Q&A
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1: I am interested in one of your weekend class/workshop/holiday camp: how can I join?
Answer:
Weekend class:
Once you have signed up for a free trial lesson through our link, team of Play Mandarin will contact you to arrange a date for you to attend our free trial lesson, and after the trial we will send you more detailed information and our price and plan for your reference.
sign up for FREE trial: https://reurl.cc/Yeqve0
Sign up for monthly workshop: https://reurl.cc/kXy1yb
Sign up for holiday camp: https://reurl.cc/N0lAlp
Sign up for our events from the system via the link. We will reserve spaces for you and send you a confirmation email once we receive the registration form.
If you ever have any questions - our team are always here to help, either at our local venues or by email at office@playmandarin.co.uk.
Q2: Can we have a trial session?
Answer:
Yes, we do offer a free trial lesson for children who wish to join our regular weekend classes. If you wish to try more than one lesson, you will need to pay £15 per lesson.
Sign up for FREE trial: https://reurl.cc/Yeqve0
Once you have signed up for a free trial lesson through our link, team of Play Mandarin will contact you to arrange a date for you to attend our free trial lesson, and after the trial we will send you more detailed information and our price and plan for your reference.
Q3: Which class is right for my kids?
Answer:
Our classes can be divided into theme class and extra curriculum.
The weekly theme classes allow children to learn Mandarin without any problems of progress. Our weekly themed designed allows the children to have a complete learning experience in our different themed courses.
Extra curriculum range from Chinese characters art class, story-themed art club, to our dynamic nursery rhyme classes, performing art classes, and more, led by our experienced teachers who specialise in their own areas of expertise.
Our classes are age-specific, and by becoming a member of Play Mandarin you will have access to all classes, as long as your child is of the right age to choose a class based on their interests.
Q4: Where are the schools located, and when are the classes held?
Answer:
For now, we have three venues in Wimbledon, Morden and Hammersmith
For detailed address, please see: https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/venues
Class information: https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/classes
Play Mandarin timetable: https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/timetable
Q5: Will the classes be taught in Mandarin or English? What if my child can’t understand?
Answer:
We believe that the best way to pick up Mandarin Chinese is to be completely immersed in the new language. Therefore, at Play Mandarin, we endeavour to create an all-Mandarin environment and to get children used to hearing Mandarin through repetition. In the classroom, we use Mandarin Chinese as the primary language and English as the secondary language. All instructions for all teaching content and activities are given in Mandarin Chinese first, and if a child doesn't understand the content, we will repeat it in English to ensure that all children can fully understand what the teacher is saying.
Q6: How many people do you have in a class? Is there a limit to the number of people?
Answer:
The number of students in weekly weekend class is around 5-10, not more than 12 (including trial).
Weekend workshop and holiday camps will have between 15-20 students, and the teacher/student ratio will be maintained at 1:5.
Q7: Will there be homework?
Answer:
Our Chinese Character Art class has easy handwriting assignments and learning sheets at the end of the class.
Theme classes and other extra curriculum classes will have simple homework, such as practicing sentence formation, reading words, etc.
Q8:
What are the costs? Which plan is the most suitable for my child?
Answer:
For baby class (18-36 months), we have Mini Pick your 4.
For above 3 years old, we have Pick your 4, Unlimited, and Premium Unlimited, three different plans.
We have over 8 different classes per week for you to choose from, so you can pick the best option for you and your child based on your weekly schedule.
Our price and plans: https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/plansandpricing
Q9: How do I book classes from your website/app?
Answer:
After you have successfully registered as a member of Play Mandarin, we will send you an email with detailed instructions on how to register and how to log in. You will have your own member account and will be able to log in through our website or download our app to book classes.
Q10: What if my child has to miss a class?
Answer:
You can cancel your booking 24 hours before the class starts (2 hours for baby classes), all members can cancel the booking directly through our booking system or app, you just need to log in to your member account and tick the cancellation box, the system will remove you from the list of that class without deducting your points.
Q11: Do you have any other extracurricular classes?
Answer:
Except from weekly weekend classes, we also got monthly workshop and holiday camp.
The monthly weekend workshops are 2 hours of themed activities held on Sundays between 3-5pm. Play Mandarin Holiday Camps are held during the children's local school holidays in the UK, and we run holiday camps during the children's holiday breaks between school terms.
Q12: Do you offer one to one tutoring for students?
Answer:
Our one-to-one tutoring service is avaiable in certain area. If you need further information, please feel free to email us at office@playmandarin.co.uk
The team will have a discussion with you based on your needs and location. Once location and timing is confirmed, you can sign up for your first trial class (with discount) from here: https://tms.ezfacility.com/OnlineRegistrations/Register.aspx?CompanyID=7690&GroupID=3511799
Q13: Do you do online courses?
Answer:
Yes we do! Please check out our timetable for more information. https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/timetable
We also provides one-to-one online class services.
If you need further information, please feel free to email us at office@playmandarin.co.uk
The team will have a discussion with you based on your needs.
Q14: How to know what my child has learned in class? Do you have textbooks?
Answer:
We will send parents an after-school syllabus each week, which contains the week's lesson content, keywords and a small homework assignment. If parents have time, they can also help their children to complete the weekly homework assignments.
To find out more about our learning materials, you can go to https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/classes
Q15: Do we need to purchase your materials for class?
Answer:
Once you become a member of Play Mandarin, you will receive a digital copies of both books. (Includes both Simplified and Traditional Chinese) Parents can take their children through the digital file to review or complete our weekly homework. However, parents who wish their children to review and have freely access to our learning materials, please feel free to email us office@playmandarin.co.uk to purchase the physical books.
Q16: We have no background knowledge of Mandarin Chinese: at what age can my child start learning Mandarin?
Answer:
We would recommend that the sooner your child is familiarised and immersed in a Mandarin Chinese environment, the better it will be for language learning. At Play Mandarin, children aged 18 months and above can join our baby classes. The Play Mandarin team uses the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch to design games that are most suitable for children, allowing them to imitate and absorb the language in an immersive environment.
Q17: Do you teach Cantonese?
Answer:
We teach Traditional Chinese Characters, Simplified Chinese Characters, Zhuyin and Pinyin, but no Cantonese currently.
Q18: Do the children go outside at all?
Answer:
Our weekend classes are basically held in the classroom, with occasional 10-15 minutes for some stretching outside the classroom, depending on the class design and schedule.
Weekend workshop and holiday camps have more outdoor activities. We also allow children to go outside during breaks between classes, while a teacher or teaching assistant watches over the children to ensure the safety of all children.
Q19: Do you provide food or refreshments?
Answer:
Our weekend class does not provide food for the children, they can bring (nut free) snacks to eat at break time. Holiday camps require children to bring their own (nut-free) lunch, snacks and water bottles.
Our weekend workshop or holiday camps sometimes have healthy snacks (like unseasoned popcorn) or food-themed activities. We clearly specify in our emails and on our social media platforms all of the ingredients that we will be using, and we ask that parents notify the Play Mandarin team if their child has any allergies, so that we can make sure that your child is having fun learning Mandarin Chinese in a safe and enjoyable environment.
Q20: Do you accept International / Overseas Pupils?
Answer:
We welcome all children aged 1.5-11 years old who are interested in learning Mandarin Chinese to join our fun activities in Play Mandarin.
Class information: https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/classes
Play Mandarin timetable: https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/timetable
Q21: We will be away for more than a month (or more), can I freeze my membership until I come back?
Answer:
Members of Play Mandarin are able to freeze their membership twice in a year, once for a minimum of one month and a maximum of three months. If you have a request for freeze, please fill out and send in the Freeze Membership Form one month prior to your monthly payment date.
Freeze Membership Form: https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/zh/copy-of-cancel
For example: if your monthly payment day is on the 10th of the month and you have to freeze your account for a period of time after the 15th of July, you need to fill in the form by the 10th of June and let us know how long you need to be frozen.
Once we have received the form, we will double-check with you on the period of suspension required and deal with the subsequent freezing of your membership. Please refer to our full terms and conditions if necessary. https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/zh/terms-of-use
Q22: I am parent(s), can I also join the class or events with my child?
Answer:
Parents may stay in the classroom with their child for the free trial session of the weekend class.
Other activities such as weekend workshops and holiday camps are for children only. We may organise activities or seminars that are suitable for parents and children, and if there is something that is suitable for parents to attend together, we will mark it as a welcome event.
Q23: Can the parents stay in school to wait for the child?
Answer:
Due to local campus policy, people who are not registered by the school cannot stay on campus, so parents must leave the campus once they have dropped their child off in the classroom, after the class is over we will bring the children to the door and parents will pick up their children at the school gate.
Q24: Can I change my payment details if I need to?
Answer:
You can change your payment settings by logging into your member account from the Play Mandarin website, clicking on your name to go to your profile page, and then clicking on payment information.
Q25: What Safety Standards do you have in place?
Answer:
Play Mandarin has a detailed Child Protection and Safety Guidelines, please refer to our Guidelines for details. https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/child-protection-safety-policy
Q26: Do you accept Tax-free childcare paymen?
Answer:
Yes we do! We are Ofsted registered and we do accept Tax-Free Childcare payment. You could contact us on office@playmandarin.co.uk for more information.
Q27: Is there a cancellation policy if I have to stop the course part way through?
Answer:
If you wish to terminate your course and membership, you will need to inform us one month in advance of your monthly payment date, please fill out and send in the cancellation form. https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/cancel
Once we have received the form, We will handle the cancellation of your membership for you. Please refer to our full terms and conditions if necessary https://www.playmandarin.co.uk/terms-of-use
