Testimonials
My son has been attending Mandarin Academy after school Chinese lesson for 5 months. His Chinese vocabulary has grown tremendously and he is able to understand instruction in Mandarin even though Mandarin is not spoken at home. He really enjoys the class format, which is designed as games with focus on everyday topics that he can readily apply outside of the classroom. The student to teacher ratio is very low so he can get a lot of one on one interaction with the teacher. He also shows interest in practicing writing Chinese characters at home. We like the idea of him learning traditional character since it is easier to transition from traditional to simplified character later but not vice versa. Despite having spent 7 hours at his Kindergarten class Monday through Friday, he always looks forward to going to his Mandarin class. We highly recommend Mandarin Academy to anyone who wants their children to learn Mandarin in a fun and engaging environment.
– Betty Tang
As a Caucasian parent, concerned about preparing my son to be competitive in a global workforce, I feel it is very advantageous for him to speak fluent Mandarin. I started by sending my son to (Appleseed) bi-lingual Mandarin pre-school, which hopefully started him learning Mandarin tones at a young age.
After graduating to kindergarten, we had two options for continuing my sons Mandarin: (1) Saturday morning Mandarin classes versus (2) daily tutoring M-F. Having taken foreign language classes myself, I know that once a week just isn’t enough, progress will be slow and the experience will be frustrating. So, we selected Mandarin Academy, for 1-hour tutoring every day M-F. At first, I was nervous that my 5-year old son could not handle so much schooling every day (7 hour kindergarten + 1 hour Mandarin). But he loves it. We never have to drag him to class. When we ask him which he likes more: Stratford or Mandarin Academy; he says he likes them both. Wow, how great is that!
A 5-year old loves school and after school tutoring. I don’t know what happens inside that class, but it’s great. He seems to build a lot of books, one page each day. At the end of the month, he brings home a 20 page book, which he built himself, and can read me the whole thing in Mandarin. When I try to pronounce some of the words (keep in mind I’m Caucasian) he will often correct my tone. My 5-year old son is reading me books in Mandarin and correcting my tone! The teacher is a miracle worker, and I have to confess that the greedy side of me wants to keep this teacher all to myself. But, I should honor her for the great teacher that she is and write this testimony. When my second son reaches 5-years old, I’ll certainly enroll him concurrently; no doubt about that.
– Chris Bencher
Our five-year-old son shows more interests in learning Chinese after going to the after school Chinese program at Mandarin Academy. He looks forward to go to the class everyday. In fact, often he's the one rushing me out of the door even when I tell him it is still too early. My husband and I are fond of the way Su Lao-Shih prepares the material. Game-playing is part of the curriculum, not to mention her loving and caring teaching style. We couldn't be happier.
– David and Lynn
"My kindergartener loves attending Mandarin Academy's after school program. I'm very pleased at how much Chinese my child is learning to speak, read and write especially when we don't speak the language at home. Su Lao Shi engages the children with games and songs to make Chinese learning enjoyable."
