Kuovonne Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Hi Mandarinmom, I saw your post about BetterChinese under a different thread. I want to teach my daughter Chinese when we start kindergarten in the fall. I've been wondering about BetterChinese for a while, but couldn't find anyone who's used it. The price tag is a bit steep to buy sight-unseen and it's hard to tell which parts are really necessary. Could you tell me more about this program? Which parts are really necessary? Are the CD-ROM or online content necessary? I don't have a computer that my daughter could easily use. Is the parent/teacher guide really useful if it's just one mom learning along with one kindergarten kid, or is it full of group activities that would be hard to duplicate in a homeschool environment? Does it give lesson plans? If so, how long would a lesson be and how frequent? How hard is it to teach without knowing the language oneself? What is the workbook like? Are the books sturdy enough to leave lying around the house? Sorry for bombarding you with questions, but I'm really interested in this curriculum. I've looked at their free online content, but couldn't figure out this info from their website. Maybe I just don't know what to look for? -Kuovonne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 NM. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Not MandarinMom, but we are using Better chinese, specifically My First Chinese Reader. My dd used it in her chinese class and we have been using it at home now for a month or so, class just go to expensive! We have the book, the workbook and the CD. I would definately reccommend getting the book and the CD, the workbook I'm on the fence about. The CD does need to be done on a computer because it's interactive. I don't know about the online stuff, but it does look tempting, we may order it next to save some money though! Hope that helps! ETA: Mandarin is a very difficult language because the pronunciation is critical. There are four tones and if you use one tone it means on thing, if you use another the word has a completely different meaning. It would be impossible to teach without a pronunciation cd if you don't speak the language. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't teach it unless you knew that your dc were going to use it, ie. your moving there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuovonne Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Hi Paige, Thanks for the review. It's good to know which parts are most important. Do you have the teacher's guide or do you make up your own lessons? BTW, I noticed on the BetterChinese web site that "My First Chinese Reader" is for kids age 7+, but it sounds like your daughter is 5 and in kindergarten? Did you find that "My First Chinese Words" was too easy? I know that I'm crazy for wanting to teach Chinese to DD4. Teaching English to my daughter was so easy, but teaching Chinese seems so daunting. None of the skills that I used to teach her English seem to transfer to teaching Chinese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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