By: GreaterGood

Date: March, 2007

Hwa Shin's Saturday morning 9-11 am program is designed for K-12 children who have no background in Chinese. This review pertains only to one of the K classes (there are two of them, with 8-9 students in each).

At this level, a parent is encouraged to sit in the class with the students, and during the week, to help them with their review of characters, which are typically presented via flash cards, on an audio CD and in a work book. All the materials have English pinyin. This is particularly helpful if you have no knowledge of Chinese at all. After K, parents don't sit in, so if you're thinking of starting your K-level child, be warned that in the first year, you don't get a couple of hours off while your kid is in class!

A LOT depends on the teacher you get, and in casual conversation I heard some grumbling about the inconsistency of teaching. In the K class my child attended, the emphasis was on character recognition using flash cards, and learning to speak via little activities, songs and games. The fun aspect is important, especially at this age. We were lucky to have a high-energy, vivacious teacher who put a great deal of thought into her lessons. She managed to engage most of the children and they appeared enthusiastic about participating. Regretfully, this teacher isn't returning next semester. I'd encourage any parent considering this school to sit in on a lesson first to gauge the kind of interaction between the teacher and the kids.

I've decided not to send my child back to this school, because with 8-9 kids and one teacher, they don't get much of a chance to practice speaking. So I'm splitting the cost of a private tutor with another family.

Now all I need to do is get my next year's money back from the school (you get a discount if you sign up in May)... which hasn't happened yet. :-(

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