Why balanced bilingual?

In Beijing, where our children are being brought up, the Chinese and English languages are dominant. It is Daystar's belief that in order for children to feel fully grounded in their environment and best serve their communities, these two languages are essential. Bilingual education is much more than just learning language skills. It is immersion in the thoughts, ideas, art, history and logic of two cultures thereby becoming shaped by both.

At Daystar Academy immersion is achieved by dedicating half of the day to each of the two languages and education systems. As a result, the children can identify with people from both cultures, break down barriers of prejudice and act as bridges of unity. Daystar was originally set up as a research institute to develop a successful method of teaching English and Chinese to elementary age children. After several years it became evident that using a form of Montessori curriculum for English language combined with the Chinese National Curriculum was not only effective but truly balanced.

Research has shown that children in dual language immersion programs are generally more positive and achieve additional cognitive benefits in relation to their mono-linguistic counterparts. They achieve higher test scores, social and personal competence and better awareness of cross cultural behaviors.