Tardis Girl Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 We attend a 2x monthly Mandarin class at the library which is nice (very basic, lots of review) and we are reinforcing at home, but it's time for some changes. However, I notice that there are other families who have "studied" Mandarin for several years using Rosetta Stone or whatever, and when they are at this library class they don't seem to know any more than my children. Which leaves me wondering... how realistic is it to learn Mandarin?? If your kids are leaning, how fluent are they? how long have they been studying? what do you use (and recommend or warn against)? We live in an area where there are more native speakers, so I feel like we have some access to real people, but that is really just supplemental because they are acquaintances. We use some Mango online through our library system and some LiveMocha and then just practice writing characters in correct stroke order and such too. I am out of my element with this. My older ones learned Spanish. But Mandarin is just a whole different cup of tea. So Rosetta Stone? Tell Me More? LiveMocha? I've seen/read about some other options but can't remember names. I don't speak it or know it myself so I have learn along with them, so I can't have explanations in Mandarin. Can anyone help me come up with a do-able plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acsnmama Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Better Chinese! We have the program, but haven't started yet, so I guess that's not helpful, actually it has been sitting on the shelf for about a year. Oops. However, I've read others blogs (can't remember where) which is why I went with Better Chinese. I think I'll get a fresh start on it this fall with my children. It looks wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardis Girl Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Yes, Better Chinese -- that was one with a name I couldn't recall. I was over there looking at it again.... I guess your kids are a bit younger, but did you get the My First Chinese Reader or MFC Words? I was leaning toward the Reader series if we went with Better Chinese, but would love to hear your thoughts on it... understanding that you haven't actually been using it yet. ;) What components do you have? What other exposure have your kids had to Mandarin? Chinese Made Easy was another series I've heard of, but don't really know much about the quality of any these, at least in terms of testimonials from real homeschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug's Mom Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Another vote for Better Chinese! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Better Chinese is a good choice. Right now we are using the New Practical Chinese Reader. Rosetta Stone was a waste of money for us. We had very little progress after 3 years. If you keep at it you will make progress. If you have access to a native speaker you will make even more progress. The key, I think, is consistency and a program that makes sense to you. I like Better Chinese, but have moved to the New Practical Chinese Reader. It gives more explanations in English and practice with tones and pinyin that Better Chinese does not have built-in to their program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acsnmama Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 We have the first Chinese Words. I figured I'd start at the bottom and work our way up. Unfortunately, they don't really have exposure to anyone who speaks Chinese, there is a woman at my Church who does, I may ask her. Also, as a teen my family had a exchange student from Tiawan come live with us for a year. I still keep in touch with her via Skype to this day, she has offered to practice with the kids through Skype! In the mean time, I believe I may try to find someone to come once a week and teach them, while we fill in practice on other days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 As we are French speakers, we use a French/Chinese program. And a native speaker as a tutor. Still, after 3 years, I find my daughter knows very little Chinese. I'm frustrated, and about to switch her to Latin (she's now grade 7). But she loves learning Chinese.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardis Girl Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Thanks for your thoughts on how you plan to use it. I'm wondering if I am in over my head, but still want to move forward.... ;) The key, I think, is consistency and a program that makes sense to you. I like Better Chinese, but have moved to the New Practical Chinese Reader. It gives more explanations in English and practice with tones and pinyin that Better Chinese does not have built-in to their program. Ah. there's the rub! Consistent practice. Yes, I'm wondering if that's why the people I've met who have been "studying" Mandarin for years don't seem to know very much, rather than there being a problem with a particular program. Wehomeschool -- So I just went and looked at the New Practical Chinese Reader on Amazon and was confused by the numerous choices and supplementals. Can you explain what I would start with if I went that route? And do your kids use it directly, or is it more for you? It looks like it is more of a college textbook. Bug's Mom -- What do you recommend from Better Chinese? It looks like you have a 10yod. Regarding Better Chinese (thoughts from anyone) -- Which resources do you recommend starting with or working into? I see they have a ipad app too., which we don't have. Is the app great enough to warrant ... <ahem>... buying an ipad? <cough cough> ;) So in your opinion, should I probably not even consider Rosetta or Tell Me More? Do you guys use Live Mocha at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardis Girl Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 As we are French speakers, we use a French/Chinese program. And a native speaker as a tutor. Still, after 3 years, I find my daughter knows very little Chinese. I'm frustrated, and about to switch her to Latin (she's now grade 7). But she loves learning Chinese.. Ugh. That's very disconcerting. And this is a big worry to me. Do you have any thoughts as to why she knows "very little" after 3 years? Are the challenges more in the speaking, listening, writing, reading, just general comprehension? I'm glad you spoke up, but this scares me to hear! :bored: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 thoughts? yeah, some.. It's *Chinese* ! In sort, it's a language that is so very different from what we're used to, and we're not exposed to that culture very much. They don't use words the way we do. I'm not talking about tones, that's relatively easy to grasp. But how taking two unrelated words, putting them together, and inferring the meaning of the resulting word, is sooo not occidental thinking. For example: woman + child = good. We all go huh??? But Chinese people don't, it's obvious for them. (there's an explanation here http://www.taiwan-travel-experience.com/chinese-symbols-for-words.html, look for item 4) Learning Chinese is like opening a window into an alien culture, still human, but alien to us for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardis Girl Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 lol -- ya, I get what you're saying. ;) OK so I should have asked this at the beginning, but I'm also interested to hear from everyone if you are learning simplified or traditional characters. We've been learning simplified, but I know it can be a hot topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Simplified here, as that's what the Chinese government controls... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I don't think I will be much help. My girls learned Mandarin because we lived in China. They attended an international school and one hour of Mandarin was a part of their school day. They were taught by a native speaker. They learned very quickly, but my younger daughter was faster. She would translate for me in the market. We've been back in the states for 2 years, and they don't remember much. It really is a use it or lose it language for us. Good luck. BTW, we use Rosetta Stone for all of our forieng language learning state side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug's Mom Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Bug's Mom -- What do you recommend from Better Chinese? It looks like you have a 10yod. Regarding Better Chinese (thoughts from anyone) -- Which resources do you recommend starting with or working into? I see they have a ipad app too., which we don't have. Is the app great enough to warrant ... <ahem>... buying an ipad? <cough cough> ;) We started out with My First Chinese Reader. It was great. I had no knowledge of Chinese (other than a few phrases picked up at our favorite Chinese restaurant - hello, goodbye, thank you) and was able to learn along with my daughter. The online options (6 months at a time) is great. We used that along with the book & textbook. We're now using Discovering Chinese because she's in a class with 3 other girls and they all wanted to switch to that one because they're a bit older. On our own, we would have stayed in MFCR as it's a bit easier. We've got Discovering Chinese on our ipad, but dd is overwhelmed by it (and not all of the chapters are the same as in the book, so I use it). They gave me the My First Chinese Reader iBook and it's nice, but I wouldn't buy an iPad just for that. The online version is wonderful. You can try the online stuff for free. Here's a page of links from my blog: http://www.thebugslife.blogspot.com/p/mandarin-chinese-links.html My daughter likes to watch these: http://english.cntv.cn/program/learnchinese/growingwithchinese/index.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Wehomeschool -- So I just went and looked at the New Practical Chinese Reader on Amazon and was confused by the numerous choices and supplementals. Can you explain what I would start with if I went that route? And do your kids use it directly, or is it more for you? It looks like it is more of a college textbook. I prefer college textbooks for foreign language. They are written for a beginner, but have more explanations regarding grammar, background, and meaning than textbooks for kids. This helps me because I don't speak the language. Foreign language isn't something I have my kid do on his own. I learned that progress requires interaction so we learn it together. My kids are learning at different levels so I work with each of them one-on-one for foreign language. College textbooks also provide more bang for the buck. Children's programs can be costly. For the New Practical Chinese Reader I am using: http://www.amazon.co...ils_o00_s02_i00 and http://www.amazon.co...ils_o00_s02_i03 Videos of the lesson are on Youtube and workbook answers are at http://www.nihaointe...log/?page_id=34 Extra writing exercise sheets are available here: http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/kessel/Writing%20Sheets/Writing%20Sheets.htm HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marywhite Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Hi, I'm here to recommend you a free e-book for your kids to learn Chinese. My 3-year-old twins really enjoy using it. It's amazing. Maybe you could have a try. :hurray: http://www.huayuschool.com/experienceBook/en/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 It really is a use it or lose it language. My son lives in China 6 months out of the year and is fluent in Mandarin. He lives 600 miles away from us when he is in the States and it's sporadic that he can teach it to my 8 yr old. We adopted our daughter from China at the age of 20 months old. She spoke Mandarin (as much as a 20 month old does) and at this point remembers very little other than phrases my son has taught her. I have been wanting to start her on a language but Mandarin is so hard (to me) if you don't have a native speaker and are not consistent with practicing. I actually bought Spanish to start her on this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 My kids went to a bilingual school for a few years and then an afterschool program for two more years. That is the only way it has worked for us. I would say they can have a conversation with a fellow kid, but wouldn't be able to say everything they want. They can listen to a story and get a basic understanding - maybe answer a few questions, but definitely don't understand the whole thing. However, my oldest really hates Chinese because of the way it was taught at Chinese school. (Actually, preschool was fine, but once the emphasis changed to memorizing characters, he didn't like it). We are going to try an online tutor this coming year, but I'm not sure if it will work for us. For myself, I have been learning with Pimsleur CDs. That has worked well for me (but won't work for kids unless you want them ordering beer and asking people out. LOL!) We have used Rosetta Stone a little bit, but I don't know how helpful it is. In my ideal world, we would have a tutor come who was just a total chatterbox who would play with the kids and talk to them non-stop. I think that would be the best way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I recently bought Better Chinese My First Chinese Words. Even though it is advertised as Pre-K, I think it is a good level for my 9 and 7 year old (and me!) We haven't started yet but they've already memorized the first story (Wo ai wo de jia) just based on hearing the song on the website. I'm excited to start, I think it will be great. I'm actually auditing a Chinese 101 classs at our local college so that I can have a leg up on helping them. I am wondering from those of you who have been doing it for a while...do you teach reading and writing separately? In other words can your kids read more characters than they can actually write? It seems to me like it would be hard to visually recognize a character without learning to write it, but from the way My First Chinese Words is set up, it seems like you are just supposed to be reading them. (There is a section in the activity book where you are learning to write, but it is not any of the characters in the story. ) How do you teach the characters, flash cards? I'd like to do one story a week (there are 36) but I couldn't keep up that pace if they were learning to write the characters, because it seems like there are at least 5 or 6 new characters in each story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 For myself, I have been learning with Pimsleur CDs. That has worked well for me (but won't work for kids unless you want them ordering beer and asking people out. LOL!) No kidding...when is Pimsleur going to get wise to this and make CDs for kids--or even just for people who aren't business travelers!? My son will easily sit through 10-15 minutes of Pimsleur a day, but the stuff they teach is so impractical and sometimes inappropriate for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I agree! I wish there was a Pimsleur kids version. That would be awesome. (I know there is "Little Pim" but it just teaches a tiny bit of vocabulary). About reading vs. writing - I was just reading something (ugh! I can't remember where) that was talking about how it might make sense to teach most students speaking/listening/reading + typing (which would use pinyin and the ability to recognize the character). It made a lot of sense to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uff Da! Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 When we thought we were going to be be in the US permanently and DD was very interested in learning Mandarin, she took lessons from an 11-year-old missionary kid who was in the states on furlough for a year. We ended up dropping Mandarin in favor of Thai when we found out we were going to be moving here, but I felt she was making really good progress in a short amount of time, and she was really enjoying it. Her teacher used the Better Chinese books and created her own games and practice activities to go with it. She also added in a mini culture lesson each time they got together (how to use chopsticks, respect for elders, etc.). She really did an amazing job with the teaching, and being only 11 she didn't charge much (if I remember correctly we paid around $20/month for one hour each week). If you could find a missionary family near you with middle school or high school kids, that might be a good option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Can someone help me out?? I ordered the Better Chinese, My First Reader set along with the with CD rom. The books are all in Chinese! This sounds like a big DUH, but there is no English translation. How do I know WHAT it is if there is no translation?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 When you click on the story on the CD Rom there is an option for English translation. However once you get the hang of it, each story only introduces a few new words and they try to make them easy to guess what the words mean so that the child (or us parents) can pick up on the meaning by context/picture. ETA: Oops. I have My Firs Chinese Words. Not sure if it is the same for Reader, but maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Nope. I don't see any options other then replay, go back etc. Nothing that shows the English translation. This is supposed to be for beginners that have no prior experience. I must be missing something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durriyyah Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Has anyone tried the Currclick online classes? I signed DD13 up for the fall hybrid course (cheaper, but fewer live lessons). I thought paying $400 for the Rosetta Stone 5 year course was going to have us set, but I guess not. I really should have looked into it before buying it because it just doesn't hold up it's reputation when it comes to assigning high school credits for a foreign language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Can someone help me out?? I ordered the Better Chinese, My First Reader set along with the with CD rom. The books are all in Chinese! This sounds like a big DUH, but there is no English translation. How do I know WHAT it is if there is no translation?? You will need the Teacher's Manual in English. I have pictures of what it will show you here: http://eclectic-homeschool.blogspot.ca/2011/11/learning-mandarin-using-better-chinese.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Well that makes sense! I wonder why they don't include it in with the set since it's a beginners set. Ouch, it's an additional $40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Well that makes sense! I wonder why they don't include it in with the set since it's a beginners set. Ouch, it's an additional $40. Yes, that is one of the reasons I switched to New Practical Chinese instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Not sure if this helps, but 25 or so years ago, I took intensive Mandarin in University. (Back then, there was basically one book, put out by the PRC gov't...which was a hoot...everything was tongzhe this (Comrade...). :)) It was an entire year, two hours per day, four days per week... hours in the language lab each week...yet at the end, most of us (even those who came in with speaking Cantonese or what not), were no where near fluent. The only people who really gained any fluency were those who then went to live/study in Taiwan or the PRC. I guess what I"m trying to say is that it's very hard to really obtain fluency unless you are in an immersion setting. I would look at programs like Middlebury for when your kids are old enough if you truly want any sort of fluency. Biggest piece of advise I can give to anybody learning Chinese (either themselves or their kids), do not use pinyin. Too much of a crutch. Ditch it as fast as you can and start learning characters/radicals. (Same with Arabic, avoid the transliteration type stuff...learn the actual Arabic alphabet.) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clarath Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 My son was studying in an international school in hong Kong before. His school used Better Chinese and some chinese readers. I like the one called primary mandarin. Their readers don't have pinyin on top of the chinese word so that my son can get used to recognising the chinese words. There are pinyin and english translation at the back of the reader, so I can read the book with him. I think they are good. His school also use an online classroom called mandarin matrix. My son loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 My older boy has been learning Mandarin for 3 years. He has a tutor for 1 hour per week, and he works for an additional 30minutes 4 days per week. so 3 hours total for the week. For some strange reason his 2nd tutor chose a university intensive textbook (Boya) for a 10 year old (I did not realize). It has worked for him, but I would not recommend it for others. At this point he can read 800 characters and can write about 100 (he is learning simplified characters). He has a very good accent apparently, but can barely converse. I would like to get him to the Saturday conversation class at the university, but it conflicts currently with his violin class. My goal for him is to pass the Mandarin as a Second Language exam put out by the Chinese government (HSK - Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi. Official test of Mandarin in mainland China). And then spend a year in a study abroad program to gain fluency. But we will see. I am expecting 10 years to gain even reasonable fluency - he started at age 9.5. My neighbour is fluent in French, but to maintain this fluency he reads a book in French every month and listens to French podcasts every week. He meets with French speakers 4 times per year, which is just barely enough. It does take effort to stay fluent! Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Spam reported L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 What about Concordia Language Villages during the summer. You'd still want something to reinforce what they learned. http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/Programs/Youth/Summer_villages/chinese1.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I found the article I mentioned earlier about emphasizing reading/typing over writing characters: http://mandarininstitute.org/articles/read_first I hope someone else finds it interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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