One method for those households that don’t possess a native speaker is the hiring of a nanny who speaks Chinese. The NY Times had articles noting the increase in au pairs from China. It is also possible to arrange play dates with other children who are learning Chinese in addition to getting a Chinese speaking babysitter. Local universities will often have spouses of Chinese working on Masters and PhD’s that are looking for more income. Another option is getting a local nanny, and there are a number around. If you are in public areas service, please remember Zoe Baird on the requirements for legally hiring a nanny. Truth to be told, there exists a large population of people in america 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 proper person is extremely important, particularly if they live with you. Friends of ours have gone through multiple nannies and it had not been a good experience.
Private Chinese Schools
Traditionally non-public Chinese Schools in america start teaching children when they are old to sit still and copy characters. Most schools remain using traditional teaching rote teaching methods still used in Taiwan and China. For the most part with children in america, it does not work due to culture classes. There exists a large amount of independence in children in the US and using boring teaching methods that not capture the interest of the kid so they want to head to school without a large amount of parental pushing find yourself in failure. With the kid being forced to visit school and often treating it as just babysitting, rather than learning Chinese.
An alternative is getting a school that uses more of a Montessori Method or what’s used in ESL where there is lots of conversation. I was pleasantly surprised by my daughter’s public school language teacher who spoke of like this in the classroom, rather than the traditional concentrate on grammar in learning many foreign languages. At a 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 which are 100% Chinese of Chinese Children Songs or stories only in Chinese. Some products add a book of lyrics in Chinese, and other’s don’t. Other products are made to teach Chinese and also have a booklet with lyrics in English, Pinyin, and Chinese Characters. learn Chinese pdf teaching Chinese products are both from from the US (almost all) 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 provide a parent a chance to be part of the procedure 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). Another series have specially written songs for Teaching Chinese. The Teach Me Chinese Series has Teacher Guides available. The Sing & Learn Chinese CD & Book carries a track of the songs without words (like Karoke). Let’s Sing Chinese is really a 3 product series from Singapore which has both familiar songs and new ones. 3 is the most I have seen of any group of Cd’s for Teaching Chinese to Children.
Video’s for Learning Chinese
Video’s such as from Mei Mei use more of a practical 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 via an approach that children want to later ones that progress such as for example her Play and Learn Chinese with Mei Mei where a genuine Chinese Kindergarten is visited. What’s great about this video is it gives your Child the chance to compare their experience and start to see the differences between their school and the one in the video. From lunch to PE to naps. To choose the right video for your child, I would recommend reading the reviews (both good and bad).
Books for Learning Chinese
A great book for all those just starting to Learn Chinese is I WILL NOT Bite. It’s a touch and feel book that has Pinyin, Chinese Characters, and English. The task of using a book is frequently you need to know how to read Chinese, so as to teach from it. A great book for exposing Children to Chinese Characters is Long IS REALLY A Dragon by Peggy Goldstein A selection of books for Learning Chinese Character
