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Information for Parents

Sending your child to China to learn Mandarin is a big step for any parent.

From attending regular courses for teenagers older than 14, family programs, our summer camp to coming to China together there are many different ways to do so.

Whatever options suits you best detailed planning and a lot of support before and during the trip are essential.

Young students showing off a plate of dumplings before cooking

  • Safe
  • Experienced
  • 24/7 support
  • Let us help you plan the trip
  • Individual: each family is different
  • Focused on teens and families

This will help children, teenagers and families enjoy a safe, useful and fun experience.

We have been looking after hundreds of kids studying Chinese with us in Beijing since 2008 and are here to help you throughout the process from the first day you contact us onwards.
  • Safety

    Safety

    Beijing - one of the world’s safest cities to live and study in
    Supervision - you decide what is ok and what not for your child
    Emergency support - 24/7 at all times available
    The Guardian Program - your child’s personal guardian in China

  • Tailored Programs

    Tailored Programs

    Just your child - individual course, study and accommodation plan
    Siblings - discounts for children studying the same program together
    Join your child - one or two parents can join for as long as they wish
    Open to all - parent(s) and child(ren) traveling to China together

  • Service

    Service

    We are there for you - from the first email to the last day of the course
    Support - experienced China specialists who know this country inside out
    Emergencies - 24/7 reachable, whenever needed
    Survival kit - from airport pick up to police registration - all taken care of

  • Planning Support

    Planning Support

    Experienced - we have organized 100s of programs for kids & families
    Advice - let us design an individual program that fits your needs
    Accommodation - from homestays to apartments we can help you
    Visas & admin - let us take you through the process and make it easy

LTL Mandarin School YouTube Channel

Kids studying Chinese

LTL is the biggest and most experienced provider for Chinese learning programs for individual teenagers traveling to China.

]This can either be as part of our general Chinese programs for 14+ teenagers living with a homestay or for 12-17 year olds in our Beijing Summer Camp.

Additionally, we are specialized in organizing custom made trips for the whole family, where one or two parents travel with one or several children to China to explore the country together.

There are many different options, including only the children or also the parents studying Mandarin and the family living together in a serviced apartment or separately in homestays.

Your family will have a dedicated family program advisor who will make organizing the course easy for you, from choosing the appropriate courses and accommodation to organizing visas and getting the admin ready for your trip. Please contact us to let us know about your child’s or family’s requirements and what you are looking for and you will have a reply within less than a working day in your inbox.

The Guardian Program

For teenagers traveling to China by themselves we offer a specialized guardian program. This means there will be a dedicated councilor available for your child providing the additional support your child needs in China. The councilor will also be the official legal guardian of your child in China.

This is especially important if your child should get sick, as international hospitals in Beijing often do not accept underage patients who are not accompanied by a legal guardian.

The same goes for anything having to do with the Chinese bureaucracy from the police registration (officially required for every foreigner within 24 hours upon arrival in China) to visa extensions or anything else that deals with the government. If there is no legal guardian present the authorities might refuse to issue the necessary documents. It also includes a free airport drop off for your child at the end of the course, including assistance with check-in if required.

The guardian program is mandatory for all unaccompanied teenagers younger than 16 years participating and highly recommended for 16 or 17 year old participants.

The guardian program is already included in the LTL Summer Camp, so if your child joins the summer camp there is no need to book this.

Duration Price in CNY
One week 2,300
Two weeks 3,200
Three weeks 4,000
Four weeks 4,700
additional week +700

Please note – Although the guardian program provides a lot of support and safety, it is not a 24/7 supervision program and does not include insurance. For information about extra supervision and accompanied transport please see the additional options below.

Children at LTL Beijing
Team Mexico on their way to LTL Summer Camp 2018
Team Mexico on their way to LTL Summer Camp 2018
Activities at LTL
Activities at LTL
Homestay fun
Homestay fun
Katia and her classmates
Katia and her classmates

Additional Options

Accompanied transport: This service is not usually necessary as Beijing is a very safe city. Though if you would like your child to be accompanied to and from school, we can organise for a team member to do this. The cost of the transport will depend on the distance from the school. We will know which homestay family and exact distance after you make the booking, it is possible to pay the travel fee in cash at our school. To give you an idea, it will not be more than 1000 CNY/ wk.

24/7 supervision upgrade: this option offers 24/7 supervision for your child, accompanied transport to and from school by a staff member and has someone to always keep track where your child is.

Please note – The 24/7 upgrade requires the child to already have a guardian program and in our experience is not necessary as long as your child behaves responsibly and follows our instructions.

Cost per week: 3,000CNY

What the Parents Said

Susan Testimony for LTL
Susan
Mother of True
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I thought the school was excellent and Jane (the lady behind the front desk) was very helpful! Also Katie (the Summer Camp manager) was also fantastic, thanks to you both.

Read More

FAQs

What will it cost?

You can find the cost of our small group Chinese course (link small group), individual Chinese course (link individual full time) and accommodation (link accommodation sorting) options on our website. As we know that all that information can be quite complex and sometimes a bit overwhelming, we are happy to go through the details with you. Just send us an email (link contact) to let us know what you are looking for and we can send you a detailed quote for a program tailored to you.

What about the visas?

We can issue visa invitations for both students and accompanying family members.

Can I speak to some parents who organized this before?

Absolutely yes. Please contact us and let us know a bit more about you and your family as well as which languages you speak. We will then ask around in our parent alumni community who might have time to talk to you about their experience. You can also read some past experiences on our Chinese blog (link to ltl-school.com/blog/parents once that site exists) or search the internet for some reviews of previous participants.

How will my child get to school every day?

On the first day the homestay family will bring your child to school and pick them up afterwards so they can get familiar with the way. Depending on the homestay location, this can either be a short walk or via public transport. As your child can always reach us via phone if they have questions and China is very safe, usually our teenage students travel to and from the school afterwards alone. This has never been a problem and in our experience is completely sufficient. However, if you do want to book an additional accompanied transport option to and from the school this is of course also no problem.

Is it safe?

Beijing is one of the world’s safest capital cities and Chinese culture is very much focused on the well-being and safety of children. You might be surprised how caring teachers, homestay families or just regular people are about children. Children and looking after them is one of Confucianism central premises and remains so in China’s society today.

The main risk we want your child to pay special attention to is the traffic. While not as uncontrolled as in some parts of the world, driving habits in Beijing are more chaotic than in most western countries. We have never had any problems, but please pay special attention to let your child know that before crossing a road in Beijing one needs to look into ALL directions, be alert and should not be playing with a phone.

Will my child’s Mandarin improve?

Definitely. Immersed in a Chinese language environment, with motivated teachers and fun daily classes, Chinese language progress in China is much faster than back home. How much your child will progress will largely depend on which course and accommodation options you choose though. Students living with homestay families for example tend to improve much quicker as do those who study a combination of small group and 1on1 classes. If you want advice regarding options how to achieve the fastest Mandarin language program just ask us. We have been doing this for a long time.

Can I set rules for my child?

Yes you can. We will ask you to fill out a parent questionnaire before the course where you can decide what is ok and what is not for your child during it’s time at our language school in Beijing.

Who are the homestay families?

Homestays are the core and heart of LTL. LTL stands for Live the Language and for us this is not just a name but what everything we stand for. We want our students to truly live and experience Mandarin and there is no better way to do this than a homestay family. We have been working with homestay families since the day LTL started and have established a very big and reliable network of families over the years. 80% of LTL students live with host families. As homestay is not a very familiar concept to most Chinese, our families come to us through recommendations of friends and relatives. Our first family was the uncle of one of our teachers. We have worked with our families for a very long time, often seeing their own children grow up with their “guest siblings” and it is that special connection that makes living with a homestay such an amazing experience. We visit and inspect our families regularly. For quick language progress and a cultural experience we definitely recommend living with a homestay family. You will also fill out a registration form before the course to let us know regarding your preferences, based on which we will match your child with a suitable Chinese family.

Note: If you are coming together, it is possible for a parent and a child or a couple to live in the same homestay family together.

  • Beijing Summer Camp

    Teens

    The LTL Beijing Summer Camp is the most fun, effective and safe way for your children and teenagers to learn Mandarin, explore Chinese culture and take a holiday from normal school life.

    Learn More

  • Full Time

    Classes

    Studying Chinese in a small group is a great way to speed up your Chinese for a really attractive price. Every student who comes here to learn Chinese with us is different and we cover all bases.

    Learn More