Chinese School in Zaragoza: Real Experience Sharing About Kids Learning Chinese
I’ve been living in Zaragoza for almost five years now, and my child, who is seven years old this year, started attending the local Chinese school last September. I’ve noticed some friends in the forum asking about Chinese language learning for kids, so I thought I’d share our family’s experience, hoping it might help others.
Basic Information
The Chinese school in Zaragoza is located near the city center, with fairly convenient transportation. Classes are mainly held on Saturdays, divided into preschool class, beginner class, intermediate class, and advanced class. My child is currently in the beginner class, with about 15 students per class. The teachers are all experienced, some came from China, while others are Chinese who grew up in Spain but have excellent Chinese language skills.
Curriculum and Teaching Content
Classes run every Saturday from 9 AM to 12 PM, with a 15-minute break in between. The curriculum mainly includes Chinese character recognition, pinyin, simple conversation, and introduction to Chinese culture. The textbook used is the “Chinese” series, which is quite reasonably structured, starting from daily life scenarios that children find relatively easy to accept.
Here’s an overview of the different classes:
| Class | Age Range | Main Content | Weekly Hours |
|---|
| Preschool | 4-6 years | Pinyin, simple characters | 2 hours |
| Beginner | 7-9 years | Basic characters, conversation | 3 hours |
| Intermediate | 10-12 years | Reading, writing | 3 hours |
| Advanced | 13+ years | Literature, culture | 3 hours |
Tuition and Other Fees
Tuition is charged per semester, approximately 300 euros per semester, including textbook fees. It’s much cheaper compared to private tutors, and children learn better in a group environment with more interaction. Each semester also organizes one or two cultural activities, such as Chinese New Year celebrations and Mid-Autumn Festival events, which generally don’t require additional fees.
How Effective Is It Really?
To be honest, I was initially worried that just three hours per week wouldn’t amount to much. But after sticking with it for over a year, the results are quite noticeable. My child can now recognize about 200 common Chinese characters, handle simple conversations without problems, although the pronunciation is still a bit off but at least willing to speak Chinese now.
Most importantly, my child has made several Chinese friends at school and they chat in Chinese regularly, which greatly helps with language learning. Teachers also assign some homework, not too much, taking about half an hour per week to complete. Parents in the group chat also exchange information about their children’s learning progress and encourage each other.
Some Suggestions
If you’re also considering having your child learn Chinese, my advice is to start as early as possible. Young children have strong language acquisition abilities and don’t have as much psychological burden. Additionally, relying solely on school classes is definitely not enough; you need to create more Chinese language environment at home, such as watching Chinese cartoons, listening to Chinese children’s songs, and so on.
The Chinese school in Zaragoza is a good choice, at least for our family. If you’re interested, you can visit the school first, talk to the teachers, and see if it’s suitable for your child. Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions for discussion.
