000 children’s books.
Available on web, iOS and Android, many of the story books had a “read-to-me” functionality with Chinese characters and pinyin, along with animated graphics.
LingoAce also worked closely with several Chinese language teachers from Utah’s Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program to review every book and group them by Chinese language reading proficiency levels (novice to intermediate) as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). This extra step made it easier for families to find books to read that would be engaging but also challenging enough for their reading level.
To motivate students, LingoAce also donated a grant for prizes that would be awarded to the students who read the most over the summer. With the app’s reading log, it was easy to tally how many books were read and for how many minutes. Parents especially loved this feature as it helped them monitor their children’s progress and keep them on track.
“One of the biggest challenges of teaching Mandarin Chinese to American students is the lack of teaching materials. Books that are age- and level-appropriate are especially difficult to find,” says Stacy Lyon, Director of the Utah Chinese Dual Language Immersion Program. “We are so thankful to have partnered with LingoAce to make the e-book app available to our students and helping us provide exciting prizes.”
We are so proud of every student who made a commitment to reading Chinese language books over the summer. A special congratulations to our top readers and grand prize winners, who read at least 250 books averaging 25 minutes of reading each day.
Addelyn, Syracuse Elementary (5th grade), 586 books read
Amelia, Foothills Elementary (3rd grade), 507 books read
Brock, Foothills Elementary (5th grade), 255 books read
Declan, Foothills Elementary (1st grade), 328 books read
Declan, Uintah Elementary (4th grade), 313 books read
Kylie, Horizon Elementary (3rd grade), 700 books read
Ivy, Riverview Elementary (5th grade), 650 books read
Parker, Stewart Elementary (5th grade), 455 books read
Tenley, Foothills Elementary (4th grade), 771 books read
Victor, Sage Creek Elementary (3rd grade), 251 books read
Following this successful program, LingoAce is now making their Chinese language e-book app free to Chinese language teachers and their students across the country. If you are interested, sign up with this form here.
