Learning Chinese Tips For Children, Including Pre Schoolers and Toddlers

First things first: Which Chinese to Learn?

Mandarin is the official language of China and Taiwan. It is the dialect of the majority in Mainland China and the Chinese overseas. Cantonese is not as commonly used since Britain's turnover of Hong Kong to China. It may become a dialect that is used among family and friends.or business purposes, Mandarin is more practical to learn.

Learning Chinese at Home

A great way to start your children in learning the Chinese Language is through Learn Chinese DVDs and videos and audio CDs. These DVDs are specially designed to optimally expose your child to the tones of Chinese with fun things to watch. The learning pace in DVDs are carefully programmed to help your child remember the words and phrases. Chinese songs on CDs on the other hand, are great to use while travelling or during your child's relaxation time. For bigger children, Chinese stories on CDs can be played to expose them further to more Chinese vocabulary and sentence construction.

If one parent speaks Chinese, arrangements can be made that 1 parent will speak to the children in Chinese and the other will speak to them in English. Kids have an amazing ability to keep up with each parent's language.

Exposing Children to Native Chinese Speakers

o Chinese tutors are available to teach children and even the entire family to speak Chinese. Check online or newspaper ads for available tutors.

o Play dates with children who are learning or already know Chinese is a fantastic way to expose your kids.

o Another option is to hire Chinese-speaking baby sitters. Local universities often have students who are half-Chinese or spouses of Chinese. This can be an option you can try.

o Other families get au pairs from China.

o Some families hire Chinese nannies to ensure the children grow up hearing the native Chinese tones. Be careful in the hiring though. Truth to be told, there is a large number of people in the US from China who don't have the necessary papers but are working as nannies. Nannies also take care of your children, so picking the right person is extremely important, especially if they live with you. Friends of ours have gone through multiple nannies and it was not a good experience.

Learning Chinese Online

There are online Chinese programs available for adult English speakers. So far, I am not aware if there are any online programs available for English speaking children.

Chinese Private Schools

Traditionally, non-public Chinese schools teach a child the Chinese language when the child is old enough to sit still and copy characters. Most schools still use the method of rote teaching used in China and Taiwan. Children in the US are very independent, therefore the rote method may not be the best way for children to learn the words and characters. Instead, the Montessori or ESL method may be used to interest the kids to learn Chinese. These methods place emphasis on using Chinese in conversation . Other programs that teach using a lot of singing and other fun activities will definitely make children learn Chinese easier.

Summer Camps

Chinese summer camps expose the child to full immersion of the Chinese language. Summer camps may be a weekend trip in the US, a full boarding school stay, or traveling to live for several weeks to China or Taiwan. There are few sites that produce the largest list of Chinese summer camps available so stay tuned for updates.

Learn Chinese Materials

There are a lot of products available in the market to help children learn Chinese. Books, videos, audio CDs/ cassettes and software can be used at home to learn Chinese. These materials not only expose the child to vocabulary or tones, but also show the beauty of Chinese culture. These materials can also be used for parents and children to spend time together.

Books

A big challenge to teaching Chinese from books is that one parent/ adult should know how to read it. For families who are starting to learn from scratch together, bi-lingual books are a big help. Story books that can be read along with audio CDs are useful to learn the proper pronunciation. A great introductory book to reading and writing Chinese characters is Long is the Dragon. For smaller children, I Won't Bite is a very interesting material. Kids will be able to touch and feel the different types of animal skin textures.

Videos

Videos teach through engaging visuals, songs, and repetitive vocabulary. Viewers will also be exposed to how different places and persons look like. In 1 DVD of the Follow Jade series, Teacher Jade goes to a Chinese Kindergarten. Children will be able to compare how their own school and classmates look like. The Bao Bei series has 5 enjoyable videos that teach Chinese vocabulary of a lot of common words. Bao Bei is a panda puppet that children will like to study Chinese words.

Audio CDs

Chinese CDs can be grouped into 2:

o 100% Chinese songs and stories. Some do not have printed guides, others include a book/ booklet

o Learn-Chinese CDs specifically designed for those learning Chinese as a second language. These CDs usually include books, booklets with Chinese, English and Pinyin. Songs are sung in both Chinese and English, or booklets show the English translations. For example, the songs in Teach Me Chinese Book and CD are popular and sung in both English and Chinese. Parents can also learn songs to sing for their children, such as Happy Birthday. This series also comes with a Teacher Guide. Other Learn Chinese Book and CD series such as Sing and Learn Chinese Series and Let's Sing Chinese also engages its listeners with interesting songs.

Software

So far, I am still waiting for a very highly recommended software that is easy for learners to use.

ChildBook has many free materials that children may use to enhance their learning of the Chinese language and culture. Use the Chinese coloring pictures/pages, crafts projects and instruction for games to show the children that learning Chinese can be fun. You can buy discounted Chinese textbooks and English Chinese learning videos at Childbook.com an online Chinese Book Store store.

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Learning Chinese For Young Children Including Preschoolers and Toddlers

Native Speakers for Teaching Chinese

One method for those households that don't have a native speaker is the hiring of a nanny who speaks Chinese. The NY Times had an article noting the increase in au pairs from China. It is also possible to arrange play dates with other children who are learning Chinese as well as finding a Chinese speaking babysitter. Local universities will often have spouses of Chinese working on Masters and PhD's who are looking for extra income. Another option is finding a local nanny, and there are a number around. If you are in public service, please remember Zoe Baird on the requirements for legally hiring a nanny. Truth to be told, there is a large population of people in the US from China who don't have papers who work as nannies, so be careful. Nannies are also taking care of your children, so picking the right person is extremely important, especially if they live with you. Friends of ours have gone through multiple nannies and it was not a good experience.

Private Chinese Schools

Traditionally non-public Chinese Schools in the US start teaching children when they are old to sit still and copy characters. Most schools are still using traditional teaching rote teaching methods still used in Taiwan and China. For the most part with children in the US, it does not work due to culture classes. There is a huge amount of independence in children in the US and using boring teaching methods that do not capture the interest of the child so they want to go to school without a lot of parental pushing will end up in failure. With the child being forced to go to school and often treating it as just babysitting, and not learning Chinese.

An alternative is finding a school that uses more of a Montessori Method or what is used in ESL where there is a lot of conversation. I was pleasantly surprised by my daughter's public school language teacher who spoke of using this method in the classroom, instead of the traditional focus on grammar in learning many foreign languages. At a young age, I would suggest programs that teach using a lot of singing and other fun activities.

Chinese Learning Products

CD's for Learning Chinese

CD's come in two different types. One is products that are 100% Chinese of Chinese Children Songs or stories only in Chinese. Some products include a book of lyrics in Chinese, and other's don't. Other products are designed to teach Chinese and have a booklet with lyrics in English, Pinyin, and Chinese Characters. The teaching Chinese products are both from from the US (the majority) and a series from Singapore. The products for Teaching Chinese are bilingual, so the songs are sung in both Chinese and English. What I like about the CD's is they give a parent a chance to be part of the process where they can Sing Happy Birthday in the Teach Me Chinese CD and Book in both English and Chinese (this series focuses on popular songs in Chinese and English). The other series have specially written songs for Teaching Chinese. The Teach Me Chinese Series has Teacher Guides available. The Sing & Learn Chinese CD & Book includes a track of the songs without words (like Karoke). Let's Sing Chinese is a 3 product series from Singapore that has both familiar songs and new ones. 3 is the most I have seen of any series of Cd's for Teaching Chinese to Children.

Video's for Learning Chinese

Video's such as from Mei Mei use more of a hands on approach teaching basic vocabulary and she currently has five video's in her series. From the first one that teaches counting and parts of the body with songs through an approach that children love to later ones that progress such as her Play and Learn Chinese with Mei Mei where an actual Chinese Kindergarten is visited. What is great about this video is it gives your Child the chance to compare their experience and see the differences between their school and the one in the video. From lunch to PE to naps. To select the right video for your child, I recommend reading the reviews (both good and bad).

Books for Learning Chinese

A great book for those just beginning to Learn Chinese is I Won't Bite. It's a touch and feel book that has Pinyin, Chinese Characters, and English. The challenge of using a book is often you need to know how to read Chinese, in order to teach from it. A fun book for exposing Children to Chinese Characters is Long Is A Dragon by Peggy Goldstein A selection of books for Learning Chinese Character

Ray Ritchey is the owner of the site ChildBook.com which for over 10 years has been helping Children in the United States learn more about Chinese Culture and Language. They do this by selling Chinese Children's books, Music, and Video's in both Chinese and English. ChildBook was started in 1998 due to the frustration of the owners in finding good Chinese Language Learning material to bring their daughter up bilingually. Please free to visit our site for Chinese Songs, DVDs, Poems to help your child learn Chinese Language easy and fun way.

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