As first generation immigrants, we face the difficult challenge of preserving and passing on our…read morelanguage and culture to our kids, all while juggling our daily responsibilities. The ALD Mini Academy was not only an excellent program for our son's Mandarin development, it also helped him connect to his heritage. I particularly appreciated the discipline and patience promoting structure at ALD, from familiarizing the little ones with homework, tests, to implementing a thoughtful reward system. When our schedules did not align and classes were missed, they were incredibly flexible with makeup lessons. Mrs. Su and her team showing truly cares about the children's development and took great care of our son. I highly recommend A Little Dynasty if you are looking for a Chinese school for your little ones.

We absolutely love Little Dynasty! When my daughter was in 3rd grade, she wanted to learn Mandarin…read more Since then she has attended classes twice a week and just recently received a 5 on the AP Chinese exam!!! Little Dynasty was instrumental in her achieving this score because they have excellent teachers, responsive staff and great materials. My daughter has also been instrumental during our travels. For example when we went to Japan, our tour guide only spoke Mandarin and Japanese so my daughter served as our translator! If your child is interested in learning Mandarin and becoming fluent in reading, writing, speaking and listening, we HIGHLY recommend this school!

AOI is a great English school! The staff and teachers are friendly and professional. If you want…read moreto learn English I recommend AOI College of Languages!

This is my second term here as a student. Because of Covid, we have classes entirely online, which…read moreare always on time and made convenient. As I signed up for American Culture & Conversation and TOEFL, my teachers, especially teacher William, have been very helpful in my language/culture learning. Although I have been in the USA for about 6 years, I didn't learn as much about the American cultures and history as much as I have in the classes over the 3 month courses. We talk about different topics (holidays, history, politics, etc) and do practice TOEFL exams in class. The teachers are thorough, encouraging, and always think for the success of the students. One thing that is worth noting though is the efficiency of the office. I sometimes get last minute notice regarding class time change or request. Other than that, AOI is a fun and efficient place with great people and teachers. I wish we can go back to in person class when everything is safe.

This is a great Japanese language and culture school. My son enjoyed every Saturday immensely!…read moreAfter 3 years, he is functionally fluent in Japanese conversation and reads and writes very well. I give 5 stars for the curriculum and to every staff member. The tuition is more than reasonable. I highly recommend OCG.

Clarification: this is a Japanese for communication school for native and foreign speakers…read more Meaning it more about speaking and communication rather than learning kanji, grammar and sentence structure (you learn it too but it isn't the focus).

Most of the negative reviews reflect the chaos of school politics. It doesn't really reflect the…read moreteachers' hard work and students' lives in the past year. I don't really write Yelp reviews often, but I feel I need to share my point of view for my son's first year at this school. I don't want to see teachers' hard work and devotion to be erased by all these negative reviews. This new school does not have a lot of resources like Irvine Unified School District. The facilities at the campus are out of date and the campus is leased from IUSD. The faculty has been trying hard to maintain the school facilities, but it is very challenging. - 2 of 5 star I have been volunteering at my son's classes in the past two semesters, and both English and Mandarin teachers from the 2nd Grade are very passionate about teaching and helping our children. I have heard a similar compliment for all other teachers at different grades. The school only has one PE teacher, who is working hard and carrying a lot of responsibilities for all the kids at school- 4 of 5 star The communication channels between teachers and parents are very clear. Teachers will quickly respond and answer questions or concerns from the parents. - 5 of 5 star Before enrolling at IIA last year, my son has no knowledge about Chinese handwriting. As now, at the end of his 2nd semester, he can do both reading and writing more than 117 Chinese characters. For reference, attached are words he has learned so far. - 5 of 5 star Some parents have questions about the on-site after-school program. From my observation in the past two semesters, my son was able to complete his homework at school, attending enrichment class for music and art, and playing with his friends after school. My son always asked me to pick him up last so that he can spend more time at school. - 4 of 5 star To sum up, my wife and I feel very fortunate that our son has this opportunity to learn both English and Mandarin at the same time without sacrificing our weekend attending Chinese school. Everyday when we dropped our son to school, he always rolls his backpack with lightening speed and runs to the teacher. We can tell our son really enjoys his first year at IIA. This is a tuition free charter school, not a 5 star Private school. This school requires a lot of parents to involve and help. This is a new school starting with a bumpy start. We all hope one day the school board and parents can come to an agreement one day so the teachers/students in between will not be sacrificed.

Mastering the language is the best key to start learn a culture of country…read more We are so touched that the school and teachers have done so much to make our children happy every day.

My son wanted to go to Japan for his gap year to learn Japanese and immerse in the culture…read more Unfortunately due to Covid he wasn't able to. Thankfully I found Sensei Atsuko after doing some research on the web. My son has been with Sensei Atsuko for about 3 months now and I am so impressed on how much he has learned. If you are thinking of taking Japanese I would highly recommend Ms. Atsuko at The Language Experts.

5-stars for Atsuko sensei and The Language Experts!…read more I tried, like many, to learn the Japanese language on my own. I ordered the Genki I textbook and started out strong. It didn't take very long for me to run into questions that I scrambled to try and answer through Google. I skipped a lot of the lessons that required a partner or a CD player. I ended up getting stuck and gave up. I decided I wanted to give the language another chance but this time I'd try taking lessons. I found The Language Experts through Yelp. I called and e-mailed and received responses very quickly and it gave me a good introduction and some expectations before signing up for the classes. I was a little reluctant to join a class with other students. It's part of the reason why I avoided taking a class at a nearby college. The prices are great for both private and group lessons and there's lots of different options to make payments as well. Despite the great prices of private lessons I gave the group lessons a try. I'm so very glad I decided to take the group lessons. Atsuko sensei will put you in a group that has a similar level whether you're completely new, or you've stopped and are starting again, or you have some sort of experience, she'll know which level and class to fit you in. My group is awesome and supportive and really fun! It's been less than a year but I've already learned a lot of the language and the culture that I would never have been able to do on my own and at a level I didn't think I'd ever get to. I'm really pleased and happy to be learning Japanese at The Language Experts. I hope to continue as long as possible!

When I started researching schools for my first child, I had a long list of requirements: a…read moreMandarin immersion program (culturally important to us), strong safety protocols, happy and stable teachers, and a philosophy of raising respectful global citizens--not just checking boxes for academics. I asked every question I could think of, from how they handle sickness to how teachers are supported, and I observed everything from class ratios to daily routines. We visited several schools, but ultimately chose Frontiers, and I'm so glad we did. The difference was clear: attrition among instructors was low, and my son's teacher had been there for many years. To me, happy teachers = happy kids. From the start, the staff were warm, communicative, and professional. I've been consistently impressed by their attention to detail, safety standards, and how thoughtfully they care for each child. Beyond the nurturing environment, the academics are truly top-notch. It's a trilingual school so teaches in English, Spanish, and Mandarin. The curriculum is rigorous; I love that my son is being challenged intellectually while also building confidence, creativity, and curiosity. What gave me peace of mind is knowing my child is not only in a stable environment but also one where learning is engaging, meaningful, and sets a high bar. Communication has been excellent--I always feel in the loop. I've seen firsthand that the children are thriving, not only in Spanish or Mandarin but in all aspects of their development. If you're a parent who values stability, honesty, safety, and outstanding academics in a school culture where teachers are genuinely happy--Frontiers stands out. It checked every box on my list.

Wonderful place. Kids love their teachers and want to go to school. Not to mention they are…read morelearning three languages.

Our son was attending a large public high school when the COVID-19 pandemic started. This highly…read morerated public high school quickly transitioned to an online learning environment, but only provided one synchronous lecture per week for each class. As our son, and many of his classmates, fell further and further behind in their online classes, we repeatedly reached out to the school administration, including the principal, as did the parents of our son's school friends. However, the school's administration was uniformly unresponsive to our concerns. So, we decided to take our son out of the public school system, and place him in a private school. Our son transferred to Pacific Academy during his junior year of high school. I really can't say enough good things about our experience at Pacific Academy over the past almost two years. Everyone from the principal to the teachers and administrative staff have all been amazing. They are all very passionate about their mission to educate their students, as well as to help their students grow and develop into well-rounded young men and women. The small class sizes allow for a very personalized approach to teaching, and both the teachers and the principal are very interactive and collaborative with parents. The quality of teaching in all of our son's classes has been exceptional, and all of his teachers have welcomed engagement with us. (Unlike at the public high school our son previously attended.) I would especially like to recognize the principal at Pacific Academy, Keith Corpus, and the Director of Student Affairs, Jasmine Hsu. Their dedication, compassion, and empathy towards their students, and their families, has been extraordinary. They have both also been tremendously supportive as students, parents, and teachers have all worked together to manage the enormous (and ever-changing) impact of the pandemic. Honestly, we have come to view Mr. Corpus and Ms. Hsu as if they were part of our family, and we are so grateful to them for their dedication and commitment to their students, including our son. My only regret is that we did not transfer our son to Pacific Academy sooner. We love this school, and its faculty and staff, and we are so grateful that our son has been able to attend Pacific Academy!

This school hired unprofessional teachers like Ms Kuo in 4th grade who wasn't a certificated…read moreteacher and was very mean to kids. It is unacceptable that they allow their teachers to use language abuse on our kids! Principal didn't even care about the issue. Very disappointing.

We will forever be grateful to Marco Polo. Our daughter started attending when she was just two…read moreyears old, and now at four, we're blown away by how much she's grown. Her vocabulary has taken off, she's genuinely curious about the world, and most importantly, she's confident in who she is. She absolutely loves going to school. The teachers are warm, passionate, and deeply care about the children. They create an environment where learning feels like joyful discovery. The curriculum is thoughtfully play-based and beautifully rooted in nature and the world around them. Marco Polo has played such a meaningful role in shaping who our daughter is becoming. We couldn't ask for more.

Our daughter started at MPCS in 2023, and finished her pre-k class with Ms Amy, Ms Venus and Mr…read moreErick last May. This was so bittersweet, as we all wished that she could stay longer (as long as possible) in Marco Polo! We didn't want to leave! We were a part of such a tight-knit, warm, supportive, and welcoming community - the teachers, fellow parents, all the students - that I truly believe that the bond forged and positive effects gleaned (both academic and non-academic) will last well into the future. We felt that the Reggio Emilia approach worked so well in helping kids of different character traits and temperaments grow according to their own pace and strengths. We loved all the teachers that have taught our daughter, as well as others we saw every single day in their various supporting roles (admin, front desk, meal times, science, subs, etc). It took a village, and boy was that village awesome. We could feel that the teachers (and everyone else) working there truly were there because they loved kids, and they loved helping kids thrive. The Preschool and Pre-K programs were particularly notable and instrumental in their roles in helping our daughter get more than ready for her kindergarten year (and beyond). Under the relatively new leadership of Ms. Kimberly, I saw notable improvements in terms of the variety of interesting new subjects, activities, and a stronger sense of direction, leadership, and community. We can't possibly thank Marco Polo enough for helping shape our daughter, for encouraging and loving her, and for supporting us throughout. Ms Amy, Ms Venus, Mr Erick, Ms Paris, Ms Fatemeh, Ms Destinee, Ms Kimberly, Ms Jing, Ms Caitlin, Mr Ruben, Ms Lisa, Ms Janet, and everyone else - you truly made Marco Polo such a wonderful journey for us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.