Yu Ying Learning Center

Our daughter has attended Yu Ying since it opened 3 years ago, and she absolutely loves it. Our family speaks no Mandarin, but she has progressed rapidly and is able to converse fluently, as well as read and write using simplified characters and Pinyin.
Over the last 3 years we have watched Yu Ying grow from a small school with 3 classes to the point where it needs to expand to a second Alameda campus which will open in Fall 2015. This success is a testimony to the quality of the school, with dedicated teachers who genuinely care about the students.
Apart from the excellent quality of the Mandarin instruction provided, it gives us great peace of mind to know that our daughter is attending a school that offers such a safe and friendly environment. I know she is very happy there, as it is always her first choice when we need to find a summer camp or holiday care.
An added bonus is the flexibility the school shows in always being accommodating to the Alameda Unified School District calendar — a pick-​up service is offered, and times are adjusted to cater to modified or reduced days. I would highly recommend Yu Ying to anyone looking for either after school care or a summer program (or both) for their child.

We are so thrilled to have an opportunity for our son to learn Mandarin in Alameda. Even though it is not spoken consistently in our home, I have been very happy at how much my son has learned in the short half year that he has been attending Yu Ying. While he previously had very little ability, my son is reciting classical Chinese poetry, speaking in short sentences, writing characters, and singing songs.
The teachers are loving and care for each and every one of the students. There are extra-​curricular activities such as Chinese chess and calligraphy, and students recite poetry and learn about holidays and traditions. As working parents, my husband and I are grateful that the teachers provide transportation from the elementary school to the campus and they also do their best to provide holiday care. We will continue to send our son to Yu Ying and our daughter looks forward to attending next year when she’s old enough.

We drive all the way from San Francisco (20 min) on many Saturdays so that our 5-​yr-​old can take art class here. Kiri laoshi is great, and an enthusiastic artist herself! Originally, I was just looking for a place where our daughter could get extra Mandarin exposure but quickly realized that this was even better – an engaging art class that just happens to be taught in Mandarin. Unlike art taught at many Chinese schools, the art they do here is not «old school» and rigid.
We don’t say we are going to «Chinese class,» we say we are going to «art class.» Our daughter frequently asks to go and looks forward to it. We attend the small, mixed aged weekend session and the other kids all speak advanced levels of Mandarin so there’s lots of unprompted dialogue in Chinese. Some English is used but they all seem to go back and forth with ease. To boot, the space is beautiful, very homey, with great light, and an inlet from the bay with ducks is right outside the window. The bldg is surrounded on the backside with greenery and a mere block from the beach. The class is also long enough (just under 2 hrs) for me to get errands done at the very conveniently located South Shore Shopping Center across the street, or relax with coffee and wifi.

The teachers at Yu Ying are tremendous and really care about each individual student. As a native english speaker, it is amazing to watch our daughter pick up both the Mandarin language and Chinese simplified characters. Although we haven’t taken advantage of their transport services, I was surprised that they also pick up students from the local elementary schools at a minimal extra cost. We look forward to having our daughter go through the Yu Ying program as long as she continues to stay as excited about learning Mandarin as she does today.

My daughter, Anika, started at Yu Ying last summer just on a whim for a summer camp lsat year when she was 5 years old. She had no exposure to Mandarin prior to the camp, but by day three, she could count to 100 in Mandarin and by the end of the week, she was writing the characters 1 – 10 in Chinese. Our daughter is very shy and usually hesitant about trying new things, but she felt comfortable in the environment rather quickly. In fact, it was that one week at Yu Ying which made us easily decide that she would do her afterschool program there.
She has now been in the after school program (4 days/​week) since September and we have been very happy with her experience. Our shy daughter has really blossomed there and feels very comfortable with everyone there. She even requested to have the teacher who only speaks Chinese when she is in second grade (because she enjoys the art projects).
I read the review that garnered one star above and wondered what he was talking about. There are 2 programs… an English enrichment for those who come from Chinese homes and then the Chinese Immersion for those who don’t. Obviously, he didn’t meet the English teachers… not sure if he was going for Chinese or English. I personally am happy that some of the teachers teaching Mandarin speak with heavy English accents… I know Anika is learning the real thing.
Anyways, I would highly recommend Yu Ying! Small student: teacher ratio, diverse learning (they have an outdoor garden, they take walking trips to the beach, art projects).