Chinese Language

Aidan’s Chinese language program emphasizes oral communication. Through songs, games, stories, and creative work, our students gain confidence in speaking and listening while being exposed to elements of Chinese culture.

Primary students have the opportunity to join the Chinese teacher in small groups every week. We sing, dance, count, and read together, all in Chinese. 

Lower Elementary students learn essential sentence structures through immersive activities and keep a record of their lessons in pinyin, the widely-used phonetic writing system that uses the Latin alphabet. 

Upper Elementary students expand their knowledge of the language and culture through conversation while pursuing creative projects and research. Students work toward mastery of pinyin and fluency in speech.

By reinforcing the spoken language through pinyin, we enable students to complete the “virtuous circle” of language learning. Students will be exposed to the character writing system and are welcome to learn to read and write characters under the guidance of the Chinese teacher.

Outside of class, Chinese-language books are available to borrow from the library, including titles that will appeal to toddlers through to upper elementary students.