Little Tiger is a full Chinese immersion school. This means that nearly all instruction and activities are conducted in Chinese. At the early ages, children learn to understand and express themselves in Chinese through daily exposure. In the elementary grades, they learn core subjects in Chinese and develop high-level language skills that include not only daily social language but also academic language.
Why Immersion?
Immersion education is a proven method of language learning that exposes children to the “target language” (Chinese) in an intensive fashion. Benefits include:
- Mimics the way in which children acquire their native language
- Produces high levels of proficiency including both social and academic language
- Data indicate overall benefits to academic performance
- Significant, life-long benefits on cognitive development
- Cultural awareness and appreciation
See the Little Tiger immersion learning environment in action
Why Chinese?
Little Tiger families are drawn to our school and to the Chinese language for a range of often overlapping reasons. For example, they want their children to:
- Become truly bilingual, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
- Learn Chinese at an age when they are uniquely receptive to linguistic nuances.
- Develop native-like sensitivity to Chinese’s tonal pronunciation.
- Learn to read and write Chinese characters, which are visually captivating in a way that differs from alphabetical languages.
- Connect with Chinese heritage through the language.
- Converse with Chinese-speaking family members in the US and abroad.
- Grow up in a diverse community where true bilingualism is a shared priority.
- Prepare for a future in which our educational, professional, and social lives are increasingly intercultural.
Little Tiger is more than just a Chinese Immersion school though. We strive to provide the most engaging education experience for our students. Learn more about our Preschool & Kinder program (ages 2-5) and Elementary School (grades 1-5).
“This is not the Saturday Chinese school you had growing up. I never imagined this level of fluency would be possible for my second generation kid. Not only that, they are getting a really, really good education.”
– Little Tiger parent
What about English?
While Little Tiger is a full Chinese immersion school, our students also receive English Language Arts instruction starting in Kindergarten.