Rush Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 We are looking for a decent course of Chinese language for an independent learning. Later on we are planning to take the individual lessons, but for the time being we would like to start something in our own. if you have any thoughts and ideas you are welcome! :) Thanks in advance:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Hmm, non one is learning Chinese over here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I would wait until you are able to access lessons with a native speaker. The tones of Chinese are not optional, and non-Chinese speakers very rarely hear and reproduce them correctly without drilling by a teacher. Starting to learn Chinese without the correct tones will set back future learning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Thank you for your answer.I understand that Chineses pronunciation is very difficult and pronunciation should be thought by a professional teacher, but I though we could start with listening simple songs, learning letters, numbers, simple symbols, etc.Basically, we've seen this video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T5FNvW19GbAand thought that we could continue something the same for a couple of months until we start the real lessons. I do not see how things like that or learning common words can jeopardize future learning. Or I am wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 The thing is that when you are learning common words without using the correct tones, you are just learning them wrong. I really don't recommend it. If you are using the wrong tone, it is a completely different meaning. The sound 'ma' means 'mother', 'hemp', 'horse' or 'to scold' depending on how you sing it. Best regards Laura 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Oh, I see! Thank you, Laura! :thumbup1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I really second the native speaker thing. My sisters (12 and 14 this year) are in a immersion Chinese program and they will only be "proficient" and not "fluent" when they graduate high school after having it for 12 years! :huh: It is a hard language! I tried it with my oldest but then decided on German as it was easier. However if you are determined, I wish you luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Laura is correct that getting the correct tone is important. Besides it is like learning a musical instrument. Harder to undo mistakes than to start fresh. If you just want to get a head start, concentrate on listening instead of speaking. For example the multiplication song in Chinese is easy for a child to translate in his/her head and the bonus is your child end up remembering 2x2 up to 12x12 tables. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK4N4pn-M7U Another thing you can try is go to Quizlet and look for YCT e.g. https://quizlet.com/18504637/yct-1-flash-cards/ For the YouTube you link, her book, Chineasy, was really boring. The sound 'ma' means 'mother', 'hemp', 'horse' or 'to scold' depending on how you sing it. It does feel like singing :) My kids are now reading their story books to the background of Chinese children songs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Laura is correct that getting the correct tone is important. Besides it is like learning a musical instrument. Harder to undo mistakes than to start fresh. If you just want to get a head start, concentrate on listening instead of speaking. For example the multiplication song in Chinese is easy for a child to translate in his/her head and the bonus is your child end up remembering 2x2 up to 12x12 tables. Another thing you can try is go to Quizlet and look for YCT e.g. https://quizlet.com/18504637/yct-1-flash-cards/ For the YouTube you link, her book, Chineasy, was really boring. It does feel like singing :) . Thank you for your link. My son would really love it:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thank you for all of you! It was very helpful! In the end we have signed in for Chinese kids lessons at our local Chinese centre. Hope my son likes it and won't drop. German will be very useful language for my kids, but they could take it directly at school as a part of their school program. Is it true thought that kids with musical ear will crack the Chinese quicker than others? Mine has a perfect ear and he is also learning to play piano, singing and taking ballet classes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thank you for all of you! It was very helpful! In the end we have signed in for Chinese kids lessons at our local Chinese centre. Hope my son likes it and won't drop. German will be very useful language for my kids, but they could take it directly at school as a part of their school program. Is it true thought that kids with musical ear will crack the Chinese quicker than others? Mine has a perfect ear and he is also learning to play piano, singing and taking ballet classes. I hope that it works out well. Community Chinese lessons can be great, or they can be difficult if the other children come from ethnically Chinese homes and are hearing Chinese at home. I hope that you find a great situation. I don't know about the musical ear for Chinese, but young children in general pick up tones fairly easily if well taught. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 I hope that it works out well. Community Chinese lessons can be great, or they can be difficult if the other children come from ethnically Chinese homes and are hearing Chinese at home. I hope that you find a great situation. I don't know about the musical ear for Chinese, but young children in general pick up tones fairly easily if well taught. We have mainly local kids, but I will keep my fingers crossed:) if not there is a possibility to take private lessons with the same teacher. Another thing which is bothering me. My son has also started Japanese martial arts classes. Could it conflict somehow? I am worrying as I think that at the Chinese centre might not like the fact that the kid is learning martial arts from their competitors. At the Center they promote their culture and Chinese martial arts heavily. Or it so silly and I shouldn't even think about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 We have mainly local kids, but I will keep my fingers crossed:) if not there is a possibility to take private lessons with the same teacher. Another thing which is bothering me. My son has also started Japanese martial arts classes. Could it conflict somehow? I am worrying as I think that at the Chinese centre might not like the fact that the kid is learning martial arts from their competitors. At the Center they promote their culture and Chinese martial arts heavily. Or it so silly and I shouldn't even think about it? I wouldn't worry about it initially and see how things develop. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Wang Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Hi, for kids Chinese learning. I think Hanbridge Mandarin School is recommended. It provides Chinese course for kids, 3-9 years old. I recommend it because the Chinese teacher there use variety kinds of teaching method, which make the kids keep interesting. And all teachers with excellent bilingual ability, which make the kids easy to understand the content of the lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Hmm, non one is learning Chinese over here? We are, but through an immersion school. My older daughter is now studying German on her own, but she is nine, and she has had six years of German lessons, three immersion, three after school. I still plan to put her in German camps and get her a tutor... this year has been rough and I'm not happy with our after school program, so we're on our own. For Chinese, no way in heck could I manage that. I know one homeschooling mom who does Japanese with her kids. She gets the curriculum for Japanese schools from her embassy. I see someone posted an ad above... but it seems very relevant to the OP's question, and we might use it in the future. So thanks Lisa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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