Common Questions:

Question #1:
What are the steps to enroll my child?

Answer: (1) Send us an inquiry to indicate your interest. (2) Schedule an interview with us. (3) Based on the interview, the program and the family collaboratively make a decision about the enrollment. (4) If the decision is "yes," we will send you an enrollment form.

Related Questions: #9

Question #2:
Can parents sit in a class to observe?

Answer: We tend not to invite parents to observe classes because we need to allow our teachers and students to fully focus on their work. After thorough discussions between our program and parents, if parents still feel the need to observe, we can discuss that on a case-by-case basis.

Question #3:
Does CCBG offer sibling discounts?

Answer: Every student is an individual that requires the same amount of attention from teachers. In order to guarantee equal resources to all students, we do not offer sibling discounts.

Related Questions: #5

Question #4:
How does CCBG help parents who do not know Mandarin learn the language enough so that they can help their children at home?

Answer: Our program has various resources for parents who don't know much Chinese or any Chinese to support their children at home. (Among some of our strongest students at the Advanced levels are from non-Chinese speaking families.) An introduction of this support system is part of our routine interview where we will describe this support system to our new families, as well as offer ongoing consultation for parents throughout the school year.

Related Questions: #15

Question #5:
Can I pay in installments?

Answer: Yes, we offer a very flexible (no-interest) installment plan for any family that requests it, regardless of how many children enrolled.

Related Questions: #3

Question #6:
What aspects of the Chinese language does the program teach?

Answer: We teach students all of the four aspects of the Chinese language: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Related Questions: #7

Question #7:
What Chinese systems does the program teach?

Answer: For oral language, we teach Mandarin Chinese. For the writing system, we teach the Simplified Chinese writing system. For the sound marking system, we teach pinyin. These systems are used by majority of the Chinese speakers worldwide.

Related Questions: #6

Question #8:
What is the age range of CCBG's students?

Answer: Our minumum enrollment age is 5, which is the age we have found that children can comfortably handle our curriculum. Our students range from ages 5 to 15 years old. Most of these students have started with us since around age 6 and have advanced up the levels within our program.

Related Questions: #9, #10

Question #9:
Does the program offer levels based on a child's Chinese abilities? How are levels and a student's age correlated?

Answer: Yes, our curriculum has various levels that will match a students existing Chinese abilities. We conduct an assessment during the enrollment process to determine which level is best fit for each child.

Children tend to join our program between the age of 5 to 9, most of them complete one level in an academic year. Occasionally, a child may repeat or skip a level to ensure the closest ability and level match. Because our priority is to allow students to study at the level best suited to their abilities, therefore in any given class, the students' age difference may span within about three years.

Related Questions: #13

Question #10:
How many levels does the program currently offer and how advanced can a child go?

Answer: Currently, we have students studying at nine different levels. Beginner's levels are 1, 2 and 3, Intermediate levels are 4 and 5, and Advanced levels are 6, 7 and 8. We also offer a Level 0 (also known as Junior Level 1) for children under the age of 6.

Related Questions: #9

Question #11:
Can siblings be placed in the same class?

Answer: Our Beginner's level classes tend to be consisted of children in the age range of 6 to 9. (Occasionally, our program may admit 5-year olds if they are deemed ready.) For siblings falling within this range, if admitted into our program, it is possible that they go into the same class.

Related Question: #9

Question #12:
How big are the classes? What is your teacher-to-student ratio?

Answer: Class size ranges from 3 to 12 students in each class. The teacher-to-student ratio ranges between 1:3 to 1:8, depending on the level and the dynamics of the cohort.

Question #13:
How does the program assess a student's progress?

Answer: During each class, our teachers pay very close attention to each student's energy level, mood, participation and academic performance (i.e., the mastery of various content materials). And these information are assessed and documented after class for future evaluation. We also conduct individual parent-teacher meetings at the end of every semester.

Question #14:
What is the student demographic like?

Answer: Our students come from across many of NYC's boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx) and the surrounding suburbs.

About 50% of our students are ethnic-Chinese or are of mixed herritage, mostly from Chinese-speaking homes. About 25% of our students are ethnic-Chinese from English-speaking homes (adopted from China by American parents). And about 25% of our students are of non-Chinese ethnicities.

Related Questions: #4, #15, #16

Question #15:
What is the family demographic like?

Answer: Our students' ethnic and language backgraounds may be diverse, but all of our parents are highly alike in terms of holding long-term goals for their children's Chinese language and culture learnings. They offer extremely strong support for their children's advancements.

Related Questions: #4, #14, #16

Question #16:
How does learning Chinese or attending Chinese classes fit into my child's regular school education?

Answer: All of our families use our program as the only or main avenue for their children's Chinese language and culture learnings. Their children's schools either do not have a Chinese program, or in the case when they do, the parents are not sure about the quality. As students advance steadily with us in Chinese, many of them pick up a third language (e.g., Spanish or French) at their regular school.

Related Questions: #4, #13