Welcome to Chinese School of San Diego!
The Chinese School of San Diego(CSSD) has a history dating back to over 100 years. It is the oldest Chinese school in San Diego, and it is the only Chinese school in San Diego to teach Cantonese.
CSSD teachers provide learning experiences that are appropriate to a student's age. We take student-centered approach to instruction that capitalizes on each student's strengths.
The school fosters a warm, caring learning environment with freedom of expression and respect for others as key elements.
Mission:
A Comprehensive Education
We foster our students’ lifelong love of learning. We encourage the growth of the whole person and we work with our students to help them grow into ethical, compassionate, and responsible members of the local and global community. We teach them respect for the view of others’ beliefs and cultures, and the value of community involvement.
What We teach...
We offer Mandarin and Cantonese Classes: listening, speaking, reading, writing, evolution of the Chinese writing system, custom, calligraphy, interpretation, translation, history, songs, poetry, crafts, philosophy, useful and practical guides to understanding the language and culture of contemporary and ancient China.
Throughout the academic year it is anticipated that the students will become familiar with, taught and put to use the following:
- Listening with comprehension
- Recognition of the Chinese characters
- Read, speak, converse, write Chinese
- Interpret from English into Chinese/ Chinese to English
- Translate from English to Chinese/ Chinese into English
- Chinese crafts
- Chinese culture and history
- Chinese festivals
- Chinese geography
- Chinese songs
- Chinese traditions and customs
Differences between Mandarin & Cantonese
* Pinyin is a the name for the system used to transliterate Chinese words into the Roman Alphabet.
| Mandarin | Cantonese |
|---|---|
| The official dialect throughout China and Taiwan | The second most influential dialect which is used mostly in Hong Kong and Southern China |
| Pinyin* is recognized by China government | Many different romanizations |
| Spoken and written Chinese are the same | Spoken and written Cantonese does not always match |
| Mandarin has 4 tones | Cantonese has 9 tones |
If you speak Cantonese at home, it is easier to learn Cantonese first. You may later join the Mandarin class and master both dialects.
We encourage students to buy a Chinese-English dictionary and an English-Chinese dictionary.