Welcoming New Chinese Students

“I learned a few Chinese words so I can say hello to the new students who aren’t ready to say hi in English.”

An early years teacher told us this week that when school starts she will be greeting her newest Chinese pupils with “nǐ hǎo”.

Taking a tiny step towards them and their parents with two Chinese words can make a difference to how they feel on the first day of school. Even if you pronounce “nǐ hǎo” incorrectly, Chinese students and their families will appreciate your effort.

Here are three more ways you can connect easily with Chinese students and parents in the first week:

🔸 Invite them to contribute classroom ideas via indirect methods such as think-pair-share or anonymous notes.
(A cultural value of hierarchy means contributing ideas directly to the teacher can be uncomfortable.)

🔸 Emphasise family partnership with statements such as “We are all working together, so let’s talk again in three weeks.”
(Collective values means education is a family effort.)

🔸 Explain how the connected school system works to support students.
(Chinese parents tend to focus on system conditions more than individualist Westerners.)

For more quick and easy ways to connect with Chinese families, download our booklet.

For “nǐ hǎo”, here’s a 15 second video with a song.

Sarah has also been learning Chinese and passed her HSK Level 1 exam in July with 100%! 🥳 She has made a late start but still might be able to lead workshops in Chinese one day. For now, she wants to be able to ask students and parents about their lives in basic terms.

🔸 What’s one way you could make Chinese families feel welcome in the first week of school?