We know that the earlier language study commences, the greater the impact upon a child’s fluency and retention. For that reason daily Mandarin begins in our Nursery class for two-year-olds, where a Mandarin specialist teacher guides children through interactive sessions of songs, games and story telling. This program increases in intensity as the students progress into the older year levels, with verbal and written skills tested through formative and summative internal assessments for students from Prep to Year 2 and summative external assessments for Years 3 to 5.
To accommodate new students with no background in Mandarin and to challenge current students at an appropriate level, students in each year group are streamlined into either a ‘Core’ class or a ‘Core Extension’ class, where the program is differentiated to cater to the different needs of learners.
Youth Chinese Test (YCT) Results
At AIS, we ensure our students’ Mandarin abilities are benchmarked against worldwide standards. Year 3 to Year 5 students take the Youth Chinese Test (YCT), an international standardized Chinese language proficiency test for foreign students administered by Hanban in China. In 2014, AIS students who took the tests achieved outstanding results, with a 100% passing rate for the YCT Level 3 test in each year group (Click here to see our results).
Secondary students have the option of continuing to learn Mandarin from Years 6 through 12. As part of this rigorous language program, students take internationally standardized Mandarin language tests under the IGCSE (Year 9 – 10), followed by either the HSC Mandarin or IB Mandarin in Years 11 – 12.
As students progress into Secondary and plan for their futures across the world, AIS prepares them for future success by allowing them to acquire languages that will enable them to link up with opportunities across Asia, the Americas and Europe.
Secondary students have the option of enrolling in Mandarin, Indonesian (Bahasa), French, or Spanish Ab-initio, all of which are taught by language education specialists who are specifically qualified to teach the relevant language. Mandarin, French and Spanish are three of the most widely spoken languages in the world, while the study of the Indonesian language allows our students to gain a deeper cultural connection to the South-East Asian region where Singapore is located.
Both French and Indonesian are offered at the IGCSE, HSC and IB DP levels, while Year 11 and 12 students can enjoy Spanish Ab Initio under the IB DP.
Our comprehensive language program not only delivers high-level instruction to teach reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the chosen language, but also includes a strong cultural component. Key holidays and festivals are celebrated as an integral part of the program, and Secondary students have the additional opportunity to experience the culture of the country first-hand on an overseas cultural immersion trip.
In the same way our English speaking Secondary School students study English Language and literature within the curriculum, we offer a progressive, high-level Mother Tongue program to create equivalent opportunities for our non-native English speaking students. Courses are offered dependent on requirements but consistently in Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, French and Indonesian. Read more about our Mother Tongue program.
