Learning Chinese (Primary/Preschool)

[Artbeaucoup]

A good electronic dictionary will come in handy for looking up meanings of words and getting accustomed to the enunciation of words in Mandarin (those with Pronunciation Studio) for the infant stage.


http://www.besta.com.sg/products/CD356S.htm

Pick up some simple terms first. Get acquainted by asking others. Then it wouldn't be all Greek to you/ your DS when you get the tutor.

Good luck :rahrah:

[schellen]

Artbeaucoup:

A good electronic dictionary will come in handy for looking up meanings of words and getting accustomed to the enunciation of words in Mandarin (those with Pronunciation Studio) for the infant stage.


http://www.besta.com.sg/products/CD356S.htm

Pick up some simple terms first. Get acquainted by asking others. Then it wouldn't be all Greek to you/ your DS when you get the tutor.

Good luck :rahrah:

I don't think the Besta e-dict (allowed into exam halls by MOE) is recommended for people who are not able to recognise and read Chinese characters without hanyu pinyin. It is a purely Chinese-Chinese e-dict, with definitions in Chinese, not English. The labels on the keypad are also in Chinese.

[Artbeaucoup]

Yes, the besta e-dict that is the examination model does not have the English-Chinese dictionary element.


The link above is to show their higher end model that boasts numerous functions, one of which is the pronunciation studio, which makes it a handy gadget in their learning. I have seen one student using it before.
Certainly not the examination model that is recommended here. And of cos there's a great disparity between the price tags.

ArtBeauCoup


http://www.postimage.org/

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

Besides sending for classes, good electronic dictionary, do have your child interact daily with Mandarin speaking friends. It’s easier for a child to pick up a language through daily interactions. Watch tv programme in Chinese with English sub-title.


My dd is picking up simple basic Mandarin and her Chinese classmate will either be taking Tamil or Malay as part of their school curriculum. Not sure what the school does and how the school incorporate such learning. But from what she has shared with me, the learning programme is fun and interesting.

[Artbeaucoup]

That's a buddy language programme mooted by MOE some years back.

Now it's called Basic Conversational Chinese/Malay/Tamil Language. It's FOC and serves as a platform for fostering social cohesion and racial harmony. Nandiri

ArtBeauCoup

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

Thanks Artbeaucoup. Yes, the programme is called Basic Conversational Chinese/Malay/Tamil Language. Sounds like fun. She told me she wept buckets after watching Mandarin drama in school. I was like :?


She explained to me that it is part of the programme. Keke.

[Artbeaucoup]

You're welcome, EN. The take up rate is not high though, usually less than a quarter of the class will enrol themselves in it. All those pragmatic calculations about its academic importance, etc., made most steer clear of it. Glad your daughter enjoyed herself.


ArtBeauCoup

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

I have forgotten to add another important point.


Parents who are also learning the same language can act as a guidance and motivator to the child, like Schellen and family.

[Emelyn]

Hi,


Can parents share how you coach your child in Chinese ?
I am refering to children in P3 and above. Not preschool.

Regards

[mckenzy]

…how else do you guys get your kids interested in Mandarin?


my P5 boy has gone to Berries and Tien Hsia but has recently shown signs of resistance (we speak no mandarin at home) to attending his class…

- boring
- teachers keep changing
- etc. etc

we tried speaking (half baked) mandarin at home but he just kept replying and conversing back in English… getting abit stubborn i admit… but i think its the P5 boys way of exercising independence…

so pushing won’t help…

some thoughts that come to mind are:

- watch plays/teochew opera (its not so much mandarin but to gather interest)
- get him to watch Mandarin drama serials
- get DVD of shows and launch them in Mandarin with Mandarin subtitles…

any ideas…?