Anonymous wrote:Thanks for sharing your experience, PP. there’s really nothing nasty to respond to your post. But it really doesn’t answer OP’s question- what’s the best way to prepare for Mandarin immersion? I think the question of the kind of immersion experience YY provides has been thoroughly hashed put in multiple threads. Two-way immersion programs may lead to greater proficiency but that doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits to immersion programs that aren’t two-way.

Back to answering OP's question, immersion is obviously the best way to prepare for immersion.

Bona fide Mandarin immersion (vs. 1-way "immersion") isn't what YY offers. So no need to prepare, and no point really IMHO if you're trying to prepare without being able to prepare via immersion for a toddler.

There are a lot of native Spanish speakers who go to immersion programs every year and within three school years are conversationally fluent and within 8 are academically so. I would guess having the child in immersion in school, supporting acquisition out of school with asking them to read, write, speak, and listen to the target language outside of school (students tell me watching tv and listening to radio helps a LOT) and not expecting the child’s native and Target language acquisition to match within the first year acknowledging that the native language will always be stronger and the target language always a struggle until the child has had an opportunity to invest time and do the heavy lifting. Often I see parents pulling children way to early from. Dual language or immersion programs because they just don’t have developmentally appropriate expectations and are not appropriately supporting at home (they will spend time translating for the child into their native language to avoid child grappling with the discomfort of figuring it out for themselves)

Thanks for sharing your experience, PP. there’s really nothing nasty to respond to your post. But it really doesn’t answer OP’s question- what’s the best way to prepare for Mandarin immersion? I think the question of the kind of immersion experience YY provides has been thoroughly hashed put in multiple threads. Two-way immersion programs may lead to greater proficiency but that doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits to immersion programs that aren’t two-way.

I'm not the poster you're responding to. The fact remains that at Spanish immerison charters, parents don't need to host au pairs to ensure that the kids can speak the language fairly decently. They simply don't.

We speak Spanish pretty well, so we can hear that kids who've been at one of the SI charters for many years from a non-Spanish speaking family can speak the language OK. This is generally true even if a family has never hosted au pairs. The kids obviously aren't just learning Spanish from teachers. They're learning the language from bilingual peers/classmates.

By contrast, at YuYing families w/out a native speaker in the home do need to host au pairs for the kids to speak OK Mandarin. We hosted au pairs ourselves after figuring this out. We bailed on YY eventually and are now at BASIS for 5th grade. We use a heritage language program we like in MD to keep up our son's Chinese. There are many native speakers in the program and his spoken Chinese has improved a lot since we left YuYing. Post as much nasty crap as you want in your defensiveness.

Yep, absolutely no problems the last few years at Mundo or LAMB. Great advice, PP!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey smug PP, so in your mind people should avoid any immersion schools unless they can host an au pair? What a rigid, narrow-minded view. Yes that’s great for those who can manage it, but it’s not reality that this could occur on a large scale. Good thing you’re not in charge at YY.

Right!!! In all honesty, I put YY on my list because of the diversity. The immersion factor was just a plus for me. Now I'm not so sure if I want my kid to attend. Especially if he will have to interact with some of these peoples children, who are probably just as snobby as their mothers!!

I think they don’t currently have children attending. There are one or two posters who resent the fact that YY doesn’t do much outreach to Chinese families in DC, including Cantonese-speaking families. Do a search for Heritage Dad and you’ll find anti-YY posts going back years and years. Yes I’ve been on this site too long.

One or two posters? That can't be right. More posters must have a relationship with common sense. An immersion school that doesn't do outreach to local bilingual families is a joke, hon.

Try for Mundo Verde, LAMB or DC Bilingual. They seem to do plenty of outreach, and attract many local bilingual families.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ If only the world worked like this. Not even in the program yet and already drinking the Kool-aid.

Check back with us 7 or 8 years from now.

How about you pull back from the wine bottle, and pay your children and husband some attention! Oops, my bad... that's why you have your au pair.

Check back with me 7 or 8 years from now, after your husband has left you and started a new family with your au pair!

***sips blue raspberry lemonade Kool-aid*** it's my favorite kind!!

Er, I'm a (straight) guy and not the only critical voice on this thread. Joke's on you guys, regardless of the flavor.

Er, joke's on you for actually wanting someone to believe that you're straight! You're the pitcher, aren't you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ If only the world worked like this. Not even in the program yet and already drinking the Kool-aid.

Check back with us 7 or 8 years from now.

How about you pull back from the wine bottle, and pay your children and husband some attention! Oops, my bad... that's why you have your au pair.

Check back with me 7 or 8 years from now, after your husband has left you and started a new family with your au pair!

***sips blue raspberry lemonade Kool-aid*** it's my favorite kind!!

Er, I'm a (straight) guy and not the only critical voice on this thread. Joke's on you guys, regardless of the flavor.

Anonymous wrote:^ If only the world worked like this. Not even in the program yet and already drinking the Kool-aid.

Check back with us 7 or 8 years from now.

How about you pull back from the wine bottle, and pay your children and husband some attention! Oops, my bad... that's why you have your au pair.

Check back with me 7 or 8 years from now, after your husband has left you and started a new family with your au pair!

***sips blue raspberry lemonade Kool-aid*** it's my favorite kind!!

Anonymous wrote:^ If only the world worked like this. Not even in the program yet and already drinking the Kool-aid.

Check back with us 7 or 8 years from now.

I realise that your bitterness about YY is pretty all-consuming, considering the speed with which you jump on any thread that mentions the school. However, I hope you can take a break from rage-commenting and have a better weekend!

^ If only the world worked like this. Not even in the program yet and already drinking the Kool-aid.

Check back with us 7 or 8 years from now.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a clue. You can make Chinese au pairs work if you choose wisely, train them carefully (including to drive better) and can afford them.

At YY, it's just not difficult to tell which families host au pairs when you speak Chinese to the kids.

Well not everyone cam afford an au pair, Susan! Not everyone wants a total stranger living in their home and taking care of their children.

+1, privileged PP ignores that MANY families cannot easily afford an au pair. And many others can't easily host an au pair given space/logistics.

Well, you should have thought of that before you chose YY. If you cannot afford a Mandarin speaking au pair, then your children will speak inferior Mandarin. The End.

+100. Exactly. YY parents can choose to believe that their kids will benefit enormously from the YY curriculum w/out a native speaking adult in the home, but it ain't the case.

That's simply the way one way immersion programs like YY work. We can pretend that things are otherwise, hysterically calling PPs names for stating the truth, but it won't change this calculus.

The name calling is because previous posters are replying with rude and condescending answers. I guess because they are priviledged, I'm required supposed to sit back and be quiet? Not today, satan. NOT TODAY!!

Lol! I love you, OP!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP asked for advice. She got it. She didn't like the advice she got. To heck with her.

She said to "heck" with me. I'm still LMAO at this one!!

That was supposed to be “ opens synapses in the brain”

Anonymous wrote:OP asked for advice. She got it. She didn't like the advice she got. To heck with her.