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Yes! When new parents come to our school, they are surprised to see the diversity. No prior knowledge of Chinese is required. Our program is designed for children of both English-speaking and non-English-speaking families. Children are designed to acquire language, an ability that decreases as they grow into adulthood. Children are quite adept at navigating their world as they learn a new language, and will start using it soon after they begin learning.

Our programs are designed for children of English-speaking families as well as for families whose primary language is not English. For families where Chinese is not spoken, additional effort will be made to introduce Chinese into their homes, including watching educational programs in Chinese and participating in celebration of Chinese language and culture.

At YHIS, we believe that children of native speakers of Mandarin benefit greatly from learning not just ‘kitchen talk,’ but academic-level language. They maintain their sense of pride and identity with their heritage. YHIS students read and write advanced, authentic texts in Mandarin from an early age. This ability to read and write academic material in Mandarin is critical for retaining the language into adulthood.

A key component of language acquisition is an early start. Just as a baby picks up the cadences and sounds of a language in the womb of its mother, young children are quick to learn and retain language. As we grow older, that ability diminishes. With tonal languages and those with a logographic writing system, such as Chinese, it is especially important to start immersion in the target language at a young age, when children are developmentally attuned to distinguishing tonal and visual variations.

At YHIS, children as young as 18 months old join our Chinese immersion preschool program on a full-time or part-time basis. However, we also accept students with no prior knowledge of Chinese at any grade level. With our small class sizes and comprehensive tutoring program, we are proud to be able to support students - with or without Chinese background - who are enthusiastic about learning.

There is no evidence which indicates that learning in two languages will confuse or slow a student's rate of progress. There is, however, significant research to indicate that immersion education has significant advantages. There are many useful resources available on the website of The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition at the University of Minnesota (www.carla.umn.edu).

Parents can support students at home by ensuring that they have the right environment and tools to complete homework (e.g., a quiet space and enough time, paper, dictionaries in both languages, writing utensils, and art supplies such as construction paper, glue, tape, and colored makers). Parents can also ask questions about the homework in the language spoken at home, thus giving the students opportunities to explain the assignment in their first language. The School will provide Homework support in the form of frequent communication between the teacher and parents. The teachers also describe the topics that are being taught and provide an overview of homework assignments for the week, along with written guidance for complicated assignments (and perhaps some models of completed assignments). Teachers may also set up a class buddy system, matching an English-speaking student with a Chinese-speaking student. If your child stays for the after-school program, homework support is also provided on a daily basis.

In any school, there is variability in student achievement in any given subject. Factors such as family, time invested, and outside exposure all play a part. We see students that consistently outperform their counterparts in general education, as well as students needing a period of adjustment. Research shows that immersion actually reinforces English language development in the long term. After three to four years, immersion students typically do as well as or better in English than their peers in general education.

As an independent school, YHIS does not participate in state standardized testing. Starting in the 3rd grade, we evaluate our students through the ERB (Educational Records Bureau) tests which are used nationwide to test private school students and some high achieving, academically-oriented public school students. Our curriculum has been mapped to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards while following the framework of the inquiry-based, internationally-focused International Baccalaureate Curriculum. We do not teach to the test, but use the state standards as guidelines. Our unique curriculum gives our teachers and students greater flexibility for in-depth, engaged, and comprehensive learning.

Yes! Families interested in receiving need-based tuition assistance are encouraged to apply for Financial Aid through the on-line application available on our website here. The Financial Aid applications and supporting documents are due in the early spring. Qualification for aid is determined by a 3rd-party vendor and is based on many factors. Your application for Financial Aid does not affect the acceptance of your child(ren) for enrollment at YHIS in any way.