Nothing lost in translation

Sarah Curtiss gives her young pupils a head start and shows that learning can be fun at a Muffy's Education kindergarten in Beijing. Zou Hong / China Daily

Children from the Golden Cradle kingdergarten in Beijing. Many Chinese parents send their children to bilingual schools hoping to provide a good educational foundation. Photos by Zou Hong / China Daily

Sarah Curtiss, a 26-year-old from the United States, during a class at Muffy's Education.

Zhu Huanliang, 5, learns piano at the Golden Cradle.

Class act shows learning English can be fun, report He Na and Peng Yining in Beijing.

It was time for reading class at the kindergarten. A dozen children, aged 4 to 6, leaned back on their small chairs and gazed at Sarah Curtiss, their 26-year-old teacher from the United States.

"Blue Chameleon," said Curtiss, pointing at a cartoon lizard on the cover of the children's book of the same name.

"Does he eat people?" asked 5-year-old Cao Qiulei, whose English name is Andy.

"Is he bianselong?" said Niu Dong, also 5, referring to the chameleon's name in Chinese.

Zhou Qihao, who has the English name Ben, nudged Niu and said in a loud voice, "Don't speak Chinese!"

Niu shrugged to indicate his innocence.

Scenes like this often occur among the kids at Muffy's Education, a total-immersion English-language kindergarten chain in Beijing, where students are forbidden to speak Chinese once they enter the gates. Even Chinese names are forbidden during the school day, so each child has an English name, too.

"There are a lot of 'Tigers' and interesting names like 'Happy,'" said John Kung, president of Muffy's. "We have 20 foreign teachers working full time in each of our kindergartens. They are in charge of all tuition. Some Chinese teachers work as assistants, taking care of the kids' daily needs. They are all English majors and speak the language quite well," he said.

We are trying to create a pure English-language environment to help the kids learn and understand the language better, he said.

When Kung started the first kindergarten in the chain in 2004 there were only five students, now the number has soared to 350.

Like Muffy's, a large number of kindergartens in China - whether they offer total immersion in English or bilingual tuition - have witnessed a sharp increase in student numbers over recent years, despite the tuition fees generally being much higher than public or private Chinese-language establishments.

Although no official data is currently available to indicate the potential market, experts estimate that it is already huge and will continue to expand in the coming years.

Beijing Golden Cradle Potential Education Institution, a bilingual kindergarten established in 1995, has grown in its 17 years, with 14 fully owned kindergartens and more than 100 brand-franchised nationwide.

"Because of the high demand, some classes even have more than 20 kids. English is a compulsory course at our kindergarten and is taught in English by English majors," said Mao Jian, president of the school's Huizhongli branch in Beijing.

"We have developed our own textbooks and methods. And all teachers are required to undertake regular training to improve the quality of tuition," said Cao Kun, 25, who has worked for Golden Cradle for four years.

Cao is one of the most popular teachers at the kindergarten. She combines games and songs in her teaching method, and the kids appear to like her immensely and understand perfectly when she speaks to them in English.

They sit in line and sing with the loudest voices they can muster, react as fast as they can to requests and some even hold up both hands to attract the teacher's attention and get the chance to answer her questions.

"Our kindergarten pays great attention to the overall development of the child and some parents choose us specifically because of that. But to be honest, most parents are attracted by our record in bilingual tuition," said Mao.

An advantageous time

Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Beijing, attributed the growing popularity of English among preschoolers to the rise in the standard of living in China and the increasingly important role of English in school entrance examinations and in employment.

"Early childhood is an advantageous time to learn a second language, so if the parents' aim for their kid's future is to study or work overseas, or the family has plans to emigrate and the parents can afford the fees, this type of kindergarten is the best choice for them," said Xiong.

"Chinese parents are more knowledgeable now they travel overseas frequently. I think they realize that allowing children to learn English at a young age is good for them," said Kung.

"Most of the children attend Chinese-language schools when they finish at the kindergarten. Having a solid foundation in English, with good pronunciation, will help them progress easily," he added.

Golden Cradle provides positive proof of that assertion. The last page of its prospectus boasts a long list of former students who have gained admittance to Beijing's top primary schools or have won awards in English-language competitions.

"Better English and the cultural environment and atmosphere are the main reasons I chose this kindergarten," said Zhang Shuang, a sales manager at a Beijing travel agency. Her son, who is 4, studies at the private, high-end Eton Kids.

"I plan to send him abroad for further education. When it comes to learning English, I think it's a case of 'the younger, the better'. Although my son has only been at the kindergarten for 12 months, he speaks better English than most of the kids in our community," she said.

Parental aspirations

"Part of my job is to interact with parents. I would say that most of our parents are upper-middle class. Most of them have their own businesses or are senior managers and are well-educated," said Kung.

Every morning from 7 am to 8:30 am, the roads outside Golden Cradle are like an automobile fair and the cars carrying the kids often block nearby roads.

"Most of the parents who send their kids to our kindergarten are managers or white-collar workers. Many of them have traveled or studied overseas," said Mao.

Future development

"Parents have the right to choose the kindergarten they think is best for their kid. But parents should also understand that English is only a communication tool - it doesn't account for everything in a kid's future development," warned Xiong.

"Kindergarten education doesn't advocate formal study, and the students' childhoods should be carefree. However, faced with the pressure of entry examinations for school and the slump in employment, parents are increasingly concerned about preparing their kids for the competitive atmosphere, even at the kindergarten phase.

"Without reforming China's current score-oriented selection system, children will not have a carefree childhood. An increasing number of regular kindergartens will imitate the total-immersion model of teaching English or become bilingual kindergartens to attract parents and make a profit," said Xiong.

The number of kids studying overseas in the post-primary school period is also soaring.

"No free time and a world full of exam papers and scores: That's not the sort of life I am willing to impose on my daughter," said Zhao Zidan whose 4-year-old child studies at an English-immersion kindergarten.

"My husband is from overseas and we will move abroad in the years to come. Several of my daughter's classmates are in the same position," she said.

Zhouwu Zhengwang is one of them. Although he is only 5, the boy has already visited the United States and speaks better English than most kids of the same age. "I like the US and my parents said they will send me there to play baseball," he said.

According to Yuan Ailing, professor at the School of Educational Science at South China Normal University in Guangdong province, the aim of education in the preschool period is to help prepare the kids and develop good moral standards, a lively mind and cultivate interests.

"Parents should understand this. If the kids can study English to a decent level, it's fine. But if they spend too much time and energy on it, while neglecting to cultivate other aspects of their lives, it will be a failed investment," she said.

Tuition fees

"Our current annual tuition fee is 73,500 yuan ($11,719). But next year we will have to increase it to 88,000 yuan, because the rent is set to rise," said Muffy's Kung. "I would say we are the middle of the pack. There are definitely more expensive kindergartens, just as there are some that are cheaper. We are in the regular market," he said.

As a reporter, I have visited several kindergartens of this type in Beijing. Annual tuition fees are generally between 70,000 and 140,000 yuan, excluding the cost of meals.

"Golden Cradle is just next door, but my annual income wouldn't even begin to cover the fees," said Chen Xin, 28, who works for the Beijing Meteorological Bureau. Data released by the Beijing statistics bureau show that in 2011, the average annual wage in the Chinese capital was 56,000 yuan.

"Golden Cradle is for rich people, I think. Luckily I can send my son to a kindergarten affiliated to my work unit, which works out much cheaper. But how can migrant workers afford to send their kids to a good kindergarten?" asked Chen.

There is a severe shortage of kindergartens in China. According to the Beijing Education Yearbook 2011, Beijing has 1,245 kindergartens, which teach more than 270,000 students. Pupil numbers are set to grow too, as the city recorded more than 190,000 births in 2011.

A note of caution

"The main function of a kindergarten is to cultivate a healthy character. Over-expensive, luxurious kindergartens don't benefit kids at all, in my opinion," said Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, who added that the quality of tuition and an enlightened teaching concept are essential to a good kindergarten.

"I should say that nowadays many parents are irrational in their choice of kindergarten. Also, many have been duped by some so-called bilingual or English-language kindergartens, which often have fashionable names, but just employ a few temporary foreign teachers. As far as I know the majority of the foreign teachers in kindergartens have no teaching qualifications, so it's hard to guarantee that the kids will receive quality tuition," said Yuan.

Contact the reporter at hena@chinadaily.com.cn and pengyining@chinadaily.com.cn

Mo Jingxi contributed to this story.

(China Daily 10/19/2012 page6)