Chinese Pathway
Below are the frequently asked questions for Chinese pathway, including:
- Registration and Tuition
- Curriculum
- Program & Teachers
- Others
Registration and Tuition
How do I enroll my child to Chinese Pathway？
- Click "Registration" on the top of the webpage, and fill in your child’s information.
- Within three business days, you will receive an email confirming your child’s registration and also information on the tuition and payment.
- Please make the payment at your earliest convenience and you’ll receive a receipt within three business days.
What can I do if my child is on the wait list?
Some classes at Chinese Pathway are quickly filled up. Therefore, we suggest you make registration at your earliest convenience. If the class is full, you’ll be notified after your registration, and be put on a waitlist. You will be informed whenever there is a spot open.
How much is the tuition?
You can find the tuition information here: http://www.chinesepathway.com/registration.html
What is the refund policy?
If you cancel your class four weeks before school starts, all tuition and material fee will be refunded to you. If you cancel your class after that, 10% tuition and material fee will be deducted.
No refund will be processed one week before the class starts.
Registration fee is not refundable.
Curriculum
Do you use simplified or traditional characters?
We use simplified characters in teaching. When introducing the origin of Chinese characters, traditional characters and decomposition of Chinese characters will be mentioned.
What textbooks do you use? What are the teaching materials?
We do not use a fixed set of textbooks. Our instructors develop theme-based and personalized classroom materials for each student. Sample teaching materials include:
Authentic or semi-authentic readings adapted from newspapers, fairies tales, online readings, Chinese books, etc.
Online leveled reading platform
Online vocabulary learning platform
Cross reference and adaptation of textbooks used in Mandarin immersion programs (e.g. Better Immersion and its supplementary materials for lower grade bands).
What is the class routine?
There is no exact routine of classes as our teachers design customized classes based on student’s language proficiency and needs. The following chart shows one sample class flow that is commonly used in our school.
What are the foundations of curriculum?
At Chinese Pathway, our curriculum is designed to be
aligned with ACTFL 5Cs and common core standards.
Using authentic and personalized materials, we want
to ensure students are producing meaningful work
and having fun learning Mandarin!
What are the goals and objectives of instruction across different grade bands?
Note that the goals of our instruction is not just to memorize a number of random and discrete Chinese characters and words, but more about meaningful communication and application into the real life and academic situations. Therefore, our curriculum is closely aligned to ACTFL and common core standards - what students are learned at Chinese Pathway can be easily connected to their mainstream classes. Please find the sample objectives for different grade bands below:
Program & Teachers
Which class does my child go to?
For school year 2020-21, we have the following classes:
- Level 1: Kindergarten - Grade 1
- Level 2: Grade 1 to 2
- Level 3: Grade 2 to 3
- Level 4: Grade 3 to 4
- Level 5: Grade 4 to 6
Students are usually placed into a class according to their grade levels except that a student’s Mandarin proficiency level is significantly higher or lower than his or her peers.
A placement assessment is offered during the summer, and upon request. Teachers can also suggest replacement during the school year with closer observation and on-going assessments.
What is the class size?
The average class size for regular school year is 12-14 students per class. Each class with more than 12 students are taught by two teachers, one lead teacher and one secondary teacher.
Who are the teachers?
We are highly selective of our teachers. The lead teachers are full-time Mandarin teachers at the elite private and public schools in the Bay Area. They have graduate degrees in education, teaching credentials/certificates and extensive Mandarin teaching experience. The secondary teachers have graduate degrees in education or language and experience working in weekend or after school Chinese programs. Below are some of the universities where our lead and second teachers graduate from:
Stanford University, Teacher Education Program
University of Pennsylvania, School of Education
University of Maryland, School of Education
State University of New York, School of Education
Beijing Normal University
What are your extracurricular activities?
Beside regular class times as posted on the school calendar, Chinese Pathway also designed extracurricular activities include the following themes:
- Festivals (e.g. Chinese Spring Festival Art Activities, Easter Chinese Egg Hunt)
- Culture (e.g. Kung Fu, Chinese Painting & Calligraphy)
- Entertainment (e.g. Movie Night, Story Time)
- Academic (e.g. iChineseReader Reading Activities)
- Parents & Family (e.g. Parent Effective Training Workshop, Family Academic Trip to the Asian Art Museum)
The extracurricular activities are held a few times per semester (usually on Saturday after class), and are open and free to all Chinese Pathway students.
How is Chinese Pathway different from other weekend Chinese programs?
Please read our information online and the FAQs above. You’re also welcome to schedule an appointment to visit our school and come to our open house events. To summarize, below are some of the big differentiations：
Curriculum
- Theme and project-based learning - through interaction and hands-on activities
- Benchmarked to ACTFL and common core standards
- Rigorous and customized according to students’ interest and needs
- Authentic academic and cultural materials
Instruction
- Effective learning strategies - Chinese character decomposition and association, leveled guided reading practice, abundant extensive reading materials; etc.
- Integrated language skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing
Teachers
- Two teachers co-teaching in a small-size classroom
- A strong teaching team of credentialed and experienced Mandarin educators
Abundant resources
- Online leveled reading platform
- A variety of extracurricular activities
- Library of picture books
Chinese Pathway is aimed to provide an enjoyable and meaningful Mandarin learning experience to all students. Every teacher is working hard towards this goal and treats each student with love and as an unique individual.
Others
What if my child has to missing a class?
We have avoided all weekends that may conflict with national and local holidays. If your child has to miss a class, please let the teachers know and they will send you all the class materials and homework assignments for that class.
For a few classes that have parallel classes on the other day, each student is allowed to have one makeup class once per semester. You need to fill up the makeup class form if you need to do the makeup class.