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It offers foreign language education staples German, French and Italian, but it’s Mandarin Chinese that’s now the second most popular course, after Spanish, at Language Stars.
“Parents are recognizing that Mandarin is up-and-coming, and important in the global business market,” said Katy Mass, marketing director for Language Stars, a Hinsdale-based business that teaches foreign languages to young children. “And they want their children to have that advantage.”
The business started offering Mandarin about eight or nine years ago, she said, and added that other reasons, beyond forward looking career success, have also led parents to enroll their students in the eastern language.
“We … have a lot of families who had adopted children from China, and they’d like to have their children continue in their native language,” she said. “And then we have a lot of parents, or dads, who do business in China.”
The business hosted three free different story and game times in French, Spanish and Mandarin, respectively, at the Elmhurst Public Library last week.
About 20 children were brought by their parents for the Mandarin session on Thursday, during which teacher William Li, a native speaker from Beijing, and Mass, spoke to the children in only Mandarin.
Julie Du of Elmhurst brought her two children, Lucah, 4, and Coda, 21-months, to the session. Julie’s husband is Chinese, and she thought her children might enjoy the stories in the language of their father.
“I think any foreign language is valuable for a young kid to learn at a young age,” she said.
Mary Beth Lucas brought her two daughters, Megan, 2, and Molly, 4, on a whim, and said she didn’t have a specific intent for her daughters to learn Chinese.
“It’s just good to expose them to different languages,” she said. “Knowing multiple languages, I think, helps you get a better knowledge academically.”
The sessions attempt to fully immerse the students in the language, with no instructions given in English.
“So it’s all run through games and songs, activities and stories,” Mass said. “The best way for children to learn a language is to be completely immersed in all the songs and games and activities. And they learn it very naturally, just the way they learn their first language.”
Li formerly taught English to Chinese students before moving to Illinois for the job at Language Stars. He said he likes seeing the students have fun, a contrast to the strict learning environment in China.
It offers foreign language education staples German, French and Italian, but it’s Mandarin Chinese that’s now the second most popular course, after Spanish, at Language Stars.
“Parents are recognizing that Mandarin is up-and-coming, and important in the global business market,” said Katy Mass, marketing director for Language Stars, a Hinsdale-based business that teaches foreign languages to young children. “And they want their children to have that advantage.”
The business started offering Mandarin about eight or nine years ago, she said, and added that other reasons, beyond forward looking career success, have also led parents to enroll their students in the eastern language.
“We … have a lot of families who had adopted children from China, and they’d like to have their children continue in their native language,” she said. “And then we have a lot of parents, or dads, who do business in China.”
The business hosted three free different story and game times in French, Spanish and Mandarin, respectively, at the Elmhurst Public Library last week.
About 20 children were brought by their parents for the Mandarin session on Thursday, during which teacher William Li, a native speaker from Beijing, and Mass, spoke to the children in only Mandarin.
Julie Du of Elmhurst brought her two children, Lucah, 4, and Coda, 21-months, to the session. Julie’s husband is Chinese, and she thought her children might enjoy the stories in the language of their father.
“I think any foreign language is valuable for a young kid to learn at a young age,” she said.
Mary Beth Lucas brought her two daughters, Megan, 2, and Molly, 4, on a whim, and said she didn’t have a specific intent for her daughters to learn Chinese.
“It’s just good to expose them to different languages,” she said. “Knowing multiple languages, I think, helps you get a better knowledge academically.”
The sessions attempt to fully immerse the students in the language, with no instructions given in English.
“So it’s all run through games and songs, activities and stories,” Mass said. “The best way for children to learn a language is to be completely immersed in all the songs and games and activities. And they learn it very naturally, just the way they learn their first language.”
Li formerly taught English to Chinese students before moving to Illinois for the job at Language Stars. He said he likes seeing the students have fun, a contrast to the strict learning environment in China.
Despite occasional lapses in attention span, the group of children, all younger than six, seemed to enjoy playing along in the unfamiliar language. They quickly understood and replied with the Mandarin greeting “ni hao,” in response to Li.
“As adults we translate in our heads, so if we’re not familiar with Chinese, we’re thinking in English, and trying to translate into the other language,” Mass said. “Kids don’t actually learn that way. They don’t have to translate. They pick it up on their own and by making it really fun, really interactive, children will learn the vocabulary because they want to play the games, they want to participate in the activities.”
