After School Mandarin Language Courses

These courses are designed for primary children who wish to be able to communicate confidently and effectively in Mandarin, to improve their grades at school, and to succeed in their exams.

The focus of all our lessons is placed on developing the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with a special emphasis on spoken language to help your child develop strong communication skills, and build his/her confidence.

Our lessons are designed to be practical, interesting and enjoyable, and to encourage interaction and communication. In class, your child will be given plenty of opportunities to participate actively, interact with his/her classmates, and to re-use and reinforce what he/she has learnt. Through fun activities, role-plays, language development games and exercises, your child will lay solid foundations on which to build his/her overall competence in a completely natural way. And, more importantly, he/she will learn to communicate confidently and efficiently in Mandarin.

All of our courses follow a dynamic, interactive teaching approach, using the latest teaching materials and resources. Syllabuses are constantly revised and updated to ensure that we keep abreast of the changing needs of our students, thus enabling us to deliver courses that are relevant to their needs and expectations.

At Hong Kong Institute of Languages, we believe it is important to deliver highly interesting and motivating programmes that will inspire our students, and encourage them to work their hardest and reach their full potential.

In order to ensure the fastest possible progress, the medium used in class is Mandarin, supplemented whenever necessary with English for explanations and instructions.

Progress Monitoring & Evaluation

• Prior to the start of the lessons each September, we hold free demo classes. Depending on the number of students interested in each school, these will take place either at the school premises or at our own centre in Central. These demo classes are aimed at showing you in greater detail how our classes are organised, the materials that your child will be using, our way of teaching, and the kind of interaction your child will benefit from in class. They also serve to assess the level of children, so as to ensure that they can be integrated into the most appropriate class for their level. Students who register after the beginning of the academic year may either attend a trial class,   or come for an individual assessment with one of our Mandarin teachers.

. After the initial 5-6 weeks, we conduct an in-class progress check in the form of an "I can.". This mid-term evaluation serves to assist your child's teacher to accurately identify each student's strengths and weaknesses and to plan her/his future lessons accordingly.

. At the end of each term (10-12 weeks), we conduct another progress check in the form of a simple test to assess your child's improvement in the language, and invite you to a special "Open Class" to show you first-hand the extent of your child's achievements. You will also receive a detailed progress report to highlight the new linguistic skills that your child has acquired.

• At the end of the school year (3 terms), we conduct a post-course check/test (or benchmark test for P6 students moving onto Secondary School), and your child will be presented with a Diploma issued by the Institute recognising his/her level of linguistic proficiency, as well as a more detailed report.

Class Details

• Class length ranges from 1 to 1½ hours. Classes are available once or twice weekly, right after school hours on weekdays and/or on Saturdays on your child’s school premises.

• At HKIL we strongly believe that for the fastest progress, either a 1.5 hour class once a week or a 1 hour class twice a week provide the optimum learning setting: this gives adequate time for children to have their homework checked; revise what they studied in the previous lesson; warm-up into the new lesson topic; learn some vocabulary; enjoy some listening exercises, language games and activities; and still have plenty of opportunity for speaking, reading and writing practice.

• Classes are organised in small groups of 4-8 children.

• At HKIL we strongly believe that the best way to learn a language is to practise it as often as possible. To further optimise your child’s progress and maximise his/her oral participation, we limit the number of children per class to a maximum of only 8 children. This smaller group situation provides a greater level of interaction with the teacher and the other students and offers your child more opportunity to develop his/her communication skills, and build his/her self-confidence. It also ensures greater attention to your child’s individual needs, therefore promoting faster and more long-lasting progress.

• Children are grouped not only according to age, but also according to level.
At HKIL we strongly believe that to maximise progress, it is essential to ensure a homogeneous and effective learning environment. This is why we go one step further than many other language course providers, and ensure that each child is placed in a class at a level appropriate to his/her existing skills as well as his/her age group.

• Transport home after class can be arranged upon request.

Additional Services

As we strongly believe that the progress your child makes in 1 to 1.5 hours once or twice per week could always be enhanced further with more opportunities to be exposed to the language, we also offer any child taking English lessons from our institute, whether at school, at home or at our institute the following additional services:

	Unlimited Access to our students' Library and Computer Lab. When you register your child for our courses, by paying a nominal subscription fee of HK$ 280 per annum, he/she will become a member of our HKIL / HK Kidz Young Reader’s Club, and enjoy unlimited access to our various libraries, which comprise a variety of story books in English, French, German, Spanish and Mandarin - including the renowned Oxford Reading Tree readers series - as well as to our computer lab on 3/F. What’s more, being a member also entitles your child to borrow books, CD-ROMs, VCDs, DVDs, and CDs free of charge for extra practice at home.
	Language workshops & Clubs at a privileged rate. We all know that in order to learn a language, we have to take advantage of as many opportunities to practise as possible. At HK Institute of Languages, we create this opportunity for your child through our workshops and clubs. Furthermore, as we strongly believe that our supplementary programmes are a valuable complement to all of our courses, we make them available to you at the privileged rate            of $80 per session (1.5 hours) or $720 for 10 sessions (15 hours). Specifically designed to complement any one of our courses, these workshops & clubs are organised to be an extension of the lesson that your child is taking with us, to provide him/her with ample opportunity to re-activate and consolidate what he/she has learnt in class, and to further develop his/her oral and writing communication skills. Every week, our teachers present your child with new ideas to put his/her newly acquired skills into practice, offering various programmes to cater for different age groups and interests: our variety of programmes range from engaging, stimulating theme-based activities to more significant projects, including a drama piece to be performed at the end of the term/year, a pen pal exchange with children in France, computer and team project work, journals, movies, and more. Note: these workshops and clubs are also available, with the same conditions, to all our secondary students attending general, school support or exam revision classes. So if you have an older child in need of extra Mandarin (or French, English, German, or Spanish) lessons, do not hesitate to take advantage of this exceptional offer. It’s like getting two sessions a week for the price of one!  We strongly encourage you to make full use of the above services, which we believe will make a great difference to your child’s overall learning.
	When you register your child for any of our courses, you can also enjoy: Free participation in our Social Gatherings, Open Classes & Special events. Once every two months, we like to hold social gatherings at the institute offering you the chance to meet with our administrative staff, your child’s teachers and other parents. So come along, have a pleasant chat, find out more about your child’s classmates and teacher, and make some new friends while enjoying a nice glass of wine and snacks! At the end of every term, we invite you to a special “open class” to show you first-hand the extent of your child’s achievements and the new linguistic skills that he/she has acquired. If you wish to be able to really assess how well your child is doing in class, this is an opportunity not to be missed, and we strongly recommend that you attend. Attending our “Open Classes” is an excellent way to show your child how much you care about his/her studies, and boost his/her confidence, while giving you a great deal of satisfaction in seeing the progress which he/she has made. We also regularly organise special events, including the ‘Halloween Party’, ‘Christmas Party’, and end of year ‘Graduation Ceremony’, and take part in the ‘Fête de la Musique’ organised each year in June by the French consulate. These events help to develop an even deeper bond between your child, his/her classmates, and teacher, and create a sense of belonging, strengthening his/her enthusiasm for his/her weekly language classes. It is therefore advisable that you arrange for your child to join as many of these events as possible!

Enrolment Procedure

To enrol your child, simply refer to his/her school timetable, select a class available for your child’s age and level, then fill in the enclosed form, and send it to us.

If you would like your child to join, but the classes offered do not suit his/her schedule, please send us the form with your choice of day and we will look into the possibility of opening another class.

	Please fill in one form per child.
	Please send the form and your payment by post to:  Accounts Department, ‘Hong Kong Institute of Languages Ltd’, 5/F, Wellington Plaza, 56-58 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong.
	Registration is for 3 terms. Should you, for any reason, wish to withdraw your child from the lessons after the first or second term, please take note that a written withdrawal notice will be required in advance (one month before the start of the new term) or else the next term's tuition fees will be due in full.
	If demand is sufficient, we will help you to arrange transport home after class (fare not included in course fee). Please let us know if  you would be interested in such a service (see enrolment form).

Quality Assurance

When you choose Hong Kong Institute of Languages as your education provider, you can rest assured that your child will benefit from the highest standards of tuition, following the latest teaching methodologies and supported by the very latest materials. Our exceptional quality of service goes much further than delivering interactive and exciting language classes; we also provide:

• a structured study programme fully adapted to your child’s needs;

• a team of highly qualified and experienced native teachers - all possessing high level qualifications, and previous experience in teaching young learners;

• a professional Course Director to supervise, monitor and co-ordinate our teachers, ensuring that all classes are prepared and delivered up to the high standards expected by the Institute;

• a vast array of top-quality, up-to-date resources and educational tools, specially designed to captivate the interest and attention of young children;

• a guarantee of close personal attention, customer satisfaction, and excellent results.