HI! Im planning to visit Taiwan for the summer (June/July 2019) for about a month so my kids (3 and 5 year old who is turning 6 by oct) can learn mandarin and perhaps a bit of taiwanese. I speak some mandarin but would also like to learn more. Does anybody have any recommendations for preschools or camps for both my kids? preferably something fun too and near a school where I could also study. Hopefully something affordable. I’m open to anywhere in Taiwan. Really want chinese language immersion. Hoping they will learn enough to be able to speak simple sentences. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
If you just leave the kids alone, in a Mandarin speaking environment, they will get sentences. You won’t, necessarily, but they will. Children are sponges, as long as everyone stays out of their way with tests, homework and stress. However, you need to be realistic about how much Mandarin anyone is going to pick up in a month – even if the kids want to.
Also, a free public service announcement, immersion is not all it’s cracked up to be once you’re older than, say, five.
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What about a year time? Or what about 2 months at summer, 3 years in a row?
If your kids already have some Mandarin, a month in a full Chinese environment might improve their language, though they might forget it quickly too. If they have zero Mandarin, a month in a foreign language could be just a badly stressful experience, depending on their personalities.
for this purpose in a month, I think older age might be suitable. my kid came here at age 5, and didn’t speak any sentences in the first month, though I learned some simple sentences. Iirc, he just used some body languages except for English at kinder for a long time. but, @ironlady must know more.
As for which are the best, there are many everywhere, and I don’t think there are much differences. For taiwanese, English is one of important aspect, but you maybe don’t want English in kinder? Do you like Montessori or Waldorf? It might be better you first decide where you live, then look for good kinder in that area.
I was informed that a lot of kindergartens would NOT accept kids for just a month? is that true?
Looking for kindergartens that would. I am flexible with living area. Ill live wherever’s near the school. THanks again.
thanks for the reply. wondering if you have any recommendations for kindergartens that do accept kids for just a month? If we just stay in Taiwan for a month and my kids dont actually attend school, i have a feeling they wont learn much as they’ll be speaking to me in english the whole time. Hahaha!
My mandarin isnt good enough for me to be comfortable using it with my kids on a daily basis.
I’m really trying to figure out why you believe this is an idea worth spending the money on. If you’re going to Taiwan anyway, maybe. But a month in ANY environment is not going to make anyone fluent. It typically takes kids that long just to sort of get used to things if they can’t understand what’s going on language-wise in the first place. An adult in a month-long intensive would get some substantial language if it were a good class (another issue), but adults are internally motivated (usually). Kids are just doing whatever makes sense to them at the time. I just don’t see this making any real difference to them.
It worked for Bart.
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The adult can take Mandarin Chinese classes at the CCU language school branch at the corner of Ho-Ping East Road and Chien-Guo South Road at SE corner of Da-An Park.
CCU has a year-long kindergarten school in an alley 1-2 alleys north of that corner. Excellent teachers. The school accepts any children if there is room.
In Taiwan, both of so called preschool and kindergarten in US are kinder.
if your kids would come on visa exempt entry, public kinders are not their option. Most of private kinders attached to elementary schools neither.
Many of private kinders accept any kids at any point of a year if there are spaces at that time.
I guess private kinders in tienmu area in Taipei may be used to foreign kids, and have spaces for a month in June/July, because they may have foreign kids and some of them may go back to home countries in the season. Many branches of HESS may also get used to foreign kids too.
Mandarin summer camp for young kids might be an option too.
Or, if you have families or relatives in Taiwan, somewhere close to them might be a good place.
I don’t have any particular kinder to recommend, but if my kids had zero mandarin, I would choose a kindergarten for them with a teacher who has good English.
Hi! May i know the name of the ccu kindergarten or if you have a link to their website? thanks a lot!