Our Approach

A Little Dynasty Chinese School teaches Mandarin Chinese effectively by making learning Chinese FUN!

Chinese School Curriculum

Our approach is in accord with The Standards for Foreign Language Learning, promulgated by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, which represents the most complete national consensus on the best language instruction practices.

Our approach is fully aligned with the California Board of Education’s Language Learning Continuum and Foreign Language Framework so Proper Mandarin™ is suitable for use in all kindergarten through twelfth grade Mandarin language programs.

Our approach to teaching children Chinese is in accordance with the Theory of Multiple Intelligences developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. This approach suggests there are eight different intelligences that educators should address: Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"); Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart"); Spatial intelligence ("picture smart"); Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart"); Musical intelligence ("music smart"); Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart"); Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart"); Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart"). In other words, the theory of Multiple Intelligences suggests that teaching a certain subject is more effective when presented in a wide variety of ways including .
Our programs are designed to reach our students using various pathways to learning such as:

Award winning text books and learning materials
Multi-media platforms
Interactive puppet shows
Live story tellings
Themed games
Activities
Experiments
Arts and crafts
Music and songs.

Therefore, our students will not only become proficient in Chinese language, but will also build skills in other subjects such as art, music, science, and math.

Parent & Me Curriculum

For most young children, playing is the most effective path to learning. Our Village Play & Learn curriculum takes into account the fact that most young children learn best through play and exploration rather than a heavy reliance on direct instruction.

ALD's meaningful and purposeful play based curriculum will lay a solid foundation for further Chinese language study. Young children respond well to our program because our fun learning activities are carefully designed to be practical and relevant to the lives of modern American children.

Students' Measurable Progress

To communicate and evaluate our students’ performance, we have a testing, report card, and parent conference system. During the semester, we will periodically test the students to measure their mastery of the materials. In order not to create test anxiety for our students, we try to disguise these our tests as just a special class exercise.

We want to make sure our students become fluent in spoken and written Chinese and can succeed in
standardized tests such as the AP and SAT Chinese tests. We believe our evaluation, report card, and parent conference system will be very helpful in this regard.

Demonstrations of Students’ Knowledge

A Little Dynasty Chinese School will host events for the entire community on major Chinese festivals and holidays as well as organize a graduation ceremony every year for its students that will showcase the students’ achievement. We will provide parents with tangible evidence of their children’s progress through demonstrations of skill such as story telling, recitals, and talent shows by the students themselves.