St. Louis, Mo. (May 13, 2026) Walking into a room full of 4-year-olds speaking both Mandarin and English is an extraordinary experience, and St. Louis Language Immersion School Pre-K students showcased that incredible ability in their first year of the SLLIS Chinese Pre-K program. The school opened the new Chinese Pre-K class in the fall of 2025, and now, after one year, SLLIS teachers are celebrating its successes.
In its first year, all 18 SLLIS Chinese Pre-K students completed end-of-year assessments and demonstrated they are ready for kindergarten. Beyond that, the students went from only speaking English to having conversations in Chinese. Pre-K teacher Ziyuan Wen and teaching assistant Carmen Cochran said they saw growth academically and in confidence, independence, language development and classroom participation during the year.
“I still remember the very first day of school, when my students could not understand Chinese at all,” Wen said. “Now, they can sing many Chinese songs, carry on simple conversations in Chinese and understand classroom instructions given entirely in Chinese. They have also learned to write Chinese number characters and can read and write pinyin, showing well-rounded growth in listening, speaking, reading and writing. At the same time, their English development has remained very strong.”
Wen said learning Chinese from a young age is incredibly valuable because early childhood is one of the best times for language development. Mandarin has four different tones, and practicing the tones from an early age is crucial for fluency. The teachers added that young children naturally absorb language through play and social interaction, and they’re more likely to take risks without the fear of making mistakes while practicing their language skills.
“Bilingual programs like our program at SLLIS are really valuable in a place like Missouri,” Cochran said. “In urban settings like St. Louis, young people have historically lacked access to high-quality bilingual education. It is really meaningful that SLLIS provides a free and accessible door to the Chinese-speaking world. I can’t wait to see how the Pre-K program at SLLIS continues to develop.”
Throughout the year, students participated in fun, interactive activities to improve their Chinese. Games like the Chinese character relay encouraged students to work together as they individually wrote single strokes of Chinese characters on a team until the full character was completed. The program also participated in events away from the classroom, such as a performance at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Chinese Culture Days celebration.
SLLIS is also starting a new French Pre-K program this fall, furthering access to language education from a young age for St. Louis residents.