English + Cantonese preschool for 3.5 year old in HK?

etotheipi

Registered User
Hi - I'm being posted to Hong Kong for a year or so and am concerned about my English-native 3.5 year old, who I'd like to learn a bit of Cantonese to speak with people, being forced to learn Mandarin by dint of most preschools doing 50-50 English Mandarin: he's not going to speak to anyone in it (except at school, I guess), and won't two additional languages and moving house be a bit much for him to absorb at once?

Anyone have any thoughts/tips on:

1) English + Cantonese preschooling in Hong Kong
2) English-speaking children learning Mandarin in a Cantonese-speaking native environment?

Thanks
 
We are 2 western parents with 3 trilinual kids.
Our kids were educated in nursery/kindergarten in a 100% Cantonese environment (Lingnan).
They then graduated to a 90% Mandarin environment (KCS).
We are slowly transitioning them to an English environment as they are getting old enough for secondary school.

It is not easy, but very doable. You will need support (extra tutors) as you wont be able to help with their homework and you will also need to keep the language up with extra curricular activities.

I would suggest, if you are serious about Cantonese, go for 100% Cantonese Kindergarten. Having said that, if you are only going to be here for a year, I would not bother. A child of that age, if language is not persistant and reinforced will very quickly forget the language. (I've forgotten 2 languages that I used to be fluent in).

HC
 
Thanks howardcoombs. Good point about the length of time we'll be here - that's the big variable now, as we might only be in HK for 9 months.
 
If you're only here for 9 months, to be honest I wouldn't bother. I teach English at a Cantonese/ English kindergarten - an English boy attended nursery last year and he picked up some Cantonese but didn't become fluent.
If it's 100% Cantonese, I think the stress of not understanding what's happening for the first month or so will not be outweighed by any language benefits - as the other comments have mentioned, even if he is fluent after a few months, he will forget it unless he's constantly practising. However, if you are willing to get a Cantonese tutor/babysitter etc when you get home (which is definitely possibly if you live near a University - there are always lots of Chinese students who would love that as a job) it might be worth considering.
 
continuing this thread as i have a problem in the same vein. We are now 90% certain that we will be moving back home to singapore in 2013 (2yrs from now). My son is now 1 yrs old and i am undecided what to do with him the 2 yrs we will be here.

Its a little pointless enrolling him for kindergarten / nursery at 2yr 8 mths since term only starts sep 2012 and have him only study for 3 mths at most! at the same time, we were told we would be leaving last year but suddenly husband's contract ( 7wks before we were due to fly home) got renewed!! I dont really want to stay past 2013 if i can help it.

my issue, where can i send him from 18- 36mths where can he learn languages (mand/ eng, cantonese is not required since we are definitely moving home at some stage) and grow mentally?

also i should just register for some kindergartens if for whatever reason we do have to stay longer i guess but I have to replicate and do the exact same research for back home if we do go back so I'm basically enrolling in 2 countries at the same time!!

This is wearing me down - ps I"m also little upset as hubby thinks nursery/ kindergarten is irrelevant - child's play he calls it.
i'm sure mums are the ones who plan / worry about such things and its annoying to have him undermine my concerns.
 
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ps I"m also little upset as hubby thinks nursery/ kindergarten is irrelevant - child's play he calls it.
i'm sure mums are the ones who plan / worry about such things and its annoying to have him undermine my concerns.

I'm sorry that you are upset. I would be upset if my husband took it lightly (if we were in Singapore/Singaporeans)

Is your husband Singaporean? If he is then, he is not being realistic about education in Singapore. I've got friends (locals not expats) who tell me that they've gotten homework (especially for Mandarin) twice a week from nursery! And they have to spend 3 days a week going through Mandarin homework with their children.

If he's not and Singapore is your home, i.e. going into the local schools, I'd suggest that you ask him to learn about how harsh the local system is. Unless of course, he is happy for your child to be in a neighbourhood school!
 
i think you are over-worrying about it all...so, why not do this:

1) find one or two kindies that you like and ask about thier application policies (so at least you know the deadlines/waiting lists etc)
2) if you have to apply really early for them, then do it. it's done and if you need it, you'll have done it. if you don't need it, you've only lost the application fees.
3) find a few playgroups/activities around for kids 1-3 years of age in english and mandarin for your little one until the time comes that you leave or you decide to stay.

ps> lots of hubbies don't "get it".... yours is not the only one! bear with it....do what makes YOU feel comfortable and what makes YOU happy if he's not concerned about it. GOOD LUCK!
 
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About learning three languages--I don't think at 3.5 you have to worry one way or another. Language learning at that age is not a chore and if the child is enrolled in a decent school it's mostly about learning through play anyway.

My son is 3-years, 2 months-old and is in a local Cantonese Medium of Instructinon kindergarten. My husband is local Chinese so he speaks Cantonese and my son also speaks Cantonese with his grandparents. He speaks English with my husband and I.

He goes 1/2-days to kindergarten (about 3 hours/day) in which time he has lessons in Cantonese, English and Mandarin. I went to a parent-teacher conference this past weekend and the teacher said that my son is fluent in English and Cantonese and is messermized by Mandarin. The Mandarin teacher at their kindergarten is fabulous and makes the class really interesting.

I think that it's silly to think that children are being "forced" to learn Mandarin and that they won't use it. Maybe they won't immidiately use the language (i.e. at home) but Mandarin is a language of ever-growing importance worldwide. In the United States there are many primary schools that are starting to offer Mandarin courses (this was a recent CBS News story) and the waitlists for these schools are very long. Even in Hong Kong, I use Mandarin a lot (it tends to be easier for English-speakers to learn than Cantonese because there are fewer tones and the pronunciations are similar to English). As I don't speak Cantonese well, I often use Mandarin at restaurants and in taxis. I also like to travel to Mainland China and it is invaluable to be able to speak Mandarin acrosst he border.

Here in Hong Kong students are extremely interested in learning Mandarin. I studied Mandarin in university and teach primary school and my students love to speak with me in Mandarin (not so much in English, though).

So, you'll find that Cantonese is not even as practical world-wide as Mandarin will soon be. And what does it hurt to expose your child to many different languages--especially when at this age they literally can absorb languages like a sponge without any effort? Maybe later, even if you move away from Hong Kong, your child will remember his language learning experience and that can give him better confidence for picking up languages later on.

My take is let your child be exposed to as many new languages as possible because it won't hurt anything at all.
 
hi all, thanks for the good advice. I have been down with a terrible flu, gotten from the little one and i feel so bad for him as I can only imagine how much worse he must feel!

anyway, I spoke to hubby and yes voiced my unhappiness- primarily more that he is so dismissive and yes I am not good with uncertainty.... we have decided to apply for a few kindergartens here and in sg (double application forms and fees, what fun) and just cross our fingers that things work out.

its been so nice to have different perspectives, i wish i was better at dealing with uncertainty but this has actually been a blessing as I know now what it is I really what for my son. Previously i just assumed certain things (husband's job being the key ) but have come to realise that I am my child's advocate and i better decide whats impt to us.

anyway, still nursing this damm flu that just wont go away and catching up on the posts here!
 
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