Anonymous wrote:Parents who speak Chinese are typically very welcome in the classroom. But if you don't speak Chinese there are still lots of opportunities to volunteer and get involved with events at the school.

A bit of a tangent, but: Even though I didn't speak a word of Mandarin, I was welcome to sit in the back of my son's pk Mandarin-only class last year to observe when I was concerned about how he was progressing socially.

Anonymous wrote:At what point can these kids hold conversations in Mandarin? My Mandarin speaking friend was asked to speak to our neighbor's kid who is in k now. He just had a blank stare on his face the whole time. My friend switched to a very basic discussion- what is your name, what color is your shirt, etc...- still nothing. This is not a shy kid whatsoever.

Seriously doubt this is b/c the kid does not understand/speak Mandarin. It's difficult to get kids to speak another language besides English even if they are completely fluent. My nephews, 6 and 8, who are bilingual basically refuse to speak any language besides English when they are in the U.S. The deer in headlights look is pretty common.

My K kid can hold conversations in Mandarin pretty well. It's easier at school with people he knows b/c that's the way school's always been for him.

Parents who speak Chinese are typically very welcome in the classroom. But if you don't speak Chinese there are still lots of opportunities to volunteer and get involved with events at the school.