Makita Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 My daughter wants to learn to speak Chinese. If only she'd asked to learn Spanish (which I'm fluent in) we'd be cruising. I've played around with Mango Languages (I love it but she get's bored). I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a program like Rosetta Stone (she may decide next year to do something else!). I bought the Chinese Language for Primary Schools 1A Textbook and accompanying Activity Book from Singapore Math. Does anyone have experience with these? I like the way it is is organized. It is very colorful - just like the math - so DD is interested/intrigued. However, how do I learn the pronunciations? I've tried to find a native speaker to help but thus far haven't found one. Any other thoughts/suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 My kids took a fantastic Chinese class earlier this summer through Guavatalk - the teacher was a native speaker in Beijing. They'd connect up on the computer every night at 8pm (8am there), and get an hour long interactive class. They also had a textbook. They thought it was really fun and wanted to do it again! They charged an introductory price of only $5 per lesson! It was a group class, but there were only 4 kids in the class (the other two were elsewhere on the east coast). My kids learned a lot and are asking if they can do it again. ETA: Oops, I just noticed your dd is only 5! My kids are 10, that was the minimum age for the Guavatalk class. Do you have a local weekend Chinese school? We have not one but two nearby. My kids have attended a German Saturday school starting at 5. (yes, we're language-happy over here :tongue_smilie:) See, if I were you I'd do Chinese *and* Spanish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSDCY Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I believe Singapore's Chinese curriculum requires a native speaking teacher, so I don't know how well that will work for you. Have you tried www.betterchinese.com? I have not personally used their products but have heard good things about them. Do you live near a major university? If you do, you might want to post want-ads there to see if there are any native Chinese speakers willing to tutor your daughter. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runningirl71 Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Yes, I agree with Singapore Chinese. It is definitely not user friendly if you don't know the language itself. No teacher helps. We actually lived in China and it was my children's third language. I would LOVE to use the Singapore books with them, but I also would need to get a tutor to teach them after a certain level. The books are good. If you could keep looking for a tutor, that would be the way to go. An international student would be good, if you have any in your area. I would love to get my kids back into Chinese, but not much need for it right now. Our focus for now is Latin. Ds started French this year and loves it! Sorry not to be of help! Chinese is really really hard to teach if there is no background in it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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