Teaching Chinese at Home

[phankao]

Can buy Xi Yang Yang at Giant Supermarket. S$19 for 5 cds.

[tamarind]

I just found out that Xi Yang Yang is shown on Channel 8 on Sat 8:30am


But I am too lazy to record, so still going to buy.

[phankao]

tamarind:

I just found out that Xi Yang Yang is shown on Channel 8 on Sat 8:30am


But I am too lazy to record, so still going to buy.

You ordered from DangDang.com? I just bought from Giant. Don't think I'd ever need to buy all the sets. I do regret not buying up all the sets of Thomas the Tank - I really like that series.

[tamarind]

phankao:

tamarind:

I just found out that Xi Yang Yang is shown on Channel 8 on Sat 8:30am


But I am too lazy to record, so still going to buy.

You ordered from DangDang.com? I just bought from Giant. Don't think I'd ever need to buy all the sets. I do regret not buying up all the sets of Thomas the Tank - I really like that series.

I ordered more from dangdang.com, my hubby has received it since he is working in China. It is very cheap, SGD6 for 4 DVDs.

[tamarind]

I wrote something in another thread, copying it here since it is relevant to this thread :


My opinion about private tutors, is that if your kids are not improving or showing more interest in Chinese, then you should not continue any more.

I have been a private tutor to many young kids before, and I know how easy it is to lie about my credentials and experience (of course I did not lie). Parents normally do not ask to see qualifications, and even if they do, a tutor who scores A in a subject, does not mean that she can teach that subject very well. The only way to tell whether a tutor is good or not, is to find out how many students she taught managed to get A/A*. How to find this information about a private tutor ?

Even if a tutor is from China, it does not mean that she knows the effective methods to teach Chinese. I have also heard of teachers from China forging their qualifications.

I know that many parents think that if a tutor is from China, then she definitely will know the best way to teach children. This is a mistake because she may be good at teaching kids in China, but remember that our kids grow up in an English speaking environment. She cannot apply the same methods to our kids.

My advise is to go to well established enrichment centers instead, choose those that have been around for many years. Their methods are tried and tested, otherwise they would not survive for so long.

[tamarind]

This is my response to a question in another thread, sharing it here :

How to learn new vocabulary at a faster rate :

One suggestion is to read books with lots of pictures. Pictures are very helpful in developing comprehension. Younger kids should read as many picture books as possible. Older kids will find picture books too childish, so one way is to let them read comics. I recommend the 哆啦A梦 series of comics, there is a version published by http://www.chuangyi.com.sg and available in Popular bookshops. Interesting stories, together with pictures, will make it easier for kids to understand and remember the meaning of words. There are lots of challenging vocabulary, like 擅自, 嫌疑犯, 懦弱, 侥幸 etc. Each book even comes with some exercises.

Older kids will also like the Survival Science series :
无人岛探险记（珍藏版）——我的第一套科学漫画书
亚马逊丛林历险记（珍藏版）——我的第一套科学漫画书
极地冰河历险记（珍藏版）——我的第一套科学漫画书
撒哈拉沙漠求生记（珍藏版）——我的第一套科学漫画书
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9033143&ref=search-1-pub

These educational comic books teach kids how to survive in an uninhabited island, in the desert, in the glacier, etc. You can try looking for them in Popular. I have seen the English ones, but I heard that Chinese ones are also available.

Popular bookshops also sell some other Japanese comics translated into Chinese but I don't recommend those.

Note that comic books are meant for helping kids understand more Chinese words in a fun and interesting way. It serves as a bridge to help kids progress to read novels. Kids still have to read many novels in order to do well in Chinese. The best way to build up their vocabulary is by reading as many interesting story books as possible. Simply reading the definition of a word doesn’t help them to understand its proper meaning. One has to see how words are used in context, in order to fully grasp the concept.

I also recommend watching good Chinese movies and TV series. Turn on the Chinese subtitles for kids to learn the words.

Another suggestion is to act out the meaning of the word. My boy enjoys this very much and he learns quickly this way. First I asked him to act out the meaning of the word with me. Then I act out the word, and ask him to guess the word. Most boys are kinesthetic learner, actions will help them remember the word better.

[tamarind]

I found the ebook for the excellent 好妈妈胜过好老师


好妈妈胜过好老师
尹建莉
http://read.dangdang.com/book_1742

This one should be legal because it is at the dangdang.com website.
I don't think it includes all the contents of the books. But it already includes a large part of the book. I highly recommend all parents to read this book ! There are over 17000 reviews. This book has been mentioned earlier in this thread before, I just want to highlight some important points from the book.

The author advises parents not to make kids check the dictionary for every word that he does not know, this may kill his interest for reading :

孩子在初期阅读时，生字肯定不少，不停地查字典是对阅读的不断打扰，会破坏他的兴趣。孩子刚开始读篇幅较大的作品，原本就对自己的识字量底气不足，担心是否能读懂。家长倒是应鼓励孩子，有不认识的字没关系，只要能看懂就行。如果有些生字影响了理解，或者在作品中是关键字，可以问家长。这样让孩子觉得很便捷，阅读起来有轻松感。我见过有的家长明明认识那个字，却偏偏不告诉孩子，让孩子自己去查字典，可能是认为查字典可以让孩子记得更牢。这种做法没有意义，事实是大部分孩子在阅读过程中都不喜欢被什么事情打断。有些孩子喜欢查字典，当然也不要阻拦，重要的是尊重孩子自己的选择，让他能愉快顺利地阅读。



Another section explains why parents should not make kids memorize :

有位家长，也听取了别人的建议，同意让孩子看课外书。孩子刚读了第一本小说，家长就迫不及待地要孩子复述这个故事，背会其中的“优美段落”，要孩子在写作中用上小说中的一些词语和素材，甚至还要求孩子写读后感。到孩子读了第二本小说，她就责怪孩子把第一本小说中的故事情节和人物忘得差不多了，认为前一本书白读了。家长这样做简直是故意给孩子制造绊脚石。这反映了家长的两个问题，一是不理解阅读，二是功利心太切。这样做的结果，只能是搞得孩子厌恶阅读。

　　当儿童面对一本书时，如果有人向他提出了识记的要求，他就会把注意力转移到识记上，而把阅读的兴趣放到次要的地位。一旦孩子意识到读完一本书后有那么多任务等着他，他就不会想再去读书。

　　破坏兴趣，就是在扼杀阅读。

　　应该让儿童感觉到阅读是件有趣的事，除了有趣没有任何其它目的。恰是这种“没有任何其它目的”，才能让孩子喜爱这项活动。


One important note : 功利心太切. Parents who are constantly worrying about getting high marks, will cause kids to hate reading, and inadvertently, hate the language especially in Singapore where kids have a choice of more than one language. A child who hates Chinese, will never be able to score 95 marks and above at PSLE.

I read in an interview with the top PSLE scholar last year, Alex Tan.
He said he looks for the Chinese version of books he particularly likes, such as the best-selling children's book The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, because he 'wants to see how the Chinese version was written and whether it has captured the meaning well'.

This is what all parents should aim for.

[phankao]

tamarind:

phankao:

[quote=\"tamarind\"]I just found out that Xi Yang Yang is shown on Channel 8 on Sat 8:30am


But I am too lazy to record, so still going to buy.

You ordered from DangDang.com? I just bought from Giant. Don't think I'd ever need to buy all the sets. I do regret not buying up all the sets of Thomas the Tank - I really like that series.

I ordered more from dangdang.com, my hubby has received it since he is working in China. It is very cheap, SGD6 for 4 DVDs.[/quote]What do you think of the 大耳朵图图 Videos, by the way? Someone recommended those too. In comparison to 喜洋洋, that is.

[tamarind]

phankao:

What do you think of the 大耳朵图图 Videos, by the way? Someone recommended those too. In comparison to 喜洋洋, that is.

I haven't seen those before.

I found the link :

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20823264&ref=search-1-pub

There are 10 customer reviews. Here are some reviews :
宝宝闹着要看，看到当当上有就收进了一套，画面质量还是不错的。
儿子就是喜欢看欧美的动画，这套碟买来几乎不看*不过我倒是蛮喜欢的，如果实在没有别的动画看，儿子还是看的很有滋味的*
盘的质量不错，只是不知道这内容到底对孩子有没有帮助。代沟啊！孩子看上瘾了，每天都要看！

Seems like something that kids will like. But I am not sure whether it is very educational.

[phankao]

tamarind:

phankao:

What do you think of the 大耳朵图图 Videos, by the way? Someone recommended those too. In comparison to 喜洋洋, that is.

I haven't seen those before.

I found the link :

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20823264&ref=search-1-pub

There are 10 customer reviews. Here are some reviews :
宝宝闹着要看，看到当当上有就收进了一套，画面质量还是不错的。
儿子就是喜欢看欧美的动画，这套碟买来几乎不看*不过我倒是蛮喜欢的，如果实在没有别的动画看，儿子还是看的很有滋味的*
盘的质量不错，只是不知道这内容到底对孩子有没有帮助。代沟啊！孩子看上瘾了，每天都要看！

Seems like something that kids will like. But I am not sure whether it is very educational.

Well, it does teach things like not to watch too much TV, not to each snacks before dinner, etc.

Sample
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQBmeThc7fY

喜洋洋 is considered educational? I did watch some ...

Last time my elder boy liked watching 一休和尚. That set of videos is really quite interesting. Very clever little monk.