P1 Chinese - General Discussion

[cambriant]

Hi,


I just found out that my son’s kindergarten will not be teaching hanyu pinyin in K2. I have heard that the first half of primary one for chinese will be mainly hanyu pinyin. I have talked to some teachers. One commented that taking hanyu pinyin now will cause confusion with phonics and may make the kid complacent or confused when they learn it again in primary one. Another teacher commented that it is better to take it at a leisurely pace now so that the kid will be more confident reading Chinese in primary one, despite not knowing all the characters. This same teacher also commented that hanyu pinyin is taught quickly in primary one, leaving not much time for the kid to learn before it is tested. So its better to take it in k2.

Any thoughts or advice are greatly appreciated!

[auntieM]

Most kids would have picked up HYPY in their kindy by K2, or parents would have sent them for enrichment classes to learn before they start P1..

I guess some kids will be able to pick it up quickily in P1.. .Maybe you can consider signing you kid for a crash course before P1

[electron]

Hi there


My child is in P1 this year. She is coping well because she learned
HYPY in K2. If your child’s kindy is not teaching HYPY, it might be advisable to enrol him in enrichment class, maybe during the June or Nov holidays.

[Tinkerbelle]

Hi cambriant,


Yes, you're right, 1st half of P1 is HYPY. By P1, most of the students would have been exposed to HYPY and when the teachers teach, they tend to move at quite a fast pace so students who are not exposed to HYPY might find it challenging and confusing. I agree with auntie M and electron....maybe you might like to consider sending your child to some HYPY course so that your child can get some exposure.

[janet88]

Tinkerbelle:

Hi cambriant,


Yes, you're right, 1st half of P1 is HYPY. By P1, most of the students would have been exposed to HYPY and when the teachers teach, they tend to move at quite a fast pace so students who are not exposed to HYPY might find it challenging and confusing. I agree with auntie M and electron....maybe you might like to consider sending your child to some HYPY course so that your child can get some exposure.

It's nothing but hanyu pinyin now. I have been revising the basic 'a e o i u' with daughter. It can be rather frustrating and tiring but really no choice. Have to reinforce frequently or else 1) they confuse with phonics 2) and won't know how to pronounce when they are taught 'zhi chi shi' later.

[jemlth]

It's important to expose them to Hanyu Pinyin in K1/2. It's equally important to expose them to more Chinese characters now so that when they are familiar with the sounds and intonation of Chinese characters, learning them in P1 will be easy. Daily conversation in Chinese helps too.

cambriant:

Hi,

I just found out that my son's kindergarten will not be teaching hanyu pinyin in K2. I have heard that the first half of primary one for chinese will be mainly hanyu pinyin. I have talked to some teachers. One commented that taking hanyu pinyin now will cause confusion with phonics and may make the kid complacent or confused when they learn it again in primary one. Another teacher commented that it is better to take it at a leisurely pace now so that the kid will be more confident reading Chinese in primary one, despite not knowing all the characters. This same teacher also commented that hanyu pinyin is taught quickly in primary one, leaving not much time for the kid to learn before it is tested. So its better to take it in k2.

Any thoughts or advice are greatly appreciated!

[cambriant]

Thanks so much for all the comments and thoughts!


I have signed up my son for the hanyu pinyin class offered by my son’s kindergarten, which will teach hanyu pinyin on a leisurely pace throughout the year. Hopefully, being able to read hanyu pinyin will lessen some of the stigma of reading chinese books for him…

I have also heard that learning hanyu pinyin too early will result in the child being over reliant on it and not wanting to read the chinese characters. Sigh, but we have to start somewhere right?

So, just to make things straight, the primary one chinese textbook for the first six months only has hanyu pinyin and no chinese characters at all? or the chinese characters are still present?

Thanks!

[janet88]

cambriant:

Thanks so much for all the comments and thoughts!


I have signed up my son for the hanyu pinyin class offered by my son's kindergarten, which will teach hanyu pinyin on a leisurely pace throughout the year. Hopefully, being able to read hanyu pinyin will lessen some of the stigma of reading chinese books for him..

I have also heard that learning hanyu pinyin too early will result in the child being over reliant on it and not wanting to read the chinese characters. Sigh, but we have to start somewhere right?

So, just to make things straight, the primary one chinese textbook for the first six months only has hanyu pinyin and no chinese characters at all? or the chinese characters are still present?

Thanks!

My daughter is so fed-up with the repetition of a e o i u. So now, I'm coaching her in 部首 like 女，口. Primary 1 textbook is nothing but hanyu pinyin...but 2nd half of textbook will start with 课文 with chinese characters.

[auntieM]

Hi cambriant,

Maybe you can check out those P1 text/ workbooks at Popular bookshop to get a rough idea of what to expect...
Umm..m.. you kindy actually offered HYPY classes as an extra :shock: ..

[Callie Tan]

Hi Cambriant,


Personally I think it is not only essential but also crucial for your child to have an understanding/a foundation in Hanyu Pinyin before P1 because I feel that P1 Chinese teachers assume that this is the case for all P1s.

Personally, I thought I am very good in hypy but yet I still get quite intimidated when I saw the worksheets (no chinese words/characters, ONLY hypy, even the instructions/sub-headings!) from my girl’s enrichment centre… I must say it might be a tall order for some kids with little or no foundation in Hanyu Pinyin.

That being said, I do make an effort to write the chinese characters beside the hanyu pinyin so that my girl will also know how they look like. I am hoping by doing so, she will not be too reliant on hanyu pinyin…