Yu Ying. Is it really that awesome?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of rising first grader (jumbo class). We're getting to a point in my child's YY experience where I worry that my & my husband's lack of Chinese language knowledge is hurting his educational experience. He's supposed to spend 10 minutes a night reading in Chinese. The school provides books at his level, but they just don't interest him. If I knew the language, I could find different books on the topics that interest him. But as things are, I'm not able to help him out.We came to YY because we're very interested in bilingual education, and it's the only bilingual school where we got a spot. We had an opportunity to leave last fall for another school, and didn't take it. We're still committed to the school, but our role as parents is even harder than I'd expected.

Huh? Why not just bring a laptop or tablet to school to meet with a teacher and ask her to help you order books your boy might be interested in from a web site for kids studying Chinese, like ChinaSprout? We often use that site to get Mandarin DVDs, posters, flash cards etc. Or ask a parent who reads Chinese to help you order books.

I speak a dialect but can hardly read Chinese. My in-laws get on various web sites and order for me, particularly from YesAsia.com and AsiaParent.com. We've built a good collection of Mandarin DVDs, mostly Disney and Pixar cartoons popular in China (e.g. Mulan, Ice Age, Kung Fu Panda) from the several sites. We don't let our kid watch TV or DVDs in English.

A little new an far from all of to this but I wonder: How does fluency (reading, writing, spelling) in English come about at an immersion school? Do parents hire tutors to keep up with that? I mean after all, children will be applying to colleges in the US? Or are parents just hoping this all falls into place by middle school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of rising first grader (jumbo class). We're getting to a point in my child's YY experience where I worry that my & my husband's lack of Chinese language knowledge is hurting his educational experience. He's supposed to spend 10 minutes a night reading in Chinese. The school provides books at his level, but they just don't interest him. If I knew the language, I could find different books on the topics that interest him. But as things are, I'm not able to help him out.We came to YY because we're very interested in bilingual education, and it's the only bilingual school where we got a spot. We had an opportunity to leave last fall for another school, and didn't take it. We're still committed to the school, but our role as parents is even harder than I'd expected.

Huh? Why not just bring a laptop or tablet to school to meet with a teacher and ask her to help you order books your boy might be interested in from a web site for kids studying Chinese, like ChinaSprout? We often use that site to get Mandarin DVDs, posters, flash cards etc. Or ask a parent who reads Chinese to help you order books.

I speak a dialect but can hardly read Chinese. My in-laws get on various web sites and order for me, particularly from YesAsia.com and AsiaParent.com. We've built a good collection of Mandarin DVDs, mostly Disney and Pixar cartoons popular in China (e.g. Mulan, Ice Age, Kung Fu Panda) from the several sites. We don't let our kid watch TV or DVDs in English.

Sorry, that should have been outside the quote: A little new an far from all of to this but I wonder: How does fluency (reading, writing, spelling) in English come about at an immersion school? Do parents hire tutors to keep up with that? I mean after all, children will be applying to colleges in the US? Or are parents just hoping this all falls into place by middle school?

[Anonymous]

Listen up folks. Learning Chinese is hard. Really hard. You (and your kids) have got to put some effort into it. That said, there are a LOT of different ways you can put that effort in. But you DO have to make the effort.

Yes, there are some YY parents who have relatives in China, who send their kids to camps there, or who hire Chinese-speaking nannies. A lot more at YY that at other schools. Indeed, a lot of parents really stretch to afford those things. But you don't have to do something like that.

As others have mentioned, there are Saturday homework review classes. There's also a program in REEF. There are Saturday and Sunday supplemental classes around the District and MD and NOVA. The resources are out there, you have to choose what suits your family.

But you do have to do SOMETHING. Chinese will not just come about on its own, especially if neither parent has a Chinese background. And don't think you can just put a Chinese video on and let them absorb it. Ask yourself -- are you willing to force your kid to go to the Saturday class, every week, even when it's a nice day and there's something else she'd rather be doing? Are you willing to print out the character writing sheets, and make your kid write the same character 40 times a night until he gets in right? Are you going to pull up the Home Listening Program audios when they'd rather watch TV, then find someone who speaks Chinese to check that they actually know the answers?

It is certainly not impossible for your kids to learn Chinese if you don't have a background in it. But it will take a LOT of effort on both your part and your kids. If you aren't REALLY committed to going this route FOR THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THEIR SCHOOLING, then don't bother. There's lots of other great schools in Washington. Think carefully what you are getting into.

[Anonymous]

For my child, we don't practice writing the same character 40x a night or supplement in any way in Mandarin or English. But DC is in K. Nevertheless, DC is exactly where he should be in Mandarin and according to the teachers speaks Mandarin like a native speaker - perfect tones. Also, above grade level in English and Math.

I don't know what the other families do to help in Mandarin but so far in K after 100% Mandarin immersion in preK, DC is doing very well without us doing anything to help... Maybe that will change in the upper grades but we'll cross that path when it happens.

[Anonymous]

20:22: Also wanted to add that my DC has no preference for English or Mandarin. He says he likes English days and Chinese days the same. He loves going to school too.

[Anonymous]

don't listen to the saturday school person. sounds like a waitlist person trying to get others to drop off
your kid will be proficient with schoolwork and appropriate homework support and effort on your part. the more you do, the better they'll do.

[Anonymous]

^^^
really idiot? Let's see, I'll tell you all about Flying with Chinese, anything else on the parent website. Glad your kids are so proficient. Guess what, it gets harder your kids get older. You got to work a little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^
really idiot? Let's see, I'll tell you all about Flying with Chinese, anything else on the parent website. Glad your kids are so proficient. Guess what, it gets harder your kids get older. You got to work a little.

your bright kid doesn't actually have to work hard to meet or exceed yy's standards for chinese all the way up. you only have to work hard, and spend money to supplement, if you aspire to more. yy kids invariably struggle when speaking with native speaking peers (as mine did during a month in china last year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^
really idiot? Let's see, I'll tell you all about Flying with Chinese, anything else on the parent website. Glad your kids are so proficient. Guess what, it gets harder your kids get older. You got to work a little.

Wow. You have a really nasty attitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^
really idiot? Let's see, I'll tell you all about Flying with Chinese, anything else on the parent website. Glad your kids are so proficient. Guess what, it gets harder your kids get older. You got to work a little.

your bright kid doesn't actually have to work hard to meet or exceed yy's standards for chinese all the way up. you only have to work hard, and spend money to supplement, if you aspire to more. yy kids invariably struggle when speaking with native speaking peers (as mine did during a month in china last year).

So are you going again this yr? Did the trip help your kid's Mandarin? Attend Mandarin school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So are you going again this yr? Did the trip help your kid's Mandarin? Attend Mandarin school?

This year, yes, but that's it. Trip and immersion program helped a lot, definitely, opened our eyes to how our kid had little experience speaking Chinese to peers outside class. YY kids speak English to one another. In CHina,, we met groups from other immersion schools where the kids mostly speak Chinese.

We supplement a great deal, but we're planning to move from Capitol Hill partly to switch to WIS or partial immersion in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So are you going again this yr? Did the trip help your kid's Mandarin? Attend Mandarin school?

This year, yes, but that's it. Trip and immersion program helped a lot, definitely, opened our eyes to how our kid had little experience speaking Chinese to peers outside class. YY kids speak English to one another. In CHina,, we met groups from other immersion schools where the kids mostly speak Chinese.

We supplement a great deal, but we're planning to move from Capitol Hill partly to switch to WIS or partial immersion in MoCo.


uh, WIS doesn't have a Chinese program at the younger grades, and it's not immersion at the upper. just as I expected, you're the YY troll again. it's amazing how much time and energy you devote to this. so sad for you.

[Anonymous]

I must second the PP who said that your average to above average child will do fine in YY Chinese without extraordinary measures. One of my children does. The other one is not blessed with very good language skills and he struggles. We work very hard, I supplement and we do all of the things they recommend on the portal. But YY is set up so that average kids can succeed in Chinese there without outside exchange programs and tutors. Will the kids who receive those extras do better? Well of course they will. If your goal is full fluency and you don't speak it at home you either need an exceptional student or you need to go above and beyond.
In our situation we decided that fluency will come over a greater period of time and will require a sustained investment well into adulthood. I imagine that there will come a point when our oldest will take over and assume the lead on this. Right now we are creating the gateway for this, but without family or business interests in China at this time we don't have an embedded connection. For our younger child fluency may never come or it will be a very long and difficult road. The general benefits of comprehensive language instruction are what keeps us at YY with that child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I must second the PP who said that your average to above average child will do fine in YY Chinese without extraordinary measures. One of my children does. The other one is not blessed with very good language skills and he struggles. We work very hard, I supplement and we do all of the things they recommend on the portal. But YY is set up so that average kids can succeed in Chinese there without outside exchange programs and tutors. Will the kids who receive those extras do better? Well of course they will. If your goal is full fluency and you don't speak it at home you either need an exceptional student or you need to go above and beyond.
In our situation we decided that fluency will come over a greater period of time and will require a sustained investment well into adulthood. I imagine that there will come a point when our oldest will take over and assume the lead on this. Right now we are creating the gateway for this, but without family or business interests in China at this time we don't have an embedded connection. For our younger child fluency may never come or it will be a very long and difficult road. The general benefits of comprehensive language instruction are what keeps us at YY with that child.

Thank you, that is a very helpful perspective.

[Anonymous]

Yes. It's really that awesome. We've been there since the beginning.