FAQ | 常見問答
1. What does MERC stand for?
2. How long has MERC been around? 3. Where is MERC Chinese School located? 4. What Chinese dialect does MERC teach? 5. What Chinese character writing system does MERC adopt? Traditional or Simplified? 6. What phonetic system does MERC adopt? Pinyin (b, p, m, f) or Zhuyin (ㄓㄨˋ ㄧㄣ)? 7. What are the different class levels in which students enroll at MERC? 8. What textbooks/workbooks does each class level use? 9. What is the learning objective in the MERC curriculum? 10. Is there auditory training? 11. What is the MERC’s school schedule? 12. What cultural enrichment classes does MERC offer? 13. Can my child only enroll in the cultural enrichment classes? 14. What is the age requirement for attending MERC Chinese School? 15. What is the tuition for attending MERC Chinese School classes? 16. What is the cost for the MERC Cultural Enrichment classes? 17. What is MERC’s contact information? 18. What is the teaching background/experience of the teachers at MERC? 19. How does the MERC Parent Volunteer Program work? 20. What is the “Parent Volunteer and Deposit”? 21. How much is the deposit for the volunteer work? 22. Is there any possibility that parents will not receive back their deposit? 1. What does MERC stand for?
MERC stands for Multicultural Education Research Center, a federally registered nonprofit organization in section 501(c)(3). MERC Chinese School is one of the divisions of MERC, also known as Hayward Kai-Feng Chinese School (海沃市凱風中文学校). 2. How long has MERC been around?MERC or Hayward (Kai Feng) Chinese School has been established since 1995. 3. Where is MERC Chinese school located?
Since 2015- 2016, MERC Chinese School is located at Hayward Center for Education and Careers, formerly, Hayward Adult School. 4. What Chinese dialect does MERC teach?
MERC teaches Mandarin Chinese. Mandarin is the official dialect of the Chinese language spoken in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. 5. What Chinese character writing system does MERC adopt? Traditional or Simplified?
MERC teaches traditional characters. However, when there is a corresponding simplified character, MERC teachers will present both characters to allow students to be able to recognize both forms. 6. What phonetic system does MERC adopt? Pinyin (b, p, m, f) or Zhuyin (ㄓㄨˋ ㄧㄣ)
MERC adopts Pinyin system as the curriculum. Students learn Hanyu Pinyin in the Chinese classes. MERC also offers an enrichment Zhuyin class for the interested. 7. What are the different class levels in which students enroll at MERC?
Your child will be enrolled in a Beginning, Elementary, or Intermediate level class depending on his/her knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. The 3 levels are as follows: 8. What textbooks/workbooks does each class level use?
· "Come and Learn Chinese" for the Beginning Levels – C1A, C1B and C2 9. What is the learning objective for MERC curriculum?
The objective is to teach students Chinese language skills in areas of listening, speaking, 10. Is there auditory training?
Yes. In order to help students practice speaking skills during the week, MERC teachers pre-record the learning content and store them in an online platform. Students are required to complete a recording assignment each week by using the online tool, such as VoiceThread or Google Voice. 11. What is the MERC’s school schedule?
MERC offers Chinese and Cultural enrichment classes on Saturdays. The school year runs from September through June of the following year (i.e. – September 2012 to June 2013). Each Saturday morning, the campus opens at 8:30 am, and the classes begin at 8:45 am. 12. What cultural enrichment classes does MERC offer?
For the 2015 – 2016 school year, MERC offers: 13. Can my child only enroll in the cultural enrichment classes?
Yes. The cultural enrichment classes are independent from Chinese Classes. Students can choose to enroll in both, or either one of them. 14. What is the age requirement for attending MERC Chinese School?
MERC is able to accept students turning 4 years and 9 months old as of September. 15. What is the tuition for attending MERC Chinese School classes?
The tuition for attending Chinese classes is per student per school year, plus a small application fee per family. For example, if you have 2 or more children to enroll, only one application fee is required. Please refer to registration form for the most up-to-date class fee and application fee. 16. What is the cost for the MERC Cultural Enrichment classes?
The cost is per student per enrichment program, plus a small application fee per family. If you enroll both the Chinese and the Cultural Enrichment classes, only one application fee is required per family. Please refer to registration form for the most up-to-date class and application fee. 17. What is MERC’s contact information?
Mailing Address: MERC, P.O. Box 483, Hayward, CA 94543 18. What is the teaching background/experience of the teachers at MERC?
All of MERC’s teachers are dedicated to student learning and have a great passion for teaching. In general, most of the teachers have three to five years of teaching experience in the field. 19. How does the MERC Parent Volunteer Program work?All MERC families Sign up for 4 volunteer hours for each student enrolled during the school year. If there are more than two students from one family, parents only need to sign up for 8 hours as a maximum. Parents may choose a volunteer job from the available list according to their preference. |
20. What is the “Parent Volunteer and Deposit”?
After signing up for a 4-hour volunteer work, the family needs to deposit a check with the school. The deposit check will be returned after a family completes their volunteer hours and fills out a Refund Request Form.
21. How much is the deposit for the volunteer work?
The amount for the deposit is $40.00 per student enrolled. If there are more than two students from one family, the parents only need to deposit the maximum of $80.00.
22. Is there any possibility that parents will not receive back their deposit?
Yes. Only if any family does not sign up to volunteer (for 4 or 8 hours) or does not attend a job they signed up for within the school year, MERC will keep this deposit.