[ctrbabe1]

Ok, some of you know that my 4 year old, Maya, is in preschool at a local Chinese school. It is all taught in Cantonese but they have an English teacher that comes once a week. We decided to put her in school in the off chance that we end up staying here permanently and she would need to go through the public/local school system because there's no way we could ever afford the international (English speaking) schools.

So, the problem... The school year is almost over and she still can't speak Chinese. She knows a few things, but is nowhere near being fluent and she often refuses/resists when dh or other relatives are talking to her. She tells them she doesn't understand and that they need to speak English to her. (Before we put her in, I talked to many people at church who put their kids in school when they were living in different countries and all said their kids were pretty fluent in 3-4 months...) Lately, she's become really frustrated at school and is crying a lot (I think I mentioned this before... probably partly jealousy/insecurity from the new baby). She tells me that the other kids are yelling at her a lot (which her teacher says is not true) and dh and I believe that her perception of "yelling" is her being frustrated that she can't understand what other kids are saying to her. Again, she has told me that they just need to speak English.

The dillemma: I think we have three options here. Either we put her in full day school next year (she currently goes 3 hours/5 days a week) so that she has more exposure to the language and will (hopefully) pick it up; keep her in half day as she is now; take her out completely and have me home school her.

With the first option, I'm afraid that full day/5 days a week is a long time for a little kid. (She only just turned 4). But I feel like she really needs more time with the language. We can't afford a private tutor for her. With the second, I guess it's the most realistic, but I'm afraid it's not doing enough for her, language wise. And the third, I'd be worried about her not getting enough socialization/interaction with other kids and I doubt I'd be able to teach her as well or give her as much stimulation as her school does.

Any advice on the matter? Anything I can do to help her?
What do you think??

[spockey]

Hi Katie
I'm a NET in a local school. Perhaps you would like to consider placing her in an English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) public school? As far as I understand it, a lot of kids in those schools are from non-Chinese speaking backgrounds.
I am uncertain of how General Studies is taught. But I am certain that Maths is taught in English. So, half the battle would be won i.e. English and Mathematics taught in English, so the other two core subjects are taught in either Putonghua or Cantonese.
In my current school as CMI primary school, Cantonese as a medium of instruction is being phased out, Putonghua is now used to teach Mathematics.
The other thing to consider is that I noticed that there is also a higher proportion of non-Chinese speaking background teachers in those schools.
The teachers and NETs I have met from those schools have so far been really nice. So perhaps, this could be a viable alternative as there are also a good number of EMI secondary schools.
The list of EMI schools can be found on EMB's website.
So perhaps placing her in a local kinder which focuses on half and half type mediums of instructions would ease her anxiety.
Good Luck with it all.

[loupou]

I had my kids in local kindergartens and it helped their Cantonese. Not as much as I hoped, because it wasn't "all day". If you want her to really pick it up, she will likely have to be in a kindie or child care centre from 8am to 3pm.

I "considered" placing my kids in local EMI primary schools. Unfortunately we were not considered worthy of admission to the ones I hoped to get them into ;). The "good" EMI schools have lots and lots of competition.

So, we put of eldest in a Cantonese medium "good" aided primary school (lucky to get her in). It was great for her Cantonese, but eventually too much for our family in terms of homework, etc. YMMV.

One that was a possibility (DSS EMI school) was far away from our home & the environment and facilities were not as nice as I had hoped for my children's school experience.

So, eventually, we switched to ESF.

But, nothing ventured nothing gained. Maybe you will be able to get your daughter into a good local school (EMI or Cantonese) and she will have a happy experience. You won't know unless you try.

[carang]

keep in mind that come primary school, it is illegal to home school kids. ridiculous, i know as it is something that i would consider myself, but law none-the-less.

does anyone in your house speak cantonese?

[MayC]

I am sending my daughter to a local kindie. She's in their pre-nursery class but will be in their "K1" class come September.

My daughter started school at the age of 2. I wanted her to have more exposure with the Chinese language (DH is a local Hongkonger). Within half a year at the school, her canto improved dramatically. So much so that she's now speaking at least 70% Canto. Now I'm a bit worried that she'll lose her English. My helper and I are the only ones speaking to her in English and everyone else (DH and his family) speak to her in Canto. She used to cry A LOT in the firt trimester but she's okay now.

Sometimes I'm unsure whether or not I've done the right thing sending her to a local school but I too cannot afford international and I know that I'll probably be here for a VERY long time too.

So far, it's okay but what's frustrating is getting all instructions in Chinese and not knowing what they are talking about. Hubby isn't always home. So she goes to school without the correct books and I send her to school on days that she's not supposed to go... and I miss out on things because I cannot read the school notices. I don't blame the school system for this because I'm in a Chinese country but I feel so helpless at times. What happens later on when I cannot help her with her homework?

[spockey]

MayC this is for when your child is in P1... although the teachers at that level are very busy, they are also very understanding and accomodating. The teachers in my school are made aware of children from such families i.e. Non-Cantonese speaking families. So in such cases, extra effort is made to keep the parents aware e.g. important notes are written in the diary or during pick up time, parents would approach the home room (form) teacher to ask about important things. Everything is written down in a class diary that is kept in class on the teacher's table. So make sure you ask during pick up time.

If the home room teacher is a non-English speaking teacher, request to speak to the English teacher. As far as I understand it, at local primary schools, parents have a lot of influence and "power" as schools are always concerned about their enrollment numbers. So use your sway. I see it happen all the time.

[loupou]

Originally Posted by MayC

So far, it's okay but what's frustrating is getting all instructions in Chinese and not knowing what they are talking about. Hubby isn't always home. So she goes to school without the correct books and I send her to school on days that she's not supposed to go... and I miss out on things because I cannot read the school notices. I don't blame the school system for this because I'm in a Chinese country but I feel so helpless at times. What happens later on when I cannot help her with her homework?

I have a Western friend who sends her kids to local schools (but she speaks Cantonese). Since she & her husband work full time, they send the kids to "Bo jaap" - a homework centre. I think they go there every day after school and do their homework.

The communication issues were very hard for me as a mama, which is one of the reasons we pulled our eldest out of local school after she finished P2.

You might also want to look at local DSS schools like PLK Camoes.
http://210.0.207.198/

It's EMI, but w/ strong Chinese. I had a friend who sent her kids there and was very happy. It costs 12 K per year. In Yaumatei.

[mosmom]

MayC --> PM