One way 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 typically have spouses of Chinese working on Masters and PhD’s who are looking for more income. Another option is finding a local nanny, and there are a number around. If you are in public areas service, please remember Zoe Baird on certain requirements for legally hiring a nanny. learn Chinese pdf to find out, there exists a large population of people in america from China who don’t have papers who work as nannies, so be cautious. 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 been 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 found in Taiwan and China. For the most part with children in america, it does not work due to culture classes. There is a large amount of independence in children in america 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 kid being forced to go to school and frequently treating it as just babysitting, and not learning Chinese.
An alternative is finding a school that uses more of a Montessori Method or what’s used in ESL where there is many 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 concentrate on grammar in learning many foreign languages. At a young age, I will suggest programs that teach using a lot of singing along with 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 also have a booklet with lyrics in English, Pinyin, and Chinese Characters. The teaching Chinese products are both from from the US (almost all) and a string from Singapore. The products for Teaching Chinese are bilingual, therefore the songs are sung in both Chinese and English. What I like about the CD’s is they give a parent an opportunity to be part of the procedure where they are able to 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 tabs on the songs without words (like Karoke). Let’s Sing Chinese is a 3 product series from Singapore which has both familiar songs and new ones. 3 is the most I’ve 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 which teaches counting and areas of the body with songs via 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 main one in the video. From lunch to PE to naps. To select the right video for the child, I would recommend reading the reviews (both bad and the good).
Books for Learning Chinese
A great book for those just starting to Learn Chinese is I Won’t Bite. It is a touch and feel book which has Pinyin, Chinese Characters, and English. The challenge of using a book is frequently you need to know how to read Chinese, as a way to teach from it. A great book for exposing Children to Chinese Characters is Long Is A Dragon by Peggy Goldstein An array of books for Learning Chinese Character