Lingo Bus follows parent VIPkid's footsteps, to expand in B&R economies

Unlike little students who go to special educational institutes in the United States to learn Chinese and say phrases like xiexie (Chinese for thanks), Oklahoma's Ella, 5, relies on her laptop and internet access to do the same. Her Chinese teacher connects with her from across the Pacific Ocean.

The preschool girl learned Chinese online for six months. Then, she sprang a pleasant surprise on her family by showing off her proficiency in the language that is considered very difficult to learn.

By just observing Ella learn from Lingo Bus' online sessions, her 2-year-old brother picked up quite a bit of Chinese as well.

The online Chinese learning platform, according to the kids' mom Heather Oaster, is magical. "I'm amazed at how well they both have picked up some of the language already at their very young ages."

Ella and her little brother are among some 4,800 kids across the world who learn Chinese on Lingo Bus, a subsidiary of VIPkid. While VIPkid delivers live English lessons to mainly Chinese students, Lingo Bus specializes in Chinese language.