Innovative Bilingual Program Builds Bright Future for YCIS Beijing Students

China, People's Republic of -- Free-Press-Release.com-- Feb 24, 2011 -- The ease with which little Maja, a second grader at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing), can speak her native language of Polish in one breath, then switch between fluent English and Chinese in the next is nothing short of impressive.

Only 7 years old and already trilingual, Maja is proof of an innovative language curriculum at YCIS Beijing that places Western and Chinese co-teachers in early childhood and primary classrooms to instruct students in both English and Mandarin in subjects that range from math to history. This one-of-a-kind program creates an environment in which children learn to seamlessly switch between the multiple languages from a very early age.

“My daughter is able to live her life in a much more complete way having this opportunity to study three languages,” Maja’s mother, Monika, said. “The bilingual aspect of the school was a very important factor when choosing it for our daughter.”

The co-teachers create a unique syllabus that incorporates Mandarin and English into lesson plans while also working together to facilitate a multicultural learning environment that draws upon the students‘ and teachers’ diverse backgrounds.

“We have a class of 18 students that represent 10 different countries. Each one of them brings their own set of cultural experiences that are shared throughout the year with our class,” Melissa Lang, a fifth grade co-teacher, said. “We not only learn about academic subjects, but about the world around us through the different experiences each one has had. It’s truly the bringing together of the best from the East and the West.”

In addition to Mandarin language study, YCIS Beijing students are also required to study Chinese culture, including literature, art, history and traditional festivals. This curriculum enables them to better comprehend the complexities of local value systems and non-verbal signifiers, which leads to improved communication skills.

Teachers frequently take their students on special excursions to the nearby Honglingjin Park to practice communicating with the vibrant, local community surrounding the school. Furthermore, the international school has Eastern and Western Co-Principals , which reflects the importance of bilingual education across all school levels.

“We have a unique international philosophy for educating students for the 21st century,” Wayne Richardson, YCIS Beijing’s Western Co-Principal, said. “Competency in knowing at least two world languages is the norm at YCIS, and interacting culturally and confidentially inside and outside the classroom allows for students to understand the rewards of bilingual education.”

Yet there is also the challenge of ensuring students do not lose their native languages. YCIS Beijing encourages parents to speak with their children at home in languages other than English and Mandarin and also connects families with embassy schools in Beijing where children can study the languages of their home countries. Teachers also make use of native languages in the classroom when there is an opportunity, for instance, requiring students to write poetry or other assignments in their languages from back home.

For graduates of YCIS Beijing, the school’s language curriculum has paid off. Alexander Miller, a YCIS Beijing graduate, recently finished studying at the University of California Los Angeles and is now working for the World Wildlife Federation in Beijing where his language skills are an invaluable part of his job. While at YCIS Beijing, Alexander, who is fluent in English, Chinese, Japanese and French, was student council president, and was responsible for organising the school graduation ball and soccer tournaments.

“Part of the reason that he was so popular at school is that he could communicate with everyone,” Alexander’s mother, Iris, said. “The teachers and the principal had great things to say about him on his recommendation letter, which helped him get into UCLA, one of the leading universities in the United States and not that easy to get into.”

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Yew Chung International School, Beijing
http://www.ycis-bj.com