Chinese Language School of Connecticut Registration Opens for Fall 2010

Press Release

For immediate release


FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Serven, Chinese Language School of Connecticut
203/918.8085
susan.serven@chineselanguageschool.org
please visit our web site: www.chineselanguageschool.org

photo caption: principal Daisy Chen Laone with students from the Chinese Language School of Connecticut

Chinese Language School of Connecticut Opens Registration for Fall 2010

-- Chinese Dance and Chinese Art Workshops New for 2010/2011 School Year--


RIVERSIDE, CT May 25, 2010 -- The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.chineselanguageschool.org) has announced that registration for its Fall 2010 programs is currently open. The school, which teaches Mandarin Chinese as a second language to students ages 18 months and up, uses age appropriate, interactive methods to introduce children to Chinese.

The school welcomes all students, from Beginner levels through Advanced, and offers multimedia, interactive, online support tools to make practice engaging, relevant, and fun for students.

New for 2010 is a Chinese dance class, and Chinese Art Workshops on calligraphy, origami, Chinese bookbinding using traditional rice paper, and much more. For more information, or to register, please visit www.chineselanguageschool.org.

Expanding programsAccording to CLSC’s President, Susan Serven, “We have focused considerable energy and resources on building the quality of our faculty and curriculum during the past eight years since our founding in 2002. The results of this strategy are evidenced by program expansion into various public and private schools, our conducting before and after school programs at more than 20 schools and organizations, the expansion of our private tutoring and small group private classes, and our new corporate program.

Our school consists of families who have no Chinese background, but want their children to learn Chinese and about Chinese culture, adoptive families, who want to have their children maintain language and cultural ties, Chinese-American families who may not speak Chinese at home, but encourage their children to learn, and many families who do speak some Chinese at home, but who want a more interactive, age-appropriate, engaging learning experience for their children.

“We are currently entering our 9th year, and we look forward to continuing to focus on providing students with a high quality educational product that strives to make learning Mandarin and experiencing Chinese culture fun by incorporating traditional language training techniques with interactive supplements, games and other activity based exercises.”

We’re very pleased that our school now consists of about 25% of families from the Westchester area, as well as 70% from Fairfield County, and about 5% from farther away, in upstate Connecticut.

Parent and Harrison, NY resident Darwei Kung, said, “My family speaks English at home. We would like our son to learn Chinese as a second language. My wife and I chose CLSC for the communicative style used for teaching Chinese, since this teaching style best reflects how language is taught in the U.S. educational system."

Why study Chinese at an early age?

Principal Daisy Chen Laoneg explained, “Our approach is unique because we stress interactive usage over rote memorization. Lessons are organized around themes such as family, food and travel so that children can quickly gain useful communication skills. More than 50% of class time is devoted to conversation and activity-based learning to give children ample opportunity to practice communicating in Chinese. We’ve done considerable research to determine which learning methods and interactive, online support materials work best for American students learning Chinese as a second language, and it seems to be working; many parents say their children love doing their Chinese homework!”

Ms. Laone continued, “Generally, younger children acquire a second language better than older children. Early introduction to Chinese exposes each child to a wider variety of its contexts. These contexts foster language proficiency and help develop insights into the nature of the language. With time, each child will gain a deeper understanding and better command of the Chinese language. He / she will ultimately develop a life long interest of Chinese language and culture.

CLSC Advisory Committee Member and Parents Committee Chair Deborah Serianni noted, “We joined the CLSC community 3 years ago. Our son, Aaron (an 8 year old at Rye Country Day School) certainly enjoys the program. Learning the Chinese language is no doubt not easy, but he does not want to quit. He will be promoted to Level 5 next year! He likes the interactive internet program of "Better Chinese" as the core part of the curriculum. He also enjoys the cultural activities and the homework projects, which are challenging and fun. As a family, we have met a lot of great people and good friends."

Many CLSC students have gone on to continue their Chinese at area high schools. Norwalk resident and parent of former student Alexa Williams, Janet Williams said, “We’ve been with CLSC for five years and my daughter Alexa loved it. Alexa graduated Roton Middle School [in Norwalk] and will be taking Chinese next year at Brien McMahon].” Alexa noted, “Learning Chinese is a good experience for any nationality and any age group. I hope to use Chinese when I become an adult and get a job."

The CLSC faculty consists of experienced, native-speaking, Chinese instructors who are graduates of universities in the U.S. and China. CLSC teaches Mandarin Chinese using effective, proven methods, allowing the efficient acquisition of practical communication skills.

For information on the Chinese Language School of Connecticut’s weekday and weekend language programs, including their Before and After School programs, special workshops. lectures, events, private tutoring and their corporate language program, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org.