The immersion Chinese preschool is hands down the best preschool out kids have attended in Irvine (compared to places like LePort and KinderCare). The teachers are attentive and caring, and the director is sensitive to special needs like food allergies. They also actually educate here -- unlike our experience at the aforementioned other schools. In addition to Mandarin, our little one has learned about diverse topics like geography, healthy foods, and microbes, and weather, just to name a few. It's truly with mixed feelings that our little one is moving on to TK; we really loved our 1.5 years here. We would 100% recommend. read more

Luv this school. Don't miss if u in the area!! Amazing staff n so much to learn. It's been fun day. read more

Irvine Chinese School - Language Schools Near Me - Irvine, California

Waited a whole year before we could enroll in their Sunday Chinese class. Only opening available last year was for their Saturday immersion class. We finally got into their Sunday heritage class this year starting August 2022. Very high demand for their Mandarin classes. We are still waiting to see how the rest of the academic year progresses along and may provide an update later. read more

Great organiser for fun-filled and cultural event. Have so much fun! Love to visit the premiere of this event in Irvine and had so much fun dressing up in traditional Chinese outfits! read more

Irvine Chinese School - Language Schools Near Me - Irvine, California

Great hanfu experience at the Great Park Event. Thanks to the south coast Chinese cultural center community's support. read more

Irvine Chinese School - Great hanfu experience - Language Schools Near Me - Irvine, California

Awesome place recently just heard of it - my friends kids go there - highly recommend

Great experience! Had a great time. Will come back next year for sure and will let my family and friends know.

They organized the Autumn festival in Irvine and it was a ton of fun. Loved experiencing all the festivities and culture. read more

Irvine Chinese School - Language Schools Near Me - Irvine, California

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This event is great and I made so many memories with my family at this event. I highly recommend.

fun place for kids tolearn culture .moon festive come there are many activities .mydaugjter love it read more

The Chinese embroidered fan is so elegant. Thanks for teaching the history of fans and providing various materials to make them. It's a fantastic workshop. read more

very nice experience tonight! We will check out more next time! The festival is really cool and everyone is happy! read more

I had a great experience with the school, everyone was very kind and accommodating. The staff was very professional

It was a fun free works this weekend . We made a fan in a traditional way. Nice school and nice teachers ！ read more

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This school is horrible The bathroom faucets don't work, the Wi-Fi is trash, and they give so much work What the heck read more

This has been a great school for my 4 year old. Especially as she came in not knowing any Mandarin. I have been so impressed with all the fun learning they are doing as well as how much Mandarin she has picked up! Ms.Tara has so much enthusiasm and is so great with the kids! read more

Great experience. Had a great time. Will tell everyone about this, great to learn. Will come back. The services was amazing. Will refer family has kids to go to this school to learn. read more

Very friendly staff and beautiful outfits! Highly recommend to families and friends who want an authentic Chinese experience

The school is very active in the community and brings a lot of activities to engage parents with all heritages to learn about the Chinese culture. read more

We've started our 2nd school year with Irvine Chinese School. My 11yo non-native speaking son loves it here. We are homeschoolers, and my son has asked to return to ICS. I have read some other comments before, and it deterred me in the past from enrolling my kid here. The teachers and staff truly care about teaching and sharing the culture and language with their students. I appreciate how deligent they are with security measures. Regarding lessons, kids do all their learning at school. They don't assign homework. They learn, practice, and test all together. We (parents) do not speak/read Chinese. This is very helpful! I like how much writing they incorporate in their lessons. They do say they teach in both traditional and simplified. I'm not sure exactly if it's always implemented. Either way, I think learning both doesn't seem to be an issue for him. The kids are nice. The culture classes are fun too. We'll be staying here for a long time. Thank you! read more

Great outfits! Very educational for my girls and beautiful and very nice staff. love coming to the o c chinese festival

We're getting our family photos today in their lovely Chinese costumes. Thank you so much!

Really friendly personnel!!!! We took great family pictures, totally recommend. This was at the Irvine festival

verynice 太棒的活动了 this event is very fun and my kids and i had a lot of fun at this event. it is a must go event! read more

Everyone is so friendly and helpful! We had a very positive experience here. Found out about the group via the mid-autumn festival event

great experience and wonderful time! We had a blast and it was a great time. service was fantastic.

My friends come and play basketball here every so often. Huge facility, really clean... lots of rooms and several indoor basketball courts, making this a great place for tournaments! Also conveniently located behind an Albertson's plaza so you can grab a drink at Starbucks or some food on your way here. read more

I really appreciate this place being here, it really allows the community to experience and get to know the Chinese/ Taiwanese culture. They have classes here you can take, like ukulele, taichi, and even meditation. You name it. I came here today for the lunar New Year's celebration. They had performances from the classes that happen here. There was dragon dancing, the Chinese children's orchestra, The parking isn't the greatest due to the current on going construction but normally isn't bad if no big event happening. Over all great place to have in the area. read more

I hate giving one star reviews, I really do. I only do when something is really wrong or too bad to not warn others. I tried to remain hopeful that it was just one time off situations but after repeated negative experiences, it's clear that this institution is just not one of integrity. In fact, I want to give it 0. I'm only giving it one star because I actually love ONE of my children's teachers and the IT guy is very helpful, a selected few here and there. But they are just one out of the many under-qualified, uncaring individuals. My children have been to 3 Chinese schools (due to moving a lot for work), including this one, and this is by far the worst by a long shot. My kindergarten child had a sad excuse they called a teacher, she was the worst person I'd probably ever met (one of several classes, so I don't know what the other teachers were like). She is straight up verbally abusive and the most horrible teacher at any school (Chinese or not that I've seen). Who the heck hired her!? For one of the youngest and most impressionable ages too!? I've walked in on her yelling at kids to the point of tears. She grades so ridiculously, giving some of these 5yos 15% scores aka Fs on tests, that it made the kindergarteners cry and then another one cried so hard she vomited (her mom said she was not sick) prior to the next test. My kid has a B so far in the class so it's not a big deal to us personally, and my kid didn't cry and was happy enough with the grade, but I just can't believe a kindergarten class can be this harsh on kids like this. She also treats a particular child in our class, who has a disability, with clear bias and disrespect and it's disgusting. I've reported all this in feedback to the school. Doesn't look like they're doing anything about it. Probably not since school officials block off some of the handicapped spots so it looks like they don't want too many people with disabilities to park or attend there? This seems like a school-wide problematic attitude. I'm really just appalled all around. The ping pong teacher is an absolute joke. He was ok to start but by mid-year, he just plays ping pong with the assistant teacher and let kids chit-chat, trade gaming cards, and even beat up (ie. get into physical altercations) each other. He kind of just maybe petered out and didn't care anymore or something. He takes way too many breaks and leaves the class altogether (I see him sitting in the hallway surfing the web on his phone) in the MIDDLE of a short 50min class. Ridiculous. When I complained to the office, they defended him and said, oh no, he's really a really good teacher. What a joke. I watched my daughter in the class every week. You got to be kidding me. I'm just glad the school year is finally over soon. They give a ton of busy work and my kids learn more from me helping them with homework than in class. You're more effective with the Chinese learning portion of it by paying $50 for some books and doing it yourself. Why pay $750+ a year for your child to be assigned a bunch of busy work (10 pages of tons of writing in only kindergarten), having tests, midterms or finals every month, and be treated like crap or ditched altogether in their classes. Maybe most other classes are different, maybe not. But I only interacted with 5 staff members (2 teachers, 1 IT, 1 ping pong teacher, 1 school official), and 3 were so unbelievably horrible that it blew the other teacher and IT guy out of the water (sorry guys). Maybe it's ok for a high schooler or a certain age and above that can hold their own and not stand up to abuse or bullying from the teachers, but if your child is under 7yo, I would highly suggest you try somewhere else (Irvine has plenty other Chinese schools) until they're hopefully much much older and able to stand up to this cruel and cold place they call a school. read more

My daughter went to the Irvine Chinese School's after school program for the last 2 years. She did try other places to learn Chinese, but she didn't have much success there. However at the Irvine Chinese School, she was able to grasp and hold on to the words she learned. She was able to remember the sounds and the meanings of words. My daughter is shy and timid. We were looking for a bully-free environment for her. I appreciate that the teachers and staff look out for the children and monitor their behavior closely. They will let me know what happens and work to resolve any conflicts. I also like that it includes Chinese lessons, English lessons, and math lessons which is a big help for my wife as she doesn't have to drive my daughter to different classes throughout the day. The staff always greets with smile. They have more extracurricular classes like Chinese instruments and chess. She has made good friends there and loves going there every day. She also goes there for summer camp. My daughter enjoyed the Chinese classes such as paper making, ink sealing, cooking, and bamboo style book making. I was pleasantly surprised from the weekly survey that in the extended hours my daughter got to learn English and math in the computer lab with Miss Yi. Miss Yi is very attentive and heard my child uses Prodigy math in public school so she let my daughter do it as well. She helped my daughter start practicing for the next grade level (7th grade). Then I found out Miss Yi is a very strong math teacher which is pretty hard to find in elementary (public/private) schools. It was a fun and productive summer for my daughter! read more

My girls were going to a different Chinese school before and pretty much couldn't say anything in Chinese despite being there for years. They then joined Irvine Chinese school and they have learned soooo much Chinese, it's amazing! They enjoy their teachers and class and actively participate now. Love the staff and teachers here. read more

I was excited to find a Mandarin school for lil guy back in May. He had always attended one ever since he was very little and when we moved here it took me a while to locate one. On top of that, they only took enrollment once a year which meant he missed out on a whole year last year since we didn't move here until later on in the year. I really should've seen it coming from day one. From the moment I enrolled him to start this September to the first day of class -- everything was disorganized. During the first class, parents were all hovering in the classrooms with their other children. People were walking in and out of the classroom at whim. I thought that this was because it was the first class and that there would be some sort of decorum by the 2nd session. Come the 2nd class, the same thing happened. I asked the room parent about the policies of having so many people in the classroom and she informed me that the school was against having them in the classroom. That gave me a sense of relief. However, come the 3rd class session, there were STILL that many parents in the classroom. I was getting increasingly agitated because the instructor pulled me aside to tell me after the 3rd class session that lil guy was disruptive in the classroom. She said that he talks and doesn't pay attention. I asked her why she put him in the back of the classroom. I told her that she needs to put him in the front of the classroom and be strict with him. When we got home, we sat him down and asked him what was going on. He told us he was bored. We asked him what the difference was between regular school and Chinese school. He said regular school was fun and there weren't parents in the classroom. Chinese school was boring and there were too many people in the classroom. He also said that the Chinese teacher does nothing when he misbehaves. So last weekend was the 4th session. Nothing has changed. How does a classroom function when THAT many parents are in the classroom all the time? Lil guy's regular school teacher gets upset when parents hover around the classroom even to peek inside after school starts. He blatantly told us on the first day of school to leave because it disrupts his classroom. He said "if the children are looking at you they're not paying attention to me". BINGO! I'm not sure if it's a cultural thing, but it's affecting the level of learning we're receiving. Maybe some other kids are able to pay attention in a classroom with a lot of disruption going on, but not lil guy. I've worked at a preschool before and even taught a few classes with toddlers and believe me, their attention span is zero. YOU, as a teacher needs to command the attention. In all honesty, I'm disgusted. I feel like we've thrown the money down the toilet. This entire week I've been doing research on line and have managed to locate a few other options. These places charge a bit more, but then again, I'm often a firm believer of 'you get what you pay for'. This place is definitely not doing the job. Sadly we know he is able to learn Mandarin because he was reciting poetry as a toddler. Obviously, something is not right with the way things are being run here. The last few days hubby and I have debated over and over again whether to keep lil guy in there for another week or two just to see, but hubby is fed up. He thinks I could do a better job keeping the kids in line. He believes I could probably get better results teaching lil guy the basic things they are currently learning. So, today, we decided to withdraw him from the school and forfeit the monies we've paid. Yes, they make you pay the entire year up front. Hmmm -- I guess I now know why! UPDATE: They sent me 75% of the money back so I don't feel so badly about it. read more

Every Sunday, for 13 years, I spent 3 of my precious pre-noon hrs sitting in a stinky UNI high classroom, struggling to master my bo-po-mo-fo's (Taiwanese Mandarin alphabet) and avoid getting called on by one of my well-meaning but 100% unaccredited 'teachers.' Irvine Chinese School was a joke to everyone who attended, even those that exceled in it, yet we all went, for years and years and years, because there was no other option, and all the Chinese kids in the neighborhood 'had' to go, so we did too. i learned close to no Chinese at Chinese School, but i *did* learn a lot of other things - like traditional dances (i still have truly fond memories of ribbon, handkerchief and drum dancing at the UCI performing arts center - why on earth did they let us perform there??); toastmastering (in English. why this was an elective at a Chinese School, I have no idea); calligraphy, knot-making; origami; flower arrangement. all skills i have failed to employ in my adult life, but that i'm glad to have acquired. another highlight of my ICS years: at noon, a troop of elderly chinese ladies would walk around the halls and ring their bells to denote the end of the school day - and all we hungry, tiao pi (mischievious) little kids would burst from our classrooms and head straight to the main courtyard, where vendors would be selling tea eggs, stinky tofu, donuts, even some sesame balls if my memory serves me correctly. those few minutes, from 12pm to about 1215, eating eggs and pastries on the grass, waiting for my ride from mom and dad - they were some of the sweetest i can remember. such release. freedom. i know my bo-po-mo-fo's now, but that's about it. and yet, i still dont think my time was wasted at ICS. if i could have done it over again, i would have enjoyed it more, taken it more seriously, spent more time on my homework and actually giving a shit. and i would have thanked my parents for putting me through it, instead of fighting them all the way. read more

My little nephew has been going to the school for the last 4+ years at the expense of my mom as she a hard core Chinese mom and insist on Piano and Mandarin. So my always pleasing sister supported her request and spent every Saturday from 1:30 to 4:30pm with him in class. Do I think it's helpful, sure. Should he be more advance than where he is today - absolutely! He's "passed" his grade level every year but can't even piece a sentence together, not from lack of trying. I don't think the teacher is strong, certainly not creative, nor encouraging in their teaching abilities. I guess the "unaccredited" should be an indication of the type of school this is. Oh the parents that hung around the class and the school is ANNOYING! They gossip, lack social etiquette - so much for being the proper Chinese parents. Don't get me into their lack of driving skills! I purposely park super far away so they won't hit me or ding my car door. They CAN NOT drive if their life dependent on it! The amount of times that I almost got hit when I backing out the parking space (with my car half way out AND clearly I have the right of way) as they drive on non-challantly, is ridiculous. read more

10/12/10 Been here weekly for the my son's basketball SEYO practice. Property is well maintained and gym is up to date with clean restrooms. restaurants/stores/gas nearby. great location. read more

So far so good. I read the negative reviews and saw that they are pretty old. The school must have improved since then, because I recently enrolled my daughter for Chinese Conversation summer camp and she's very excited to be there. They are making improvements on the building and the staff are friendly. The teachers are engaging and my daughter is learning. She was even disappointed when I told her that we would be attending only a few weeks because of summer vacation, so that must be an indication of a positive environment. Overall, we're happy to have chosen this school. read more

My son Bryan go to Irvine Chinese school for summer camp for three weeks. He like teacher Ma a lot. Teacher Ma is very patient and nice. She teaches the kids the PiYingXi (show puppet show) and the kids can play the show puppet very well. It is very impressive to watch what the kids can do within a week. You can tell my son has more interest in Chinese speaking than before. The programs are well organized and my son like them very much. He also like the lunch and ask me if he can go to the summer camp next year. read more

I signed up my two daughters for the Summer Camp at Irvine Chinese School. I was hesitant at first due to the lack of good reviews on yelp. My kids enjoyed the camp very much and this is their 3rd week. Everyday they came home and tell me what you have learned in school. The camp has many fun activities for the kids such as cooking Chinese dishes, traditional paper making, in-addition to the more structured lessons (reading, writing, listening, speaking Chinese). I'm so glad that they could continue to learn Chinese in the summer while having fun. read more

Oh dear, I just realized I never updated this after I pulled my son out of the program last year (he was in 2nd grade). We were attending for about 3 weeks in a carpool situation...and little did I know, but the teachers had him in the wrong class the entire time. We're talking ESL (English as a Second Language), for a 100% English speaking kid, when we were there to learn Chinese. The administrators and teachers are beyond disorganized, and I am dead certain that if a fire or an earthquake happened in that building there would be a lot of missing children. When I spoke to another parent about this, she said the same thing happened to her daughter (the daughter was enrolled into one camp but was directed to another camp during the day by a 'teacher'). I did not want to pull my child because I really wanted him to learn Chinese, but I do not trust his safety in this program. read more

Look. Its a language school that was put together informally a couple decades ago and only made the transition into a legit school complete with a new building less than 10 years ago. I was a student here since first grade all the way until 12th grade and I have to say it was definitely worth giving up a couple hours each Sunday. Yes, I would say it can get a little disorganized but Asian parents are pushy and will always try to be more involved that you'd see at american public schools during the week. Its honestly a part of the experience. This is not a place to be coddled and led by the hand. No one here will force your kid to pay attention in class...my parents sat me down as a kid and told me how important for me to pay attention and make use of the opportunity to learn Chinese. And I definitely did. I did all of my homework and took the tests seriously and got involved with all the speech and calligraphy competitions. Parents with kids at the school need to understand that shipping your kid off to a classroom for 3 hers a week won't make them learn a new language especially one that is as complex as Chinese. You need to get involved with practicing the language at home, getting involved with the activities the school offers and basically take advantage of the opportunities available. If that means getting a tutor once a week to supplement so be it. 99% of the kids there are Chinese american and speak the language at home so they'll already have a leg up if your child isn't chinese. And be consistent.....how on earth do you learn a language if you skip class once a month when there are only 4 each month? . Learning a language here is what you make of it and the effort you are willing to put in. I've graduated college now and am fluent in speaking and listening and somewhat in reading and writing. And I got a perfect score, 5 on the AP Chinese test. Experiences may vary but let's just say my Chinese is Good enough to land a job in China! read more