Our students represent a diverse range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds: From those for whom Mandarin is a near-native language; to those who speak a related Chinese dialect (typically Cantonese) and may have been educated in a Chinese curriculum school prior to coming to HKIS; to Korean and Japanese students who are familiar with Chinese-based orthography; to those for whom Mandarin is a wholly-learned new language (though not necessarily their second language). We have determined that a two-track (or “stream”) approach – with distinct curricula – is the best way to accommodating this variety of learners:
Mandarin as a Second Language (MSL) and Mandarin for Near-Native Speakers (MNN). Both streams support and honor the HKIS position of offering Mandarin as an additional language, though not on a bilingual platform.

Due to different needs of each stream, the MSL and the MNN streams embrace a separate set of standards, benchmarks and assessment tools in addition to a differentiated emphasis of oral proficiency and literacy. Placement of a student in one of the two streams is met through a collaborative effort between teacher recommendation, placement assessments, student interests and needs.