Like every relocated expatriate arriving in Shanghai, Irishman Eoin Murphy wanted his family to take advantage of every opportunity the experience afforded them. Chief amongst these was exposing his children to a bilingual educational experience that was more than just an extra hour a day or incidental exposure through social activities. When he moved to Shanghai with his two sons, he demanded that they enrol in a strong Chinese programme. He ultimately chose a bilingual program at Yew Cheung International School because their entire scholastic program integrated Chinese language learning into the curriculum. This met his expectations and he was pleased with their initial development.

An Indian politician once claimed that India invented exactly 50% of the world’s computing. When asked how he reached those figures, his answer was, “someone told me computer recognizes the language of 0s and 1s, and India is known to have invented the concept of 0 thousands of years ago”.

Foreign language education has come a long way. While the study of foreign language broke out of the university and “went retail” with the founding of Berlitz in the 19th century, private foreign language learning then was an adult affair, training business people and tourists who planned to travel or live abroad. Also, those early foreign language schools were exclusive operations, catering to upper class Westerners who wanted to smooth their European experiences with passable French or German. Needless to say, foreign language learning today bears no resemblance to these quaint beginnings. Today, though foreign language education remains compulsory for university graduates everywhere, its private incarnation hass become big business all over the world. And nowhere is private foreign language study more ubiquitous than China.

From an outside observer’s point of view, the life of an expatriate in China seems blissful. It’s easy to understand why. A large housing expense, chauffer driven car, and first-class flights around the world is kin to the life of a movie star. It can therefore come as a surprise to learn that expatriate life is incredibly stressful, caused by a combination of new work pressures, cultural shocks and the demands of a family who are equally stressed with the dramatic move. Bevin Hoffman, of Allied Pickfords, confirms this. He says that when he talks to expatriate clients, most put “moving”, in this case to China, as one of their most stressful experiences. “Most of the expatriates that we move to China bring their families, and most often have children still in school. Without a doubt, finding a suitable school is one of the most important concerns on their minds,” says Hoffman.