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Language Classes

Instruction in French and Chinese are offered once a week.
Spanish is incorporated with circle time activities.

Chinese

My name is Amy Zhangyuan Yu. I graduated from Jiangxi Normal University in China. I have had nine years experience teaching Chinese language in Jiangxi Nursery school in China. In the United States I continued my education and have earned a certificate of Early Childhood Education, as well as a Montessori Teaching diploma for Pre School and Kindergarten. I have worked at Westlake Montessori School for over three years and have been asked by many parents and the administration to develop a program to teach Chinese language to young children.

Using the Montessori Method I have developed a series of ten lessons for the school year that include: Numbers, manners, colors, holidays, seasons, cities, animals, transportation, mountains and pinyin. For each lesson I will use flash cards, games, songs, poems, and dialog. My lessons will include hands on work with various materials and tools, like pen – brush, teacup, chopsticks, costumes and money. Pinyin is similar to pronunciation of words. They will be reviewed each lesson.
The older children will learn how to use a Chinese dictionary so then can learn more Chinese by themselves.

I have great confidence in the children’s ability to develop an understanding of the Chinese language using the Montessori Method and the program I have developed.

French

Teaching a foreign language at a very young age means exposing children to a new way of thinking which boosts brainpower, vocabulary and self esteem. My goal is to help the children develop an appreciation of different cultures, gain language skills, and form connections that make a new language easy to learn, Vive la langue Française! This means, Horray for the French language!
Instructor: Virginia Neauman

Bilingual Babies

According to a story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, research shows that children who study languages are more imaginative, better with abstract ideas, and more flexible in their thinking. Students of foreign languages also score statistically higher on standardized tests, such as the SAT. Consistently, students who have taken four or more years of a foreign language have scored higher on the SAT's verbal section than those who have studied four years of any other subject, according to the College Entrance Examination Board.

Later in life, bilingual people have access to a greater number of career possibilities, and develop a deeper understanding of their own and other cultures. When children learn another language at a young age they are more likely to acquire greater proficiency and speak with near-native accents. While many of today's adults had to wait until junior high to get solid instruction in a foreign language, today's children have many more options that come a lot earlier.

In fact, experts say, the earlier children learn a language — ideally, as
toddlers — the better. Between ages 3 and 5, children are like intuitive little sponges that can absorb up to five or even more languages at a time, says Betsy Hanna, director of the regional Berlitz Language Center in Robinson. Their small brains actually have the ability to compartmentalize languages, too, so that learning a foreign tongue doesn't inhibit a young child's developing English skills, Hanna says. And unlike older children and adults — who tend to learn a foreign language by studying its grammar rules, thinking, and reacting
carefully — tots simply will develop an instinct for a language, just like they do for their native English.


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Language Classes Instruction in French and Chinese are offered once a week. Spanish is incorporated with circle time activities. Chinese My name is Amy Zhangyuan Yu. I graduated from Jiangxi Normal University in China. I have had nine years experience teaching Chinese language in Jiangxi Nursery school in China. In the United States I continued my education and have earned a certificate of Early Childhood Education, as well as a Montessori Teaching diploma for Pre School and Kindergarten. I have worked at Westlake Montessori School for over three years and have been asked by many parents and the administration to develop a program to teach Chinese language to young children. Using the Montessori Method I have developed a series of ten lessons for the school year that include: Numbers, manners, colors, holidays, seasons, cities, animals, transportation, mountains and pinyin. For each lesson I will use flash cards, games, songs, poems, and dialog. My lessons will include hands on work with various materials and tools, like pen – brush, teacup, chopsticks, costumes and money. Pinyin is similar to pronunciation of words. They will be reviewed each lesson. The older children will learn how to use a Chinese dictionary so then can learn more Chinese by themselves. I have great confidence in the children’s ability to develop an understanding of the Chinese language using the Montessori Method and the program I have developed. French Teaching a foreign language at a very young age means exposing children to a new way of thinking which boosts brainpower, vocabulary and self esteem. My goal is to help the children develop an appreciation of different cultures, gain language skills, and form connections that make a new language easy to learn, Vive la langue Française! This means, Horray for the French language! Instructor: Virginia Neauman Bilingual Babies According to a story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, research shows that children who study languages are more imaginative, better with abstract ideas, and more flexible in their thinking. Students of foreign languages also score statistically higher on standardized tests, such as the SAT. Consistently, students who have taken four or more years of a foreign language have scored higher on the SAT's verbal section than those who have studied four years of any other subject, according to the College Entrance Examination Board. Later in life, bilingual people have access to a greater number of career possibilities, and develop a deeper understanding of their own and other cultures. When children learn another language at a young age they are more likely to acquire greater proficiency and speak with near-native accents. While many of today's adults had to wait until junior high to get solid instruction in a foreign language, today's children have many more options that come a lot earlier. In fact, experts say, the earlier children learn a language — ideally, as toddlers — the better. Between ages 3 and 5, children are like intuitive little sponges that can absorb up to five or even more languages at a time, says Betsy Hanna, director of the regional Berlitz Language Center in Robinson. Their small brains actually have the ability to compartmentalize languages, too, so that learning a foreign tongue doesn't inhibit a young child's developing English skills, Hanna says. And unlike older children and adults — who tend to learn a foreign language by studying its grammar rules, thinking, and reacting carefully — tots simply will develop an instinct for a language, just like they do for their native English.