I

In Anchorage, Alaska students have the unique opportunity to learn an Asian language, Japanese. Foreign language instruction is rare in American elementary schools and only 15% of the nation's high school students study a foreign language. Considering its good economic relations with Japan, Alaska is a great place for students to learn Japanese. In 1989 the Sand Lake Japanese Partial Immersion Program began. Some of the program's philosophies are: "knowledge of international languages is essential to communication; in an increasingly interdependent world, knowledge of international languages is paramount; and the ability to communicate effectively in a second language increases international consciousness, cross-cultural understanding and mutual respect."

Students are taught the Anchorage School District adopted curriculum in Japanese for half of the day and for the other half of the day the instruction is in English. Most of the immersion teachers try to integrate subjects as much as possible since their time is very limited. The Japanese teacher is primarily responsible for math, science, social studies, and health. The English teacher is responsible for reading, writing, and language arts.

Unlike language skills, language acquisition does appear in a sequential order. Throughout the program, students will go through the following different stages: Preproduction - students communicate with gestures and actions to build listening comprehension and vocabulary. This stage includes a silent period during which students are allowed to sort out the structures of the language. Early Production - Students give one word responses and say words that they have heard. Speech Emergence - Students speak in two to three word sentences while continuing to expand language skills. Beginning Fluency - Students engage in simple, functional conversation limited to the classroom setting, using limited adjectives. Intermediate Fluency - Students begin to engage in a verbal conversation with a high comprehension level. They begin to produce connected narrative. The students now read and write in full sentences and make fewer errors in speech. Each learner progresses at their own pace through the stages of second language acquisition, therefore it is very likely to see a classroom made up of learners at varies stages of language acquisition.

Partial Immersion differs from the traditional instruction in which foreign languages are taught as separate subjects. In this program, students are literally immersed in their target language for half of the day. In first grade, the majority of the instruction consists of various songs, games as well as learning Hiragana, one of the Japanese writing systems. In second grade, students learn another Japanese writing system, Katagana and in the third grade on up Kanji which are the Chinese characters. As students progress throughout the grades, their fluency in reading, writing as well as speaking increases. In sixth grade, students are able to visit Japan, hosted by their sister city school in Chitose, Japan.

At Sand Lake Elementary, students are not only given the opportunity to learn another language, but to appreciate and understand other cultures. Immersion teachers strive hard to promote international peace and understanding, to ensure mutual respect and to develop a bonding of cultures. One of the songs that all of the Immersion students learn is the Peace Song: "What a goodly thing, if the children of the world, could live together in peace . . . Moshimo sekaiju no kodomo ga miina heiwa ni nakayoku sumetara ii na"

Submitted by:
Eris Pitts
Sand Lake Elementary
Anchorage, Alaska

II

Before I share my insights into Asian Americans and their contributions to the United States and how I would teach this history to bilingual students, I want to share a little about myself. I was born in South Korea and immigrated with my family to the United States in 1979. My parents owned a clothing factory and worked 6 to 7 days a week, 16 hours a day. I graduated from the University of Alaska and Anchorage with a degree in Elementary Education. I am currently a Bilingual Resource Teacher with the Anchorage School District. I teach students who speak little to no English. My classroom is a very rich environment because my students come from all over the world and they bring with them their culture, language, and willingness to learn about America.

Asian Americans have made a tremendous contribution to the United Stated starting from the 1860s when the Americans thought it was too dangerous to work on the railroads, it was the hard working Chinese who helped build them from San Francisco to Nevada. The railroads aren't the only accomplishment Asian Americans contributed but just the beginning.

Since I don't teach all subjects and I have a very limited time (2.5 hours a day), I try to integrate Social Studies with Language Arts. During the month of February, we did a unit on China. We discussed and did many activities about Chinese New Year, and we also talked about influential Chinese Americans and their contribution to the U.S. We studied Ms. Janet S. Wong and her poetry which taught us that "Poetry is in a way, like shouting. Since you can't yell at the top of your lungs for a very long time, you have to decide what you really need to say and say it quickly." I want my students to realize that they can be anything they want to be in the United States, if they apply themselves. We not only studied about the poet but also a Chinese politician, Gary Locke, the Governor of the state of Washington. On the lighter side, I showed a Jackie Chan movie and we admire his acting and karate.

I think it is important for my students to recognize that you don't necessarily need to be white to achieve fame an glory. Having a guest speaker come to my classroom who is an Asian American really makes a impact on my students. I invited Dr. Chang, a Chinese dentist, who came to the United States when he was in grade school. Dr. Chang talked about his profession and what kind of sacrifice he made to become a dentist.

This month we will be studying about Asian American authors and discussing where they are from and the books they have written. Each student will do a brief report on the author they have chosen. I will give an example of a report about Amy Tan and her accomplishments, particularly her book, The Joy Luck Club. I believe studying about Asian American authors is very important for my Asian students because they can find themselves and their cultures reflected in the literature we share with them. There are so many excellent Asian American authors, I found a list and the books they have written on the Internet [listed in "Book Nook"].

I think the most important contribution Asian Americans have made to the United States is the food. Where would we be without the Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Thai, and Vietnamese food? Since we have so many Asian restaurants that specialize in their own ethnic dishes we can add different flavors to our lives. At our school before Christmas vacation, we have International Potluck for the bilingual students, their parents, and our staff. Our International Potluck is very successful because the students contribute a large part. They do a play and sing a song they have practiced for the classroom teachers and their parents.

In conclusion, I must reaffirm that Asian Americans have made a big contribution to the United States, and we need to teach our Asian American students that the can also make their future brighter by participating in the society.

Submitted by:
Hyon Rho
Willow Crest Elementary
Anchorage, Alaska