Has anybody heard anything about this school? I understand that they have an International section. Anything anybody has heard or have experience with them, please share with me!
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Anybody???
I read some old threads on this school, but those threads are very old. Any comment would be helpful. Thanks!
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frenchfries, i have seen your message yesterday, i didn't reply because my info is so old that you may not want to take as reference.
I actually studied in this school from Kindergarten to primary school and graduated from it. But it was.....20 years ago..... really long time ago, right ?
This primary school was (and is?) a very famous one, this is the first school in Hong Kong that teaches in mandarin, private school and their level used to be one grade higher. That is, if you studied in grade 3, you were actually studying books for grade 4. I knew a lot of students who struggled through because they could not handle the study. I was lucky that I was able to handle it quite well. Besides, I speak very fluent mandarin that helps me alot nowadays.
Although I did it quite well and got into a quite good secondary school, I would never consider to bring my child to this school. Other than lots and lots of homeword and the teachers were so strict and always shouted at students, the other thing that I hated most was that teachers always asked student to bring money for donation. The school wanted to build a good school image and brand, so they always pushed and forced students to get money from home and donated so that their donation money was always very high.
of course, after 2 decades , who knows, they may have changed already.......But this is my memory from this school, just for sharing
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thanks so much for ur replies, cara and mcmc111.
mcmc111, it's good to get feedback from 1st hand experienced students, however dated. the points you have mentioned are definately worth considering. i would not want my son to go through such rigorous curriculum as what you have described. i wonder if it's the same way now... we will need to do a school visit to see what we can find out.
are u bilingual now?
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hi frenchfries, yes, i speak 4 languages - cantonese, english, mandarin and also one more chinese dialect. But a lot of people can speak several languages in HK, just a matter of fluency.
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so, i guess my question is, are u fluent in mandarin and english? (since these two are medium of teaching at KCIS)
yes, a lot of people can speak several languages in various levels, but i only count fluent ones..
and 'bilingual' by definition means equally fluent in two languages..
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yes, i speak very fluent mandarin (like native), cantonese and english. I think it has some relation with the primary school, but not really significant.
After I graduated from primary school, I did not use mandarin at all during my secondary school life. So, I forgot all mandarin. Then, I went to Canada for study and I had a lot of Taiwanese friends. Then I started to pick up mandarin again. That is the period that really improve my mandarin fluency. But of course, I have to say that if I didn't learn mandarin in primary school, I would never be able to have this fluency level.
However, I have lot of primary school classmates and also my brother who are graduated from this school, but they are unable to speak fluent mandarin now. They just do not need to speak mandarin at work or during school life, so they simply forget it.......
I think the level of fluency really depends on how often your use the language.
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mcmc111,
thanks for that. yes, i agree with you on the fact that with languages, u definately have to use them. i want to give my son a chance to learn good putonghua, so that he will be able to pick it back up quickly when he needs it in the future.
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clam
16 yrs ago
international section started in 2002 and so mcmc111's comments may not apply as this section seems to run separate under a different principal etc. to different curriculum and is mostly in English with daily mandarin class.
http://www.kcis.edu.hk
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oh, the international section is not bilingual then? hmmmm......
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clam
16 yrs ago
not truly 'bilingual' in the sense of equal measures of language.
the main or local (i.e. non international) section is not bilingual either. it is all in mandarin with daily english class.
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i see... but for the international section, is the mandarin curriculum strong?
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clam
16 yrs ago
not sure. i only know cos i'm making enquiries myself...
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Hello, it''s me again.
First. international section was not started in 2002. When I studied my P1 - should be around 1980, they already have international section. Yes, they are under different principal, different buildings, etc
Second, yes, international section speaks English for all classes and mandarin for chinese class. Local section speaks mandarin for all classes and english for english class. This is true for all other schools in Hong Kong. No school is truly bilingual
Mandarin was taught by mandarin speaking teachers (teachers from Mainland China) at my days. I believe this is still the same.
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clam
16 yrs ago
correction re kiangsu, website says they opened international section in 1993 (some 13 years later than recalled by mcmc111) and moved to new location in 2002. not that this indicates how strong/bilingual it truly is.
agree with joshmomm, there are some "truly bilingual" schools out there (e.g. ISF).
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ok. other than Tutor Time and ISF, what other schools are 'truly bilingual' schools?
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matsy
16 yrs ago
Hi
hope its ok for me to piggyback this thread.
i'm not in hk yet but want to plan for my 2 yr old to spend about 2 years there at some point in the future to learn cant & mandarin (in Sydney at mo).
i heard non-chinese speakers can't go to local schools, so what options do i have?
are international schools, yes, 'truly bilingual'? (what do you mean ff??)
any other programmes for kids?
can you also please direct me to 'ISF' site, and any other info.
sorry, i know its elementary but i have to start somewhere!
thanks
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Hi, i am back again.
Sorry, i really have never heard that there is school that is "truly bilingual". Frenchfries, may be you can explore more.
Second, I don't understand why the kiangsu's website said their International session opened in 1993. But I can definitely tell you that at the time I studied there in 1980, they already have international session. I was graduated from the international session in 1986. But I don't really want to argue this point. I just shared the information I know.
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eMom
16 yrs ago
My kid attended KCIS until July this year. They have an hour or so of Mandarin lesson everyday and the kids there have reasonable mandarin standards compared to other local schools in HK. I think the teachers, both English and Chinese, are quite nice and the homework (mainly Chinese homework only) not too overwhelming, at least at the lower grades.
Other billingual schools in HK with varying split of English/Chinese lessons would be Independent School Foundation Academy, International Montessori school, Chinese international school and Singapore international school.
Hope this helps.
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I am an old girl of KC kindergarten & Primary School, graduated in 1985. The school had "Chinese Section" & "English Section" (not "International Section/School") at the time. I was in Chinese Section and Mandarin was the teaching medium except in English lessons. To my understanding, English Section offered local cirriculum but many subjects were taught in English.
It's true that there were lots of homework just like any typical traditional schools in HK. Some of the teachers were strict (but not all!!!!) and might yell at students. But after so many years, I believe things are changing.
Regarding the donation, I have never heard of it and no one urged me/my family to donate money. The biggest one-time donation I had made during my schooling in KCS should be $10, all went to The Community Chest. :)
*My daughter is in KCIS Reception Class & KCS K2 class now. She enjoys both.
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Thank you for the feedback, everyone.
It would be interesting to make a visit to the school to find out more.
FYI for people who are looking into various schools... I just attended an introductory session at Yew Chung. I was initially interested in the school, again, for their 'biligual' education and their internationalism. Basically, they have Chinese-speaking teachers and English-speaking teachers in each classroom (I am looking into kindergarten), but they are quite unclear about whether the 'Chinese' is Cantonese or Mandarin. Also, they emphasis that the children are encouraged to speak in their mother-tongue in their kindergarten, which is fine, but they have in brackets 'Cantonese'. This school is clearly for children who have Cantonese-speaking parents, which makes it unsuitable for us.
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Topol
16 yrs ago
My son attends local section (mandarin speaking) at KCS and has done since the age of 2. There are a number of eurasian kids in his class and they all have a good level of spoken and written chinese. There was a western boy started out at the school who understood basic mandarin but was reluctant to speak after a couple of year his parents sent him to a different school. It seems that kids who see that the language is actively used around them ie. at least one of their parents speak, tend to embrace the language better.
In terms of the school itself it follows a traditional curriculum so the homework tends to pile up especially around 5-6 years old as the emphasis changes from spoken mandarin to written characters. I have always found the teachers to be very motivated and very supportive with the kids. The communication between parents and teachers is much better than I expected. If you are considering sending your kids there, especially from Primary School, it makes life alot easier if there is a mandarin speaker and writer at home to gelp with the homework. BTW, I am from the UK and my wife from Taiwan
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My son has been in pre-nursery since Sept last year. I must say the teachers are very caring and has always kept good communication with parents. The only reason I chose KCS is the Mandarin environment they provide, coz both my husband and I don't speak the language. It has been a term and I 'm amazed how much Mandarin my son has picked up.
There are many "good" schools around, it's just the matter what suits your child.
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Dear all, I study in KCC and grad at 1983. I love my school. Yes, they are strict but not too much homework. I can handle it quite well. I now speak Mandarin, English and Cantonese. I work as and air crew and need to do the Public anounment during the flight from Hong Kong to other destination.
I am so glad that I learn Mandarin from KCC.
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Hi,
we are planning to send my daughter to
kcis since her school now (local school) gives too much homeworks and by the time my daughter is home, she is really exhausted and cannot handle the mandarin tutor.
I want to know more about the school, do they give more homeworks as compared to local school, we are non chinese speakers...I heard KCIS is for the non chinese speaking students.
Your advise are much appreciated!
thanks
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My son attends KCIS and although he's still in the lower school, I have to say that the level of homework is acceptable. He now gets Chinese homework (writing 1 character, max 2 pages of Chinese homework per week) and English homework (high frequency word spelling & 2 additional worksheets). There is 1 Mandarin class of approx. 30 mins per day and he loves it it. As there is homework in Mandarin, if you don't read Chinese, you may need to ask a friend or tutor to help translate.
As my son has a speech delay, we found that the school isn't the best if you child has a delay. They aren't really equipped to handle these kids - no learning support staff at the lower school campus, only 1 teacher to 24 kids with support from 1 teacher's aide etc. It comes down to whether the individual teacher is willing to work with you on this. We are having a great experience this year but had a horrible replacement teacher 2nd term of last year.
We were attracted to the school because we wanted our son to at least be more exposed to the local school kids (the campus is shared with the KCS kids) and that they have a mandarin component. We have found though that most of the kids in KCIS are Chinese, although alot come from overseas Chinese families.
The facilities at the lower school aren't impressive given the huge fee difference between KCIS & KCS, however, my son doesn't seem to notice and loves going to school and going on the school bus!
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Masaya - I am in the same boat with my daughter. She is in P1. SHe keeps saying that she doesn't want to go to school anymore as she is tired of doing so much work. I feel terrible to hear that. School should be a great experience not a burden. B'cos of the local school system, the work is on the heavy side. She has been doing really well but now the marks are going lower & I am starting to think like you as well. The fees seems pretty high though at KCIS
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