Reply to CMI vs YY for PK3?

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Reply to "CMI vs YY for PK3?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Interesting. Most of the parents I know do not have au pairs or tutors. Some use Chinese apps and movies. The school makes a real effort to provide supplemental materials - Chinese reading apps, aftercare choices in Chinese, etc. that are free. I teach myself the three and four skilled characters and drill my kids myself. There are also camps and weekend classes that are not free, but  certainly not as pricey as tutoring or as involved as an au pair.[/quote]

Are they in the younger grades (1st and under?)[/quote]

I estimate that 5% of YY/DCI families have at least one adult Mandarin speaker speaking Chinese consistently to the kids, and requiring that they answer in it. Most YY "heritage" parents speak/accept English to kids, and families hosting Chinese au pairs generally let them speak/accept English. So-called heritage parents are generally too assimilated to identify as American Born Chinese (ABCs).

Native-speaking Chinese kids (whose Chinese-speaking parents don't speak English to them) almost never attend YY. They are the children of Chinese-speaking diplomats (generally at DCPS schools WotP) or from families using MoCo heritage Chinese schools (including the small Chinatown crowd). Maybe 20% of YY parents hire tutors and Mandarin-speaking babysitters, either on a regular basis or occasionally. Some do this and don't talk about it. Kids can earn high Chinese grades without speaking good Mandarin all the way through. YY certainly has its pluses, but upper grades kids can't speak the target language like at Oyster, LAMB, Mundo Verde etc. unless parents supplement aggressively by hiring native-speaking help year in and year out. Wish it were different.

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