Programmes Offered
Little Mandarins is a quality Mandarin language centre for children from International, English speaking families.
Our methods of teaching are uniquely designed for children of our times. Little Mandarins teachers are highly experienced, qualified and passionate about imparting the language and its culture to their young charges. They all have experience with stimulating kids from non-mandarin-speaking backgrounds.
We have more than 60 classes a week for children to suit different ages and proficiency levels.
Mums & Tots
One hour of music & drama, arts & crafts with Mum! Learn new key words. Perfect age to start learning the tones in Mandarin.
Little Mandarins Playlessons
For 3 year olds who can’t sit still yet eager to explore new sounds and sensations, Playlessons is an ideal introduction to Mandarin. They are learning through play and interaction. The style is upbeat and energetic and music and movement make this one hour session a stimulating one. Key aims are to build familiarity and pleasure with the tonal sounds of Mandarin. This is a drop-off session. Children must be toilet-trained.
Little Mandarins Foundation (3 levels)
The most important of our syllabus and which spans a wide 4 to 10 years old age-group, we believe that successful acquisition of Mandarin can only be built upon a firmly set Foundation. A child with minimal or no grounding in Mandarin will join a Foundation class of comparable age and level. There are 10 topics we cover thoroughly before moving forward. Key aims are to develop listening and comprehension skills, basic vocabulary building of high frequency words and speaking skills. At the appropriate time, we introduce character recognition at the most fundamental level. Themed games and table-top activities are integrated into the lessons.
Little Mandarins Stepping Stones
A child ready for Stepping Stones could have 70 – 150 spoken words under his belt which he could access comfortably. He could also recognize up to 70 chinese characters independently. While adding depth to the Foundation topics, this stage focuses on sentence construction and conversation. Writing skills and Hanyu Pinyin are intensified.
Young Mandarins
For Young Mandarins, we shift the gear on learning towards application. With a reasonable bank of vocabulary and a growing awareness of how to use them, we work on building Young Mandarins’ thinking skills and confidence in everyday conversation. Coaching in reading, writing and Hanyu Pinyin continue. Upon successful completion of a Young Mandarins’ course, student could take the appropriate exam (HSK elementary) if desired.
Adult Conversation
Basic/Intermediate/Advanced/Business Mandarin - It covers all the topics that you want to learn about, and also incorporates the books that your child is learning with us. 10 topics with role play fun. Practise speaking with friends within 2~3 months!