Has anyone had experience putting their child straight into chinese-medium school straight up? Is it possible even though the parents don't speak Cantonese? I'm looking at the possibilities for my 10 month old. I've heard the waiting lists are massive. But I recently heard that it is possible for a foreign non-chinese speaking child to start at Chinese Medium as they soak up the language quickly. Any mums with experience in this? Or do I have to send him to ESF or an international school?
Any experience with chinese medium??
- Thread starter Lisainhk
- Start date
carang
Registered User
my son currently goes to a chinese kindie. in september, his sister will join him. my kids are mixed, but in my son's class there are 5 or 6 western kids. the teachers said that the first year, the kids just basically sit and listen. the second year they begin to speak and by the third year, they can hold a conversation in cantonese.
although my kids are mixed, we ONLY speak english at home (no matter how much i nag dear ol' hubby, he keeps forgetting to speak his own mother-tongue!)...yesterday, my son talked to his mama (paternal grandma) for 5 minutes on the phone, all in chinese... i couldn't understand it all, but he had no troubles at all!!! i was shocked!
we have decided to put the kids into a chinese primary to start with and see how it goes. if it gets too difficult, we'll take them out and go for an english school. i have met some other western parents (whose kids first went to the same kindergarten) that have decided on the same local school that we want... kids seem to enjoy school, parents don't have many complaints...
although my kids are mixed, we ONLY speak english at home (no matter how much i nag dear ol' hubby, he keeps forgetting to speak his own mother-tongue!)...yesterday, my son talked to his mama (paternal grandma) for 5 minutes on the phone, all in chinese... i couldn't understand it all, but he had no troubles at all!!! i was shocked!
we have decided to put the kids into a chinese primary to start with and see how it goes. if it gets too difficult, we'll take them out and go for an english school. i have met some other western parents (whose kids first went to the same kindergarten) that have decided on the same local school that we want... kids seem to enjoy school, parents don't have many complaints...
My son is 2 1/2 and he has been in Cantonese nursery school since he was 2. My husband is local HK Chinese and I am non-Chinese American. At home we speak English and my husband speaks some Cantonese with my son. I speak simple Cantonese (as in: change your diaper, go to sleep, eat...very simple phrases). My son spends about 2 days a week with his paternal grandparents where he picks up most of his Cantonese. I think his Cantonese is more fluent than his English at this point, however.
Anyway, we decided to put him in Cantonese nursery school because we found a good local one we liked and the price can't even compare to the foreign or English medium schools.
For kindergarten, our son will go to a local Cantonese school which also has English and Mandarin taught in the classroom. There are a few foreign kids enrolled in this school.
I think when it comes to nursery and kindergarten, why not experiment and let your child get a true immersion exposure to a foreign language and then by the time the child is ready to enter primary school you can decide whether an English-medium classroom or Cantonese-medium would be better.
You've really got nothing to lose but probably a whole lot of $$$ to save.
Anyway, we decided to put him in Cantonese nursery school because we found a good local one we liked and the price can't even compare to the foreign or English medium schools.
For kindergarten, our son will go to a local Cantonese school which also has English and Mandarin taught in the classroom. There are a few foreign kids enrolled in this school.
I think when it comes to nursery and kindergarten, why not experiment and let your child get a true immersion exposure to a foreign language and then by the time the child is ready to enter primary school you can decide whether an English-medium classroom or Cantonese-medium would be better.
You've really got nothing to lose but probably a whole lot of $$$ to save.
Thanks for that ladies! Invaluable insight. I guess I worry that because we don't speak cantonese at home (but I fully intend to learn... have fully intended to learn for the past year... oops) he will be really confused and it won't be a good experience for him at all. I am certainly looking to save money. International schools here just do not come close to fitting with our budget. I guess it's worth a shot from what you have both said. If it doesn't work out, then he can go to ESF later on. Do I need to start looking at chinese schools now then?? He is 10 months.
Lisainhk,
I am so glad i have found this thread, I'm not sure why i didn't look earlier.
My son is 9 months old (and, i have to say, absolutely gorgeous) and i have been wracking my brain with this situation since before he was born.
My husband and I plan to stay in HK forever, i think it is absolutely essential that my son learns Cantonese so that he really feels like HK is his home and he gets the most our of Hong Kong and learns to love it, as any person loves their own country. I am recruitment, and constantly come across expat candidates who were raised in HK and do not speak cantonese, they are at such a disadvantage and it just seems crazy to me that they haven't been given the chance to learn the language of their home country.
Neither my husband or myself speak cantonese, although i have been learning for a while so we really need to put a lot of effort into this i think. Originally we intended to get a cantonese speaking helper, we had no luck with this at all, i'm not sure why, but we simply couldnt' find anyone - has anyone else done this successfully?
I would like to get him into a cantonese speaking kindergarton but he is so young, do you think this is the right path ? or are there cantonese speaking playgroups that anyone could recommend so we could ease him into things? i work full time but own the company so can certainly go to a few sessions with him, but my helper would need to attend the bulk, are helpers/parents allowed to stay with them at kindergarton?
I am generally quite good at sorting out problems but really don't know where to begin with this one - i would really love to hear some more experiences, what age you got your child into cantonese speaking kindy, any suggestions of the best ones etc - i would really appreciate it.
Lisainhk - i notice your last post was Jan - what did you end up doing ?
thanks you so much
I am so glad i have found this thread, I'm not sure why i didn't look earlier.
My son is 9 months old (and, i have to say, absolutely gorgeous) and i have been wracking my brain with this situation since before he was born.
My husband and I plan to stay in HK forever, i think it is absolutely essential that my son learns Cantonese so that he really feels like HK is his home and he gets the most our of Hong Kong and learns to love it, as any person loves their own country. I am recruitment, and constantly come across expat candidates who were raised in HK and do not speak cantonese, they are at such a disadvantage and it just seems crazy to me that they haven't been given the chance to learn the language of their home country.
Neither my husband or myself speak cantonese, although i have been learning for a while so we really need to put a lot of effort into this i think. Originally we intended to get a cantonese speaking helper, we had no luck with this at all, i'm not sure why, but we simply couldnt' find anyone - has anyone else done this successfully?
I would like to get him into a cantonese speaking kindergarton but he is so young, do you think this is the right path ? or are there cantonese speaking playgroups that anyone could recommend so we could ease him into things? i work full time but own the company so can certainly go to a few sessions with him, but my helper would need to attend the bulk, are helpers/parents allowed to stay with them at kindergarton?
I am generally quite good at sorting out problems but really don't know where to begin with this one - i would really love to hear some more experiences, what age you got your child into cantonese speaking kindy, any suggestions of the best ones etc - i would really appreciate it.
Lisainhk - i notice your last post was Jan - what did you end up doing ?
thanks you so much
carang
Registered User
1) 9 month, kindergarten? no... too young. kids don't generally start pre-nursery until 2 yrs and kindergarten at 3 yrs-ish.
2) playgroups, yes, there are playgroups around that are conducted in cantonese. as a playgroup instructor (and owner) i believe that before 10-12 months is too early for any kind of "formal" playgroup. after that, kids learn a lot, if you find the right group.
for playgroups, generally, if the kids are younger than 2 or 3, they are accompanied. you could NOT drop a 10 month old off and pick up again later... it would be impossible for the teacher to accomplish anything at all in such a situation.
3) most local kindies have interviews. not all of them have, though. my son's kindergarten didn't have one, though.
4) the age to start looking really depends on the kindergarten you are considering. the one my son goes to was really the most simple and straight forward procedure you could have asked for!
5) lisainhk joined geobaby last january... her post is from yesterday...LOL!
2) playgroups, yes, there are playgroups around that are conducted in cantonese. as a playgroup instructor (and owner) i believe that before 10-12 months is too early for any kind of "formal" playgroup. after that, kids learn a lot, if you find the right group.
for playgroups, generally, if the kids are younger than 2 or 3, they are accompanied. you could NOT drop a 10 month old off and pick up again later... it would be impossible for the teacher to accomplish anything at all in such a situation.
3) most local kindies have interviews. not all of them have, though. my son's kindergarten didn't have one, though.
4) the age to start looking really depends on the kindergarten you are considering. the one my son goes to was really the most simple and straight forward procedure you could have asked for!
5) lisainhk joined geobaby last january... her post is from yesterday...LOL!
Thanks again Carang! I certainly don't intend to start him in playgroup just yet. Just curious about the options. And I don't think I could leave him alone yet either so accompanied sounds good 
Hehe Flobash we are in the same boat! And yes as Carang mentioned, my post was yesterday and I joined in Jan. I used to get that confused all the time! I was wondering why all the posts were so old! haha
Hehe Flobash we are in the same boat! And yes as Carang mentioned, my post was yesterday and I joined in Jan. I used to get that confused all the time! I was wondering why all the posts were so old! haha
solidstars
Registered User
I've been thinking about schools recently too, too many people telling me that we need to enroll soon and 'queue up' and all that... my son's almost 15 months old.
lisa do let me know if you come across anything interesting, we're on a budget too and i still have yet to decide what type of school (english? local? mix?) he should go to...
lisa do let me know if you come across anything interesting, we're on a budget too and i still have yet to decide what type of school (english? local? mix?) he should go to...
C
ctrbabe1
Guest
My older daughter started at the local Chinese school at 3 years old, and is now finishing up Primary 1. Everyone kept telling us that she would catch on and be fluent quickly, but now in her 4th year of school, she still struggles. We've realized it's because she doesn't get any reinforcement of the language at home. My dh speaks Cantonese to her when they are doing homework together, but that's about it. We've also realized that if she is going to improve much more, that we'll have to get her a personal tutor to come for an hour 5 days a week.
My other problems with her being in local school is that I can hardly participate in her experience. I.e. I can't be part of the PTA because I don't understand what's going on. I can't chaperone for field trips because I don't understand what's going on. I can't help her with most of her homework because I don't know Chinese... It has been very frustrating at times.
Yes, i do want to learn Chinese, but I have nobody to care for our 2nd child while I am at classes, and classes can be very expensive.
My other problems with her being in local school is that I can hardly participate in her experience. I.e. I can't be part of the PTA because I don't understand what's going on. I can't chaperone for field trips because I don't understand what's going on. I can't help her with most of her homework because I don't know Chinese... It has been very frustrating at times.
Yes, i do want to learn Chinese, but I have nobody to care for our 2nd child while I am at classes, and classes can be very expensive.
i have posted a new thread asking anyone for any suggestions on cantonese speaking playgroups. Carang - thank you for explaining the difference playgroups - kindy - nursery etc, i think i get it now - and the date of the posts ahahah - obviously i don't use this site enough
Katie, very interesting feedback from someone who is going through the process, and in fact i have heard from other people that their biggest problem is not being able to participate in their child's education experience. i can totally see that would be frustrating, what are you going to do ?
i'm with lisainhk - i think i'll give it a go and see what happens, if charlie doesn't pick up cantonese or settle in well i will look to change his schooling and perhaps encourage him to pick it up through after school activities.
but at the moment that is a while off, for now i'm going to try and find a playgroup - lisainhk - shall i keep you informed as to what i find?
Kate
Katie, very interesting feedback from someone who is going through the process, and in fact i have heard from other people that their biggest problem is not being able to participate in their child's education experience. i can totally see that would be frustrating, what are you going to do ?
i'm with lisainhk - i think i'll give it a go and see what happens, if charlie doesn't pick up cantonese or settle in well i will look to change his schooling and perhaps encourage him to pick it up through after school activities.
but at the moment that is a while off, for now i'm going to try and find a playgroup - lisainhk - shall i keep you informed as to what i find?
Kate
Gabriel ma
Registered User
My son has a few non-Chinese classmates since Pre-nursery class (2 years old). They could understand Cantonese, English and Mandarin after 2 years of learning.
carang
Registered User
no need to PM... we have chosen
Sai Kung Central Lee Siu Yam Memorial School
they have now introduced an "english" stream that uses english as the main language and putonghua as the chinese 2nd language... and a "chinese" stream that uses cantonese as the main language and english as the 2nd language...
i haven't yet decided which stream to go for, but leaning towards trying the cantonese stream first to see how it goes.
Sai Kung Central Lee Siu Yam Memorial School
they have now introduced an "english" stream that uses english as the main language and putonghua as the chinese 2nd language... and a "chinese" stream that uses cantonese as the main language and english as the 2nd language...
i haven't yet decided which stream to go for, but leaning towards trying the cantonese stream first to see how it goes.
Gataloca
Registered User
I don't have this experience, but I guess I can share my experience growing up in a foreign country.
My family moved to to Venezuela when I was just 3 year old. My parents never learned Spanish (my dad speaks a little bit, and my mum only learned to say very basic things, like numbers). We were all placed in local schools (there weren't any Chinese school back then, and international school would have probably been too expensive for us). As I was just 3 year old, I could get accustomed very easily... My brothers however, who were 9 and 11 at that time, did have to struggle a lot with the language.
I think what really helped us catch up with the language was the fact that we were really surrounded by it, and we really use it everyday... We didn't have many Chinese friends, and even the Chinese friends (kids) that we had would try to speak Spanish with us. We watched TV, and the programs were all in Spanish. We went out, and every sign was in Spanish.
I think if you really want your kid to learn Chinese, in addition to putting him/her in a Chinese medium school, you have to really encourage him/her to use it. For example, instead of watching English program, encourage him/her to watch local Cantonese programs.... Take you kids out, and let him/her play with local kids, etc...
My family moved to to Venezuela when I was just 3 year old. My parents never learned Spanish (my dad speaks a little bit, and my mum only learned to say very basic things, like numbers). We were all placed in local schools (there weren't any Chinese school back then, and international school would have probably been too expensive for us). As I was just 3 year old, I could get accustomed very easily... My brothers however, who were 9 and 11 at that time, did have to struggle a lot with the language.
I think what really helped us catch up with the language was the fact that we were really surrounded by it, and we really use it everyday... We didn't have many Chinese friends, and even the Chinese friends (kids) that we had would try to speak Spanish with us. We watched TV, and the programs were all in Spanish. We went out, and every sign was in Spanish.
I think if you really want your kid to learn Chinese, in addition to putting him/her in a Chinese medium school, you have to really encourage him/her to use it. For example, instead of watching English program, encourage him/her to watch local Cantonese programs.... Take you kids out, and let him/her play with local kids, etc...
Can anyone introduce some of the names or the Cantonese medium pre-school's and playgroups that they have had success with and the areas...it's a maze out there, and it seems many more are interested in pursuing this line of education. Anywhere else to go for information?
thanks!
JM
thanks!
JM