HONOLULU (KHON2) — In classrooms across Honolulu, bilingual education is reshaping how students learn, connect and see the world.
At Kamehameha Schools, Maryknoll School and St. Louis School, language is more than a subject. It’s a tool for global citizenship and cultural understanding.
Mandarin immersion takes root at Maryknoll
Maryknoll School launched its Mandarin immersion program nine years ago. For Shana Tong, president of Maryknoll, it was a natural extension of the school’s global mission.
“Our first class, the current 8th grade, started in kindergarten,” Tong said. “You spend 50% of your day in only Mandarin. They don’t even know their teacher speaks English.”
The program follows a 50/50 model in the early grades. Students learn core subjects like math and science in Mandarin, then switch to English for literacy and religion.
“In middle school, we introduce Hawaiian culture, Spanish and Japanese language, as well as continuing Mandarin,” Tong said. “So, it would be language and culture, and then they can get their high school credit.”
Tong described the results as impressive.
“Everyone’s quite curious about it. They say that these students — their tone, the intonation, the vocabulary, the understanding and comprehension — are all there.”
Community response has been enthusiastic. Maryknoll has built strong international partnerships that include programs with Beijing Foreign Studies University and schools in Fuzhou.
Students have traveled to Beijing and even o Hainan Island as Maryknoll deepens their students’ real-world application of the language.
“It really gives them what I like to call global confidence and global awareness,” Tong said. “You really see the world is larger than yourselves.”
Carol Chong, principal academic visionary for Maryknoll, sees the program’s benefits beyond language.
“The parents are very thankful,” she said. “They take their students to eat dim sum at a Chinese restaurant, and it’s their students that are speaking to the workers. They don’t speak Mandarin at home at all.”
Maryknoll’s program also emphasizes cultural inclusion for students not in immersion.
Looking ahead, Tong said the school is focused on expansion into high school and college-level offerings.
“The goal there is that they would take their AP exam… and then we do have an early college program,” she said. “The big goal would be can we offer classes that will be taught and executed in Mandarin.”
Multilingual pathways at St. Louis School
At nearby St. Louis School, bilingualism takes a broader shape. Tim Los Baños, director of the Hiʻi Poi ʻĀina program at St. Louis, leads programs in both ʻāina-based and global learning.
“What we have here is more of a multilingualism type of scenario,” Los Baños said. “Currently, St. Louis School offers five other world languages, in addition to ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.”
Students must complete at least two years of a world language to graduate, but many go further.
“Many of them go ahead and do four years or go into the AP level,” Los Baños explained.
St. Louis emphasizes cultural identity and real-world connection. Students participate in exchanges and travel to countries that include the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan and Spain.
“There’s a higher level of academic thinking where the student is able to code switch between languages and cultures,” Los Baños said. “It allows that kind of awareness, social and cultural awareness, and understanding what their role is on this planet.”
While classes are not taught bilingually yet at St. Louis, language instruction starts with immersion.
“In the language classes, from day one, even at level one, it’s immersion,” he said. “It’s the closest we can get to actually bringing them to the host culture.”
Languages offered include Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Samoan, Spanish and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. Los Baños sees heritage languages as a key part of student identity.
“There are those young men who would like to learn about their cultural backgrounds, born and raised in the U.S. or not born in a home that speaks that cultural language,” he said. “It’s an identity thing.”
There are practical benefits, too.
“It offers some greater opportunities where you can stretch out into the private or public sector,” he said. “It’s a really great way to boost that earnings potential.”
Kamehameha Schools set a foundation
Kamehameha Schools’ Hawaiian language immersion program serves as a model of heritage language education in Hawaiʻi.
Beginning with ʻAha Pūnana Leo preschools, the program now spans K–12 and university levels, with more than 2,000 learners annually. Students gain fluency in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi while studying core subjects like science and math in both Hawaiian and English.
Kamehameha’s model is proof of how culturally grounded bilingual education can strengthen academic achievement and community pride.
Expanding worldviews through language
At Kamehameha, Maryknoll and St. Louis, bilingual and multilingual learning is not just about acquiring a skill. It’s about building bridges between cultures, countries and futures.
“You need to have that competence of being able to know how to get your passport and know what documents are needed,” Tong said. “Little things that will help them, and then appreciation of other cultures for sure.”
Los Baños sees similar impacts. “It’s just amazing to see these guys using their language tools in creative ways,” he said. “It’s a great tool to have.”
You can click here to learn more about Kamehameha’s bilingual programs. You can click here for more information on Maryknoll’s programs. And you can click here to learn more about St. Louis.
In today’s world, being at least bilingual is an important tool to navigate a global system that is moving away from traditional trade languages.