About Us: Why Chinese?
China is home to 25% of the world's population. It has 1.4 billion residents, 4 times more than the United States. China has the world's second largest economy, which many economists predict will outpace the US economy in about 15 years - about when today's preschoolers will graduate from high school. Oregon now ranks fourth of the 50 states in terms of trade with China. Beyond China, Mandarin is a common dialect used in financial centers Hong Kong and Singapore, in addition to Taiwan, another financially influential mature market country.

In addition to its modern-day influence, China also boasts 5000 years of history and culture, which gave birth to some of the world's most important inventions, including paper, ink printing, the compass and gunpowder. Teaching children about Chinese language and culture opens their eyes to an incredibly interesting and sophisticated world, as well as open doors of opportunity for higher education and career choices in the years to come.

Chinese is also one of the most difficult languages for a westerner to learn. Chinese is a tonal language, where 4 subtle tones are used to differentiate words. Small children can easily pick up the tones as well as the written characters. But it is much harder for adults. We think it's smart to teach children this challenging language early, when they are most receptive to it.

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