REGULAR Chinese CLASSES
fall 2018 Registration is OPEN for both our midtown & park slope locations!
Please email us at chinese.book.garden@gmail.com to inquire about a placement interview with the following information:
Your name
Child(ren)'s name(s)
Child(ren)'s age(s)
Child(ren)'s previous experience(s) with the Chinese language.
Minimum age is 5 at the time of enrollment.
*We do not enroll new students for the Spring semester. Exceptions are only made if the child can (1) academically fit into one of our existing levels, and (2) there is an opening in the specific class level the child is matched to (determined by a placement interview).
To inquire about a placement interview, please email us at: chinese.book.garden@gmail.com
CURRENT CLASSES:
Mandarin Chinese Classes (2017-2018 Academic Year)
Manhattan (Midtown)
- Tuesdays — 4-6pm
- Wednesdays — 4-6pm
- Thursdays — 4-6pm
- Saturdays AM — 10am-12pm
- Saturdays PM — 1:30pm-3:30pm
Brooklyn (Park Slope)
Mondays — 4-6pm
Fridays — 4-6pm
Enrollment is also open for the following CCBG programs:
Features of Our Weekly Mandarin Classes for Children
Custom-Designed Curriculum
Our core language curriculum is closely based on research findings about how children of various ages acquire a second language, what types of activities facilitate the learning process, and how such activities should be adapted to the class size, class length and the learning goals.
Low Teacher-to-Student Ratio
Our teacher-to-student ratio is low. Class size is set at a 12-student maximum with 2 to 3 teachers. Students are accurately grouped into a class based on their Chinese level. They are often divided into smaller groups depending on their age, learning style, and progress.
Student Progress Monitoring
We closely monitor each student’s language progress. We hold a teachers' meeting after each class to evaluate each student's performance and progress after each class through the use of charts and notes.
In-depth Communication with Parents
We work closely with parents because we believe that parental involvement is crucial.
About a third of our parents are native speakers of Chinese, and two thirds are native English speakers with limited or no Chinese skills. Whether they are native Chinese speakers or not, our parents eagerly, thoughtfully and skillfully support their children’s Chinese learning. As a result, both types of families have produced some the strongest learners in our program.
We communicate with parents through teacher-parent meetings as well as frequent verbal and/or email communications. We work with parents on various issues from how to better support a child who may find a certain area of Chinese challenging, to how to further motivate a child, to how to create a travel experience in China that best fits the goals of the family.
We debrief parents regularly about our curriculum. Parents know exactly what is taught each class, what is the homework for the week, and are offered the homework answer keys.
We openly engage parents in critically evaluating our curriculum. As a result, the current curriculum is a joint product of scientific research and the aspirations of our parents.
A Stable and Devoted Teaching Team
Our teaching staff consists of members with rich backgrounds in scientific research and teaching. Our current teachers are all native Mandarin speakers who have been teaching in our program between 7 and 2 years (most have prior teaching experiences also). Teachers receive regular professional development through required and self-initiated professional meetings, lectures, and readings.