PeterPan Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I'm not really looking for a curriculum. Curriculum I have, lol. It's just my chinese is really rusty (as in I don't know it and really DON'T have the time to learn it) and dd is actually starting to get that serious look in her eye where she would take this over and do it herself. Self-motivation is the thing we're looking for, right? So what are my options BESIDES handing her a workbook? She doesn't learn via workbook. She needs some personal interaction, structure, accountability, and did I mention personal interaction? I still have the (whatever those weird sound tapes were, the ones with with the pictures) we got ages ago. I have a couple learn chinese curriculum (books) aimed at English speakers that have lots of characters and really need someone guiding the student. Let's just say I didn't put a budget limit on it. What are some options I might look into? She's 13, tall enough to fit in anywhere, smart enough to blend in when motivated, and immature enough on the EF (executive function) side to need structure and accountability. I could see her doing anything from a college class to something online to... Just need some directions to look. Thanks! :) PS. I say I don't have time. I don't mind, and I suppose I could. I just, well you know how it is. So if you'd like to psyche me up for how you supervise your kid learning chinese, that will do too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Elizabeth, Here are some ideas you might find useful on my Chinese language resources Pinterest board. My girls are using the Zhongwen books with a class/tutor. BetterChinese offers a free trial. It's fabulous. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 We use a Chinese student from the local university as a tutor. Is that an option? Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 She's 13, tall enough to fit in anywhere, smart enough to blend in when motivated, and immature enough on the EF (executive function) side to need structure and accountability. Elizabeth, I'm sorry to say that I don't have anything to help you with Chinese. But I do want to say that what you wrote above I could copy WORD FOR WORD about my son (13, 6'3", very smart, very immature!). So, :grouphug:. And any advice you have to offer on that I will gladly take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 My 14 year old has been learning Mandarin for several years. If you can find "live" help in the form of a tutor or class, I really think that is the way to go. The various tones in Mandarin are important, and difficult to distinguish without help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 This looks interesting. I believe that it's being offered through Aventa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 It sounds like she might learn well with a tutor. Do you have any available locally, or maybe one is available online? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) This looks interesting. I believe that it's being offered through Aventa. Well all of these ideas are very interesting. On the Aventa thing, it looks like that's K12, which we have in our state also. It looks like the price to buy a single course is about half (independent, no teacher support, $150) of what it is to do the course through Aventa. Have you done a language with K12? Is it any good? Not sure how you get samples of it. It's definitely an interesting option, as it's a method she's had success with in the past. I'd just need more feedback on what the K12 language courses are like, whether they have quality of instruction, native speakers, clear grammar, enough review, etc. etc. Oh, I just figured something out! Our state is only offering the K12, but you're saying Aventa has K12's chinese *and* Middlebury's chinese and that they're not one in the same? When I went to buy individual courses through Aventa, I only found the one. I should call them. I didn't see chinese interactive listed on the Middlebury site but I saw it when I googled aventa. I just don't know if it's a separate course. Clearly anything from Middlebury would be good. When I studied russian, they had an insanely good reputation (and price to match, haha). Edited July 30, 2012 by OhElizabeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Got off the phone. That Middlebury chinese interactive is a really great price on ($165 a semester), fully interactive, blah blah. The guy I talked with is going to send me an email with demos and stuff. So this is a totally different direction for us, something I hadn't even realized existed. Lots of good ideas, thanks ladies! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Well all of these ideas are very interesting. On the Aventa thing, it looks like that's K12, which we have in our state also. It looks like the price to buy a single course is about half (independent, no teacher support, $150) of what it is to do the course through Aventa. Have you done a language with K12? Is it any good? Not sure how you get samples of it. It's definitely an interesting option, as it's a method she's had success with in the past. I'd just need more feedback on what the K12 language courses are like, whether they have quality of instruction, native speakers, clear grammar, enough review, etc. etc. Oh, I just figured something out! Our state is only offering the K12, but you're saying Aventa has K12's chinese *and* Middlebury's chinese and that they're not one in the same? When I went to buy individual courses through Aventa, I only found the one. I should call them. I didn't see chinese interactive listed on the Middlebury site but I saw it when I googled aventa. I just don't know if it's a separate course. Clearly anything from Middlebury would be good. When I studied russian, they had an insanely good reputation (and price to match, haha). I have used K12's Powerspeak Spanish course and would not recommend it. But the Middlebury thing looks interesting. If you're interested, I would call Aventa. And if you decide to use it, let us know how it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 I have used K12's Powerspeak Spanish course and would not recommend it. But the Middlebury thing looks interesting. If you're interested, I would call Aventa. And if you decide to use it, let us know how it is! Ok, now I'm confused. The guy I talked with at OHVA said the Middlebury course *is* done with Powerspeak. He said there are two courses, one that is Middlebury/Powerspeak and the other that is "international" (by which I think he meant K12?). So maybe Powerspeak does both the middlebury and the international? Not sure how to sort that out, lol. So what did you not like about the Powerspeak spanish? Does the course description or s&s for what you did match up better with the middlebury or regular K12 course? Aventa lists both course descriptions and doesn't put powerspeak by one or the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Turns out Powerspeak is Powerglide. Guess I'll keep looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Ok, now I'm confused. The guy I talked with at OHVA said the Middlebury course *is* done with Powerspeak. He said there are two courses, one that is Middlebury/Powerspeak and the other that is "international" (by which I think he meant K12?). So maybe Powerspeak does both the middlebury and the international? Not sure how to sort that out, lol. So what did you not like about the Powerspeak spanish? Does the course description or s&s for what you did match up better with the middlebury or regular K12 course? Aventa lists both course descriptions and doesn't put powerspeak by one or the other. I don't think K12 or anything that is called K12 (the virtual academies, K12 International Academy) is offering the Middlebury option. It is significantly different from the Powerspeak/Powerglide program and is definitely not the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 http://www.middleburyinteractive.com/products/powerspeak.php What I can't tell is whether powerspeak made a *new* product for middlebury or if the middlebury powerspeak course is the SAME as the prior K12/powerspeak course. Aventa lists them separately but only shows one when you go to check out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugs Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 How about Currclick http://www.currclick.com/product/71551/Fall-2012%3A-Mandarin-Chinese-1-%28Tuesdays%29 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I found our Chinese tutor through a Chinese church that meets at our church. It has worked well for us, but it works best when she follows a curriculum. So I would suggest a curriculum plus a tutor. I have heard good things about the curriculum Johns Hopkins uses in their gifted program, though that is not what our tutor uses. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 BetterChinese has worked well in our house. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 How about Currclick http://www.currclick.com/product/71551/Fall-2012%3A-Mandarin-Chinese-1-%28Tuesdays%29 ? I was just getting ready to go look there. Thanks for the link! Have you used them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 BetterChinese has worked well in our house. :) Ok, I'm fiddling around on their website. I had looked at it on and off but never really understood the online part. Now that I'm demo-ing it, it does seem quite well done or at least engaging and multi-faceted. However, I'm not really sure how the student knows what to DO with it. Do you have a routine of how you use it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 I found our Chinese tutor through a Chinese church that meets at our church. It has worked well for us, but it works best when she follows a curriculum. So I would suggest a curriculum plus a tutor. I have heard good things about the curriculum Johns Hopkins uses in their gifted program, though that is not what our tutor uses. Terri Yup, that makes a lot of sense. I just finished reading all your prior posts on Chinese. :D So in retrospect do you not like the GAVA class your dd did? I thought it actually looked like a really reasonable option. It's reading to learn, but the teacher interaction sounded good. It looks like it has good structure. Maybe it had some cons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 How about Currclick http://www.currclick.com/product/71551/Fall-2012%3A-Mandarin-Chinese-1-%28Tuesdays%29 ? OhElizabeth, You can search my review of this Chinese program. It is written by Liping Ma. I used the first three levels for both of my boys. It was great. But the subsequent Levels 4, 5, and 6 are VERY difficult, so we switched to Singapore Chinese and it is much more bite size for its much shorter texts and easiere exercises. There is online interactive recordings and character stroke orders you can use. Ma Liping is designed for students with Chinese speaking parents. You need to be able to help with the drill and the daily homework. The same is true for Singapore Chinese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugs Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I was just getting ready to go look there. Thanks for the link! Have you used them? No, sorry I haven't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Yup, that makes a lot of sense. I just finished reading all your prior posts on Chinese. :D So in retrospect do you not like the GAVA class your dd did? I thought it actually looked like a really reasonable option. It's reading to learn, but the teacher interaction sounded good. It looks like it has good structure. Maybe it had some cons? It had no cons that I know of, but it was free for us, and our tutor helped my daughter with it. We did not continue only because we realized we need to save it until she enrolls in the magnet program for "real" high school (as opposed to middle school disguised as high school). I would not recommend GAVS for a rank beginner, as all of the students had a significant background in Chinese. My daughter is retaking Chinese 1a this coming semester so she can get HS credit for it, not because there was anything wrong with her grade. She will continue with the series until she finishes, and we hope there will be a Chinese 3 soon. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 It had no cons that I know of, but it was free for us, and our tutor helped my daughter with it. We did not continue only because we realized we need to save it until she enrolls in the magnet program for "real" high school (as opposed to middle school disguised as high school). I would not recommend GAVS for a rank beginner, as all of the students had a significant background in Chinese. My daughter is retaking Chinese 1a this coming semester so she can get HS credit for it, not because there was anything wrong with her grade. She will continue with the series until she finishes, and we hope there will be a Chinese 3 soon. Terri Thanks for the info. I wouldn't have expected so many students in a level 1 class to have background, hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 My younger boy is using the Zhongwen books and my older boy is using Boya Chinese. The tutor comes to our house 2x/week for an hour each time. They both have homework between lessons. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mukmuk Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I'm not sure if this fits the bill. Have you people tried watching historical Chinese dramas as a way to listen to more mandarin? These are extremely well made and fairly accurate. Here's one about Emperor Han Wu, the 7th Emperor of the Han Dynasty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Wu_of_Han). http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=related&v=Oj8MhoenfpU The first episode has the famous historian, Sima Qian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sima_Qian prostrated before the aged Emperor for having written the "truth". I managed to find these on Youtube with English subtitles. The only drawback is that it comes in 10min segments. I hope the playlist continues to include all 64 episodes, and that it *is* a continuous playlist (the first few episodes seem to be). Warning-it can be addictive especially for Chinese culture/history buffs :D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) I managed to find these on Youtube with English subtitles. I find that when I watch Youtube with english subtitles, I tend to use the subtitles as a crutch and not pick up the main language. My first language is English and Chinese. My second language is Deutsch. If I watch Deutsch cartoons with my kids with no subtitles, I will pick up much faster. For learning chinese through youtube, I would try to find those with subtitles in pinyin (hanyu pinyin) rather than with english subtitles. Or find chinese nursery rhymes in karaoke format. I learnt Chinese in school from 4 to 18 years old. Its mandatory back home as our education system is bilingual. Language learning for us is based on Listen, Speak, Read than Write. Not all chinese speakers would make good tutors. Plenty of chinese speakers speak colloquial insteal of formal chinese. It would be best if the tutor is coaching to any chinese textbooks that suits your child's learning style. Edited September 18, 2012 by Arcadia in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommamagistra Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I can highly recommend Johns Hopkins CTY Chinese series, which uses the book designed for the program: Chinese Odyssey. There are two online classes per week and private weekly meetings with the teacher and a TA for additional practice. It's intense. The Basic Level (3 semesters) seems to be the equivalent of a year of college level Chinese. Focus is on writing, speaking (pronunciation), reading (simplified characters). The teacher is excellent. The only drawback is that it's pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 For learning chinese through youtube, I would try to find those with subtitles in pinyin (hanyu pinyin) Can you link to some good cartoons with pinyin subtitles? Not all chinese speakers would make good tutors. Plenty of chinese speakers speak colloquial insteal of formal chinese.:iagree:This is very important. I have had my current tutor talk to the new tutor to verify accent. I was lucky that the first tutor of 3 apparently had a good accent or this system would not have worked. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Can you link to some good cartoons with pinyin subtitles? I recently found this website FluentFlix through another blog (Hacking Chinese). It has videos by level, and shows pinyin and english subtitles frame by frame. It also has the ability to pin phrases that you are unfamiliar with, so you can review in a separate list later. I've only evaluated it at the intermediate level (it has beginner/intermediate/advanced) , but I think it has good potential if you already understand some Chinese phrases. It's also good training for listening to native speech because it uses videos from PRC and Taiwan, and they speak fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra in FL Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Florida Virtual School offers high school credit classes in Chinese 1, 2 and 3. It's free for Florida residents but pricey ($800 - iirc) for others. Dd took Chinese 1 years ago. It was the beta year and PowerGlide wrote segment 1. It was so bad that they switched curriculum mid year. A lot of kids struggled because the new curriculum assumed knowledge of the first semester which they hadn't done. Thankfully, dd had prior knowledge of Chinese and was okay. Powerglide was just horrible. The second semester's curriculum was okay. I've heard good things about BetterChinese.com too. I belong to a Chinese Church in South Florida and have quite a few friends who teach part time at the high schools. If you inquire at Chinese churches, maybe you can find one who will tutor part time. If you have a child who is very young (0-10), I recommend Learnables Chinese. We do not speak ANY Chinese and I played these tapes for my dd in the car from the time she was a baby. Her accent (I'm told) is excellent - not that I would know - I still can't differentiate the 4 tones of ma but she has an excellent ear for the language. She can tell who's from mainland China and who's from Taiwan by their accent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerskevin67 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Why don’t you try watching Chinese movie with English sub titles? It can be the best option for you to learn with fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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