This document provides an overview of a research study investigating strategies to improve Chinese proficiency for second grade students in a Chinese immersion program. The study aims to identify causes of low proficiency, design effective teaching strategies through character analysis and additional reading aloud practice, and help students improve skills in character recognition, reading fluency, and oral communication. The research will focus on helping two students in particular to achieve grade level performance in Chinese.

1. The Impact of Character Analysis
and Reading Aloud on the Chinese
Proficiency at Second Grade in a
Language Immersion School
Haibin Li

2. Chapter 1: Introduction
• Overview
• Problem Statement
• Purpose
• Research Questions
• Community
• Work Setting
• Writer’s Role
• Definition of Terms
• Summary

3. Overview
• School: CMS Language Magnate School
• Program: Chinese Immersion
• Students: Second Graders
• Problem: Some students are not at grade level
• Goal: Design strategies to improve Chinese
proficiency

4. Problem Statement
Some of the students of a Chinese
Immersion program in second grade are
not demonstrating proficiency in character
recognition, reading fluency, and oral
communication in Chinese. Their Chinese
performances are not at grade level.

5. Purpose
• Identify the causes of low proficiency in
Chinese
• Design and implement effective teaching
strategies
• Help students improve Chinese proficiency
with guided practices

6. Research Questions
• Can character structure analysis help
students improve proficiency in Chinese?
• Can additional reading aloud practice
help students improve proficiency in
Chinese?

7. Community
• School Location: Urban area in Charlotte,
North Carolina
• Total Population: 19,388
• Median Age: 30.5
• Average House Value: $83,600
• Average Household Income: $50,484
• Public Schools: 1 regular home-based school,
and 1 language magnet school

8. Work Setting
• 98 certified administrative staff
• 40 target language teachers
• 71% teachers have a Bachelor’s degree, 29%
Master’s degree
• 30% professional staff is not U.S. citizens
• Languages include German, French,
Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish
• In year 2011grade 4 test 80% students at or
above basic reading level, and 95% math

9. Writer’s Role
• B.A. degree in English Teaching, former
English teacher in China
• Native Chinese speaker
• Joined CMS in 2008 as a teaching
assistant
• Second grade Chinese Immersion
Teacher since year 2010

10. Definition of Terms
• PBIS: Positive Behavioral Intervention
and Supports
• PEP: Personal Education Plan
• RTI: Response to Intervention

11. Summary
The research will investigate the impact of
character structure analysis and extra reading-
aloud practice on the Chinese proficiency at
second grade. The ultimate goal is to help two
of the twenty-two students in the class who
have low Chinese proficiency to move up to
grade level, and to establish repeatable
teaching practices that can be utilized to assist
low performing students in the future.