What dialect of Chinese is spoken?
We speak Chinese Mandarin (often referred as just Chinese). Mandarin is the official language/dialect in China, Taiwan and is also the formal language of instruction for overseas Chinese. We [...]
Do I need to try and speak a second language at home with my kids?
No, speak whatever language with your kids you feel most comfortable. However if you’d like to encourage your kids in their learning journey, learning alongside your kids with our ‘Learn with [...]
Will my child retain their bilingual abilities after they start school?
Children that are bilingual before starting school have the best foundation for being bilingual for life. However as with most skills, we can lose what we don’t use. As such, we encourage parents [...]
We speak a different language at home other than English and Mandarin.
Children grow up in all kinds of bilingual or multilingual settings. It doesn’t matter if they hear the same parent speaking several languages (that’s normal life). It doesn’t [...]
Will my child get confused?
Research has shown that even infants are able to hear and distinct the patterns and rhythms of different languages that they are exposed to. Furthermore, many studies have shown that the early [...]
My child has learning difficulties, is it appropriate for my child to attend the centre?
We welcome all children regardless of their learning abilities, prior experience or background. Our program and syllabus is designed to take into account all children’s social, cultural and [...]
How long will it take my child to be bilingual?
Research has shown that there are at least 3 factors that may influence the progress that a child makes in the second-language acquisition process. Motivation: The best motivation for learning is [...]
Will my child cling to English speaking educators (if they are unable to speak Mandarin)?
It is natural for children to have a preference in interacting with particular educator (especially when distressed). We do expect that children will initially draw to educators that speak their [...]
Will my child be distressed because of being in a bilingual environment?
Children in many places around the world grow in bilingual environments without any distress because of the language environment. We don’t expect the bilingual environment to be the reason for [...]
Is Bilingual by Five just for Chinese/Mandarin speaking families?
Families of any language backgrounds are welcome. The centre caters for any parents who would like their child to have access to a bilingual environment growing up, with a particular focus on [...]
