Reply to Yu Ying - Do/Can Non-Native Kids Actually SPEAK Chinese?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Serious question here:  what can and should non-native speaking YY parents be doing to increase their child's fluency given the limitations of YY? The school provides suggested resources, but I'm curious what this crowd says.  I've heard mention of families hiring Chinese tutors and au pairs, but what else could be done?  Would a non-native family be welcomed in a weekend language program? And is that best place to start? [/quote]

The dad who left YY 4 years ago.  OK, since you sound sincere in asking the question, I'll take a shot at answering.

Start by ditching kids entertainment in English.  That's right, cut the cable, no more Disney Channel, ban Cartoon Network, evict kids Netflix and YouTube.  Substitute almost all of it for Mandarin language channels and kids DVDs.  Invest in an all-region DVD player (easily found for $75).  Learn the characters that enable you to turn on the Mandarin audio and subtitles - ask a friend who reads Chinese to write the characters down for you, so you can find them on Asian DVD menus.  Ebay is awash with Mandarin kids DVDs, because Disney and Pixar have been dubbing most of their movies into Mandarin for years.  You can easily build up a collection of Mandarin DVDs without spending a bomb on trips to Chinatown in NYC (ask merchants where the latest Chinese DVD stands and shops are located) or off web sites for Chinese education materials and kids DVDs like Asia Parent, Yes Asia and Sprout.  You can also tune into kids cartoon channels from China via various cable packages.

Next, if at all possible, host Mandarin-speaking au pairs all the way through YY.  If you can't afford an official J -1 visa holding "EduCare" au pair through Cultural Care, Go Au Pair or Au Pair in America (the several US au pair agencies bringing the most Mandarin-speaking au pairs to the US) for around 15K a year, but have a spare room in your house (even a very small one) ask around in the YY au pair community to find an unofficial au pair to host.  DC is not short on responsible, quiet-living Chinese students who'd love to stay in your house in return for room and board in return for chatting with your kids in Mandarin 10 or 15 hours a week.  Give your au pair clear instructions that kids speaking English are to be ignored.  That's right, kids who answer in English don't exist to Chinese au pairs.

If you hire tutors, don't stop at one or two hours a week when school is in session.  Hire YY au pairs or their friends under the table for around $12/hour for at least 4 or 5 hours a week year round.  Chinese 20-somethings in DC don't earn much and are almost always looking to pick up more working hours.  You don't need a trained tutor, you need a patient native speaker who's a good babysitter, happy to chat in playgrounds, at museums etc.  You can even pay au pair tutors in movie and Metro passes, presents like backpacks and other goodies.

If you have the dough and can swing the logistics, in the summers enroll in Camp China in Rockville - ask the Mandarin speaking counselors there to speak only Mandarin to your kid; they'll do it.  Consider enrolling your upper grades kid in Concordia sleep-away immersion camps.

Hope that helps.

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