Teaching Chinese at Home

[phankao]

pinkiepirate:

At this beginning stage, I am keeping it light, just reading with him and listening to Chinese songs. My intention at this stage is to put some Chinese sounds in his environment and to introduce simple characters (so that he understands that the character actually has a sound and a meaning). At the moment, he is attending JG Bilingual Playclub once a week, but I think the Mandarin part is not intensive enough for him.

Maybe you can try winktolearn.com's Sing-to-Learn Chinese CDs? Try with the 1st Chinese CD first. It's programme emphasizes the words used in the songs and then couples it with the songs, so it's quite effective.

As for JG - why don't you add a fully Chinese playclub as well?

[cimman]

pinkiepirate:

cimman, oh dear, hope he will take to it soon! How old is he?

he is in P4 this year. Looks like a lost cause.
You could put your son with some China kids in a playgroup. That will have both a play element and an Mandarin speaking environment.

[GSK]

smurf:

Thanks GSK! But is there any book that document these instead? Coz the websites only have it in traditional Chinese and not simplified ones.

These are more for pre-school, very simple, but personally I find them interesting and easier to understand.

http://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=1566&vpd001=70341

http://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=1566&vpd001=70344

http://www.popular.com.sg/jsp/product/product_detail.jsp?vca001=1566&vpd001=70340

There's one 笔 顺, but can't find in the popular link, so maybe u hv to go down to take a look.

[GSK]

Creative Technology just launched the \"playchinese and master it\", maybe can go down to Creative Headquarters 11-20Mar, 12-9pm to have a look.


I'm not very sure how this product will help in Chinese as seems like no much review or comments from website (since this is a new product too).

For more details, visit: http://www.playchinese.com

I'm not selling this product but just interested in it, so shared with u parents. I'll be going down to see how it works. :celebrate:

[smurf]

Thanks GSK! :celebrate:

[smurf]

Thanks GSK! :celebrate:

[tamarind]

pinkiepirate:

cimman, oh dear, hope he will take to it soon! How old is he?


My son (2 years old) doesn't know any Chinese at all. We don't speak Mandarin at home, and neither his father nor I read Chinese. Hopefully after my son learns some Chinese, he will use it. Fingers crossed!

At this beginning stage, I am keeping it light, just reading with him and listening to Chinese songs. My intention at this stage is to put some Chinese sounds in his environment and to introduce simple characters (so that he understands that the character actually has a sound and a meaning). At the moment, he is attending JG Bilingual Playclub once a week, but I think the Mandarin part is not intensive enough for him.

Hi pinkiepirate,
Kids have an amazing ability to learn languages before the age of 6. You can try the 喜羊羊和灰太狼 DVDs, these come with Chinese subtitles and are very popular with kids. You can just copy the Chinese words and ask for it at any local video shop. You can also look for Disney videos with Chinese language options. I think it is fine for kids to watch about 1 hour of TV everyday, but not more than that.

My P1 boy now speaks English like an American kid. He did not attend kindergarten last year, stayed at home all day with my mother who cannot speak English. He watches only 1 hour of DVD (Leapfrog and Little Einsteins only) or English cartoons on TV, and he also reads out loud to me from story books everyday. However, since I do not speak with an American accent, I am sure that he picked up the accent from TV. Now I wish that I have let him watch 喜羊羊和灰太狼 since he was 3 years old, then he can speak like a mainland Chinese kid. Too bad I only found these videos last year.

In your case, try to look for audio books in Chinese. Also, try this website which I think is quite good for kids to learn Chinese :

http://xuele.edumall.sg/xuele/slot/u107/index1.html

There are audio and video in this website, you can try to get your son to read along.

I also advise you to send your son to Berries for Chinese enrichment, since you cannot help him with Chinese.

[tamarind]

A very important point to note for all parents : young kids do not care about learning new words, but they love a good story, and they love to look at pictures. Our aim is to develop their love for the language, so that they will be motivated to learn on their own. When reading picture books with children, let them look at the pictures for as long as they want. Pictures are very important for helping kids to understand what they are reading. If kids only look at the words, then they are going to have problems with comprehension and compositions. To draw their attention to the words, point to every word and ask them to read out loud, help them only if they don't know any word. Try to read extensively, don't keep repeating the same books. One more important point : read Chinese books and listen to Chinese (DVDs/TV) everyday. If you only do so 2 to 3 times a week, it is not going to be effective, because kids will forget what they learn very quickly.

[ahxuan.031873ymail.031873com]

Hi,


Anyone can advise about the 喜羊羊和灰太狼 DVDs? There’re so many series in DD website, wonder which one is good for a start. Not sure if it is educational and good for children…Thanks.

[mummy of 2]

nz:

Hi,


Anyone can advise about the 喜羊羊和灰太狼 DVDs? There're so many series in DD website, wonder which one is good for a start. Not sure if it is educational and good for children...Thanks.

I suggest you start with the first series as the first episode mentions the history but it's ok even if you start with other series. The cartoons are really educational and kids can pick up very good vocal just by watching. Plus it's very entertaining. Even dh and I enjoy watching