Ni hao!

Mandarin Stars highly recommends a new book by François Grosjean, author of ‘Life with Two Languages: An Introduction to Bilingualism.’

His new book, ‘Life and Reality’ is an engaging and fun read by a man brought up by an English mother and French father. Drawing on his own experiences, as well as research and interviews from others, François Grosjean discusses the learning environment, benefits and challenges of raising bilingual children.

Mandarin Stars offers fun and engaging Mandarin Chinese playgroups and classes for children. To fully promote their bilingual learning, we are keen to provide resources and support outside of the classroom.

One way that we do this is by recommending resources which will assist parents in encouraging their children’s bilingual learning.

François Grosjean’s book explores various strategies to support language learning, and Mandarin Stars believe that many parents would find the book an interesting and heartening read.

Perhaps most importantly, bilingualism is shown not to be a skill or merely learning another language – rather, François Grosjean promotes bilingualism as an essential and enjoyable part of life.

Xie xie!

Dawna and the Mandarin Stars Team!

 

Newsletter Highlights for Easter 2010:

- Happy Easter!

- Update on Term 1 at Mandarin Stars and our staff training workshop

- News of our new Mandarin Stars Scholarship Program

- Program for Term 2

- Stay updated with the latest class options, times and locations- click here for more details

- New classes to be held at Bondi Junction on a Saturday morning- email enrol@mandarinstars.com.au if you are keen to book- places will be limited!

- Help! I don’t speak Mandarin- how can I help my child to keep learning and practicing Mandarin outside of our Mandarin Stars classes? Read on to learn some great ‘Top tips’ to keep your child learning Mandarin at home and outside of Mandarin Stars!

- A BIG welcome to our new staff at Mandarin Stars!

- Don’t forget the special 10% discount that ALL Mandarin Stars parents get at China Books! Visit www.chinabooks.com.au and mention that you are a parent at Mandarin Stars for the coming term and you will get this special discount!

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Ni hao!

I cannot believe how time has flown by and that we are already at the end of Term 1! It has been such a busy term with the excitement of Chinese New Year! I am sure all the children enjoyed sharing the festive season with us and we look forward to celebrating the next big celebration of The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival in Term 2.

To get the new year off to an even greater start- all of our teachers attended an information packed seminar on ‘Best Practice Teaching Strategies & Classroom Management’ by Education Consultant- Nicola Cameron. Nicola has been teaching for 12 years in various educational settings. She has completed a Bachelor of Education in Primary Teaching and a Master of Special Education.  Her experience includes teaching in state and independent schools in both Sydney and the United Kingdom. Nicola has also worked as an Education Consultant for Autism Spectrum Australia and has lectured at Canberra University to Master of Special Education students. Currently, Nicola is working as a Learning Support teacher at Barker College. The workshop topic and material created a sound foundation for our teaching practices for 2010 and we are already seeing many benefits in practicing what we learnt at the workshop. 

Scholarship Program opens in Term 2!

Mandarin Stars is proud to announce that as of Term 2, we will be working with a number of not for profit organisations to help promote our new scholarship program. There will be a scholarship place offered at each of the venues that we operate in (Chatswood, Newtown, Bondi and Thornleigh) and each place will be open to children from families who are experiencing financial hardship. All applications will be treated with the strictest of confidence. If you have any questions about this program, please email me directly on dawna@mandarinstars.com.au and I will gladly advise.  

Program for Term 2

This term we will be focusing on one of the children’s most favourite topics of Food. From our experience- the topic of Food always seems to create much enthusiasm across alll age groups and we have developed many ideas to engage our children with this exciting topic. The great thing about this topic is that it is such a great platform for practicing live conversation skills outside of Mandarin Stars. The words and phrases we will teach this term can easily be practiced at the local Chinese restaurant/ Asian grocery store! If you get chance- I urge you to take your child to as many potential scenarios where they can practice their listening and speaking skills on a day to day basis. This creates purpose to learning Mandarin, develops incredible satisfaction for the child and reinforces a sense of pride in just being able to speak another language!  

Top Tips to keep your child learning Mandarin outside of your child’s Mandarin Stars classes!

One of the most common questions I get from parents is ‘How can I teach my child Mandarin if I don’t speak it myself?’ As parents of two sons who are learning Mandarin for the first time as a foreign language, my husband William and I (who are non-native Mandarin speakers) have learnt a few fantastic tips to help develop learning at home. We have tried and tested them and believe us- they do work!

1. Spend 40 minutes at the start of term and log into the Online Activity Centre and print off all flashcards and worksheets. File these into a folder/ laminate the flashcards if you have time and then go over the flashcards with your child 2 to 3 times per week over a 5 to 10 minute period. Try to allocate a set time to go over the flashcards- during breakfast time, after dinner, at bathtime or at bedtime just before storytime.

2. Download music and sound files from the Online Activity Centre and these files in the car.

3. Play Mandarin songs (relevant to your child’s age group) as much as possible.

4. If you allow your child to watch TV- play some Mandarin VCDs/ DVDs. There are many children’s movies/ programmes that have been translated into Mandarin. There is also a popular television show on Foxtel called Ni hao Kai Lan that is filmed in English but teaches Chinese words (all of which we have covered at Mandarin Stars). For older students (Year 5+) – I have a recommended Book and Film list that I have complied through an international online Chinese Teacher’s Staff Room I am part of- if you want a copy of the list let me know at dawna@mandarinstars.com.au and I will email it to you.

5. Learn some basic phrases so that you can role play with your child or even practice at meal times/ when going to the shops. The core phrases we like to practice in Mandarin are (refer back to the Phrases Sheet for parents in the Online Activity Centre):

A: Parent to ask

B: Child to answer

A: What’s this? (pointing to a flashcard/ object)…

B: This is…

A: What’s your name?

B: My name is…

A: Do you like…

B: I like… / I don’t like…

A: Do you want…

B: I want/ don’t want

6. Attend a free parent class with Mandarin Stars! Ask Diana at enrol@mandarinstars.com.au for a list of available classes.

7. Check out some of the free language games (some offer free trials) online such as:

www.mandarama.com

www.semanda.com

www.newconceptmandarin.com/game/default.asp

www.betterchinese.com

www.mtec123.com

8. If you have an iPhone- check out the following iPhone Applications to use/ play with:

Chinese 4 Kids

Panda Radicals Chinese Flashcards

Kid Lingo Pre School Mandarin

Feed Me!

Mandarin Study Buddy

9. Create as much purpose as you can to learning Mandarin for your child. We are very lucky in that here in Sydney- we have access to a melting pot of cultures, ethnicity and languages! Use every moment possible to embrace this and encourage your child to practice speaking Mandarin with others or in daily life (at the local shops/ restaurants) with new people who speak Mandarin natively.

10. If you are able to read Pin Yin/ Chinese characters- then try and source as many books as possible in Mandarin and read them to your child.

11. ‘Make up games that help your child remember the words they are learning. You can play “Eye Spy” and insert Mandarin words (I spy a ping guo- apple) or see how many objects you can name at the dinner table, in the fruit bowl or in the bedroom. Post-its around the house are also a fun activity for kids. Make them together as an activity.’ (Helpful teaching tip by Little Pim www.littlepim.com) 

Class Sessions/ Times across Sydney

There are multiple classes across Sydney and our timetable is always expanding so please click here for the latest updates. Please note that the Rhodes and Castle Hill classes are on standby for mid year as we are still negotiating venues and training staff. We are also taking names for our new Saturday classes in Bondi Junction- if you would like to book in for a trial lesson, please email enrol@mandarinstars.com.au and we will arrange this for you.  

New staff at Mandarin Stars

I would like to welcome Joy, Betty, Shuang and Felice to our teaching team this term. They will be training across different classes and we look forward to them developing their teaching careers with us.  

Need to book for the term/ arrange a make up class/ make a general enquiry?

Please contact Diana at our Enrolments Office we will gladly help with enrolments, the booking of make up classes, administration and invoicing. Diana will be contactable on 8437 2498/ enrol@mandarinstars.com.au.

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter break!

Xie xie!

Regards,

Dawna Leung
Founder & Director
Mandarin Stars

Mb: 0423 558 880
Em: dawna@mandarinstars.com.au
Visit us at www.mandarinstars.com.au

 “Once we come out of this economic downturn Australia will look to Asia as a core driver of our own recovery… Understanding Asia, knowing the languages, cultures and traditions and teaching our children about our near neighbours is essential for future prosperity.” Heather Ridout, Head of the Australian Industry Group

Mandarin Stars provides fun and inspiring Mandarin lessons for children age 1 to 12 years. Our Mandarinh Chinese lessons are for children of all nationalities and our program is specifically designed for non-native learners. To find out more and to read about what our parents and the wider community think of us- please visit www.mandarinstars.com.au