Anyone use Better Chinese?

[Green Vixen]

Hi everyone,

 

I just learned about Better Chinese and was wondering if anyone has used it? I am specifically looking at their preschool program but am completely overwhelmed by all of their choices. What are the must have's and what can be skipped? Are people using alone or with a tutor?

 

Thanks,

 

Marisa

[hlee]

We have been using Better Chinese, initially through a Chinese school but then when spending 2 hours on a Sunday afternoon at school started to feel pretty wearisome, we just tried to do it ourselves at home with an occasional Mandarin-speaking tutor, primarily for my 7-year-old DS. He was working through My First Chinese Reader Vol. 1 and 2; he'd use the CD-ROM to learn the lesson, use some the accompanying activity books (definitely the character cards, for example), and then use the online learning subscription to take a quiz about the chapter to see what he'd retained.

 

The problem with this program for non-native Mandarin speakers (which would be our family!), is that without consistent review and assistance from a Mandarin speaker, it's hard to make progress. Also, I felt as though my son was developing a dislike for learning the language because it is hard in many senses of the word-- you have to develop a new way of speaking, new sounds, unfamiliar characters, etc.

 

Anyway, this coming year I am going to scale back from using My First Chinese Reader, I think. I also have a number of the other curricula (My First Chinese Words, for example) and so we may just try to simplify and have more fun with the program rather than trying to slog our way through the Reader. I just want my kids to get a feel for the language if possible, and whatever they learn will be icing on the cake. I also have discovered that if I'm not learning the language alongside them, so that I can banter the vocabulary phrases back and forth (i.e., "What is your name?" "How old are you?" "I love my family!") then it's hard to keep the progress going.

 

I don't know if this was at all helpful but feel free to PM me with more questions! Good luck!

[MaMa2005]

If you are going to learn a tonal language like Mandarin, you really need to find a native speaker. DS is learning Mandarin, but he attends Chinese School on Saturdays for 3 hours as well as having a private tutor once a week. Emphasis is really placed on the appropriate tones. With four tones, one word can mean 4 different things.

 

I have some Mandarin language CDs at home, but DS much prefers listening to the native speakers in person. Maybe as he gets older and has more command of the language, the CDs will be helpful.

[JMe]

I really want our kids to have a head start in Mandarin by starting young, but it is soooo intimidating! My handsome and I are going to use Rosetta Stone to learn it just for a mind challenge and the ability to support the kids as they learn. I'm not guessing that will be quite what our littles (5 & 3) need, though. The "Better Chinese" home school sets are an awfully big cost commitment... Then to add a tutor on top? Yikes. Going to have to do some serious praying over this!

[ALB]

You really can not learn Chinese without having feedback from a native speaker. Rosetta Stone is great for latin based languages but, IMO, totally inappropriate for tonal, character-based languages. People underestimate how important it is to pronounce those tones correctly. If you say them wrong, you can completely change the meaning of what you are saying! The only way to learn them correctly is to have a native speaker patiently work with you in training your mouth to form those sounds. A computer program just cannot offer you that kind of personal feedback. I'm saying this from experience- 5 years in Thailand learning Thai and 5 years in China learning Mandarin.

[Uff Da!]

nm