Aubrey is 3 years old and enrolled in Tsui Lin in September. Tex and Jiayi are her parents, originally from Singapore and Beijing respectively; both of them are currently enjoying their new life in Paris since late-2022, working for the same global energy company. They have been on the move every few years for work – Aubrey was born in Houston, Texas in the summer of 2020, and their oldest son, Avery, was born in the autumn of 2017 in Oklahoma. Prior to having kids, they had both been based in Singapore, and also for a short time in Mexico as well.

What element was decisive in choosing the Tsui Lin International School for your child?

“There were 2 equally important factors – firstly we were adamant Aubrey would be part of the French school system since we wanted her to be truly immersed in the local language and culture. And secondly, the big advantage of having a bilingual French-Chinese environment gives us parents a much easier time communicating with the teachers about Aubrey’s progress in school, since we could communicate in Mandarin and are both unfortunately still slowly struggling to pick up French.

A big plus as well was the school giving Aubrey daily exposure to a Mandarin-only environment, which she did not previously have before; she had already become used to speaking English at home with us when we lived in the US, while her first year in France with was in a French-only environment with her assistante-maternelle.”

How is your child’s language learning experience in a Chinese-French bilingual environment?

“It has definitely exceeded our expectations! At home, Aubrey is now able to fluently articulate her thoughts in Mandarin even after only less than 3 months in Tsui Lin. And while we are not able to properly assess her French language ability, we know from her after-school nanny that she understands and communicates very well in French like any other local child here. ”

Your comments on the Tsui Lin teaching team? The programs?

“One of the big positives we have observed about the education programs in France is the abundance of outdoor spaces, so we are definitely thrilled to see Tsui Lin incorporating an outdoor-learning day once a week into their program. We find that this not only gives the children frequent exposure to nature, and the environment outside the traditional classroom setting, but also allows them to explore other learning elements within it – such as arts and creativity, the different parts of their body etc.

Our observation about the teaching team in Tsui Lin, from the short amount of time we have interacted with them, has been very positive so far as well! We can see the passion that every teacher has for each of the children, and their excitement to share little daily tidbits on their individual learnings and how they are progressing. This is evident given the experience each teacher has in their CV; nevertheless it is something that shines through with every interaction we have had with them – so far so good! ”

In what areas do you think your child has demonstrated significant development at Tsui Lin School? (Learning, personal interests, etc.)

“The 1 major area where we have seen significant development in Aubrey’s learning journey has been in the ability to express her thoughts and ideas – we think this comes from a combination of progressions in the technical aspect of language-learning (e.g. expanding her vocabulary through exposure to new words), as well as from developing her self-confidence and individualistic qualities. It is very apparent that this comes from how Tsui Lin structures its program to focus on each individual child’s own learning path, while also providing a conducive language environment for both French and Chinese.   ”

Would you recommend the school to your friends/family?

“Most definitely – we have shared our positive experience with the majority of our network of friends here in France and will continue to do so. ”

Antoine, 2 ans et 10 mois est scolarisé à l’Ecole Internationale Tsui Lin depuis la rentrée de septembre. La famille est domiciliée à Versailles et nous avons proposé à Arnaud et Angelina, ses parents, de nous faire part de leur expérience de l’école lors d’un bref entretien. En tant que famille franco-russe, sans attache avec la Chine ou le chinois, leur choix n’était pas une évidence au départ, explications :

Quel élément a été décisif dans le choix de l’école internationale Tsui Lin pour votre enfant?

“Pour la rentrée de septembre 2023, nous hésitions entre la crèche et une école Montessori. Lorsque nous avons découvert l’école Tsui Lin, nous avons compris que c’était un excellent choix pour un enfant de 2 ans et demi : un environnement bien aménagé, des classes réduites, une équipe pédagogique à l’écoute, et l’apprentissage du chinois comme nouvelle langue pour notre enfant.”

Comment se déroule l’expérience d’apprentissage linguistique de votre enfant dans un environnement bilingue chinois-français ?

“Antoine parle le français et le russe en langues maternelles. Nous nous sommes posés la question si l’enseignement en chinois était judicieux la moitié du temps car nous ne le parlons pas du tout à la maison. L’équipe pédagogique nous a rassuré car pour l’enfant, c’est le moment idéal pour apprendre une nouvelle langue et ce n’est pas un effort pour lui. Effectivement, Antoine a très vite compris le chinois, commence à le parler et semble à l’aise dans ce double apprentissage français et chinois.”

Vos commentaires sur l’équipe pédagogique de Tsui Lin ? Les programmes?

“La pédagogie inspirée de la méthode Montessori nous convient parfaitement. Nous voyons les progrès et surtout l’épanouissement d’Antoine. Le programme est défini par des enseignants dont c’est le métier, les cours ont une logique dans la progression et c’est très bien comme ça.”

Selon vous, dans quels domaines votre enfant a-t-il manifesté un développement significatif à l’école Tsui Lin ?

“Nous avons constaté à la maison des progrès dans le comportement d’Antoine : il range ses jouets seul (presque), il reste plus concentré et il prend plaisir à découvrir de nouvelles choses. Il parle beaucoup plus depuis la rentrée, et il semble plus confiant. ”

Votre enfant parle-t-il de l’école quand il rentre à la maison ?

“Antoine raconte parfois ce qu’il a aimé faire à l’école et surtout ce qu’il a mangé au déjeuner. Il prononce aussi quelques mots en chinois pour nous expliquer ce qu’il a appris. Parfois il commence à chanter un peu mais c’est nous qui avons du mal à le comprendre !”

Recommanderiez-vous l’école à vos proches?

“Oui bien sûr ! C’est une école qui mérite une vraie reconnaissance et nous la recommandons à tous les parents qui pensent que le chinois est une langue qu’il est utile d’apprendre tôt.”