GSIS - where to learn Chinese after school?

G

gins

Registered User
Hi, my son got accepted to Kindergarten 1 at GSIS, I know there's no Chinese lesson there, does anyone have recommendation for a good after-school Chinese course (that teaches kids how to write and read Chinese)? Thanks!
 
i really don't think that your child will become bi-literate and be able to speak/read/write chinese just by taking a lesson or two per week.

on another note, you don't say whether you want cantonese or mandarin. you would probably get the best results from a private tutor.
 
I think we prefer mandarin cause we can teach him cantonese at home. We are thinking of sending him to a Chinese class/school at least 4 times a week, think a playgroup type of environment would be more interesting for him than a private tutor at home?
 
a playgroup is not going to teach him to read and write...i think you need to really consider what is most important to you and your family.

for this reason, we have chosen to send our kids to cantonese school (with mandarin & english) because we can maintain the english at home more easily than if we sent them to english schools and tried to maintain cantonese at home.

i am canadian (white) and hubby is hk chinese.
 
you could try to find a few other children that want to learn and get a tutor to teach them together. The tutor could then play games and do reading/writing activities in a group, which would be more fun than 1-1. My friend does this with her child and he really enjoys it.
 
having done private english tutoring for over a decade, i can safely say that it is perfectly possible to have fun, interesting and educational private tutors on a 1-1 basis.
 
Thanks guys for the tips. I think it really depends on the private tutor if she can make the class interesting.
Has anyone tried the Chinese classes at Le Beaumont? Or does anyone have any good private Mandarin tutor to recommend?
 
Have you tried Earth Village? Lots of kids from intl schools seem to go there for tuition, although I have no personal experience of the place.
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I agree with Carang. Also having been a private teacher for many years, I've never found the lessons boring. My kids find the simplest games and activities fun.
 
If it's learn through play that you want, then try Kidsland which is groups of 4 max. But it only takes children up to (and including) 5 years old. The teachers are good and they play lots of games, do some arts and crafts, sing songs etc. The students are from other intl schools (including GSIS). My LO goes here and the teachers are very good - lots of energy and the ability to handle very active kids!
 
carang, keep in mind that GSIS finishes quite early (start early too) compared to many local and international schools, even in the upper years so there is plenty of time to focus on Chinese if preferred.
 
what i'm saying has to do with sheer hours available and the cost. to have a private tutor come every day for 1-2 hours/day would be optimal, but it would cost a fortune (on top of your already hefty GSIS school fees).

most learning centres, or even private tutors, would have classes that meet once or maybe twice per week. that is not enough to become bi-literate and bi-lingual. it doesn't matter if regular school finishes at 2pm or 4pm.

if the child is getting 2-3 hours/week, he/she will NEVER be able to learn to read and write chinese to anywhere near a fluent level.
 
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Thanks Portia, will check out Kidland too, but think it sounds more like a playgroup. Earth Village seems to have a more structured Chinese learning program. I have actually also thought about sending my kid to local kindergarten in the afternoon since GSIS finishes before 1pm, but most local school pm class starts at 1/1:30pm which will be too rush and too hectic for a 3 year old kid I think, does anyone know any local school which may have late pm class?

private tutor is an option but I think it will be too expensive on top of the GSIS school fees...
 
gins said:
Thanks Portia, will check out Kidland too, but think it sounds more like a playgroup. Earth Village seems to have a more structured Chinese learning program. I have actually also thought about sending my kid to local kindergarten in the afternoon since GSIS finishes before 1pm, but most local school pm class starts at 1/1:30pm which will be too rush and too hectic for a 3 year old kid I think, does anyone know any local school which may have late pm class?

private tutor is an option but I think it will be too expensive on top of the GSIS school fees...
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I know several people who do a combination of English and Cantonese education especially in kindies when the days are shorter. In that case it helps that GSIS finishes early as I earlier mentioned. Most people I know made arrangements with the morning school and some even pick them up slightly earlier. I guess it completely depends where the schools is and how far you need to travel.
 
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