Anyone adopt a 5-7 year old child from China?

[mom31257]

I have a good friend who just adopted a 7 year old boy from China. He is not special needs. He is having trouble learning English and is very sensitive to anything that is babyish. 

 

Could any of you suggest videos, curricula, websites, or books which would help him learn English? She is having trouble finding things that don't assume you can read English words. 

 

 

[Arcadia]

For curricula, take a look at the library's collection for ESL.  Some of the books there are good for children as well.  The bilingual picture dictionaries which your friend can borrow from the library are good too for getting basic vocabulary in.

 

If your friend is not against sight words, getting some sight words down might help boost his confidence while your friend teach him phonics.  School house rock videos (YouTube) are good for grammar.

 

If she has an iPad, the free multilingual rye books have Chinese classics in English and Chinese so the child might be more comfortable listening to traditional Chinese children stories in English.

Reading eggs was fun for my boys but I don't know if that might be too babyish.

 

What kind of trouble is he having in learning English?

[mom31257]

I haven't met him yet and have talked to her on the phone. I don't really know what trouble. She said he's not picking it up as quickly as she thought he would.  

 

 

[Arcadia]

 She said he's not picking it up as quickly as she thought he would.  

 

After 7 years of Chinese and maybe Chinese dialects as well, the child is probably translating everything back to Chinese and trying to make sense of English.  My boys try to translate English grammar to Chinese grammar and vice versa until they realize it is not easy.  The literal translations were very funny though :)

 

Pronunciation is different too.  From English to German, my boys could pick up the pronunciation differences very fast.  From English to Chinese, they have to start from ground zero so that takes a lot longer.

[Beth in OH]

Learning a new language takes a long time, even for a child.  For an adult who is literate in his native language, research shows that it takes two years of study to become functional in the new language (even when immersed in it).  Fluency takes even longer.  Although a 7 year old will learn the language more easily than an adult, it is still a very long term process.  This is why our city, which has a lot of immigrants and refugees, does not mainstream recent immigrant children directly into a school.  The kids start at a Global Academy so that their classes will be taught with an ESOL overlay until they get their footing with English.  Usually at least a year.  

 

Please help your friend educate herself about language learning.  She will need to be patient and to use strategies that will help her son.  If he had no English when he came and doesn't have access to a speaker of his mother tongue, he will be very isolated.

[Pronghorn]

My friends who adopted older kids used Rosetta Stone.

[Pink and Green Mom]

My son was adopted at age 4 from Kazahkstan and spoke only Russian.  An adoptive mom puts out a wonderful CD with about 200 useful every day communication phrases to help meet the basic needs of a child (there is a Mandarin Chinese version). Is your friend's issue that basic?  This CD will not teach him English per se, but it will help her communicate every day needs, wants, comfort phrases, safety issues, etc. in the meantime.  We would not have survived the first few weeks without this.

 

I don't know how to link but if you google "Teresa Kelleher adopting from Russia, China, and Latin America" her work notes website is the first thing that pops up and you can order through Paypal.  The website looks a bit "thrown together" but I know at least seven or eight families who have ordered her products.

 

The picture dictionary First 1000 Words in Chinese may help as well.  The book will have a two page spread of, for example, a bedroom, and the words for bed, floor, window, curtains, rug, dresser, closet, underwear, pajamas, etc. etc. and each picture will have the word written in Chinese and phonetic Chinese.  This would help with specific words and again help with basic needs and learning basic words (we would point to the object, say it in Russian, then repeat it in English).  DS could also point to specific things he was trying to communicate with us.

 

I would also encourage your friend to get all the ESL help her son qualifies for, whether through the schools or some other way.  Additionally, my son was absolutely PETRIFIED to hear anyone speak Russian (and he had very fond memories of his orphanage).  I think he was afraid he was going to be sent back.  I would exercise caution before having any native speakers try to work with her son as well until she knows how he would handle it.

 

[Lieutenant Stranger]

Can she not find any native speakers in her area? Does she have older children? I'd start asking around-- work people, neighbors, friends, family, you name it. I can think of several people I know here who are from China-- hopefully she has someone in her area to help.

[Amy in NH]

Did she not join any kind of support group for adopting from overseas?  From China? 

[Laurie4b]

Is she having trouble communicating with him? Or is she trying to teach him to read? I can't quite tell from your post.

 

If she "just" adopted him, he is not simply a child learning a new language. He's a child in trauma. None of us learn as quickly when we are coping with a lot of emotional things as we do when we are at emotional equilibrium.

 

If she is having trouble communicating basic needs to him, I would look for a Chinese speaker to help. Around here, families who adopt from China have a support group and there are many people who have immigrated from China as well. 

 

It might also be easier to learn sign language for some basic things. I don't know though--I've never been in that position, though it is something I would be likely to try. Hungry. Thirsty. Bathroom. Tired. Happy. Sad. Scared. Mad. Love. Please. Thank you. Good. No. Dangerous.

[PhotoGal]

Does he think cartoons are babyish? If not, I would recommend:

 

Brainpop ESL

 

Peppa Pig (you can find many episodes on Youtube)

 

Muzzy (check and see if it is at the library)

 

 

He may have seen "Pleasant Goat and the Big Big Wolf" cartoon in China (it is really popular), so he might enjoy and learn from watching episodes in English.

[mom31257]

She homeschools so would be looking anyway.

 

he was told he knew some English from school, but it was barely any. She adopted a toddler from China before, but language wasn't so much an issue then.

 

He is very sweet and wanted to be adopted. I don't know how extensive the problem is. She had expressed frustration finding resources.

 

They are in an area that probably doesn't have a lot of others to join a group. They are on good terms with owners at a Chinese restaurant but he doesn't want to interact with them.

 

I'll share with her the ideas.

[Laura Corin]

They are on good terms with owners at a Chinese restaurant but he doesn't want to interact with them.

 

 

They may not speak the same dialect of Chinese as he does.  It could be as different, as a spoken language, as Italian and Spanish.

 

L

[tabinfl]

They are in an area that probably doesn't have a lot of others to join a group. They are on good terms with owners at a Chinese restaurant but he doesn't want to interact with them.

My nephew was very fearful of other Chinese people when he was first adopted; it wasn't until quite a bit later that they figured out he'd been abused while at the SWI (orphanage).

 

I've heard of people taking language classes via skype, maybe she could find online support resources and let him communicate with bilingual people that way?

[duckens]

I have no experience with adoption.

I have no experience with teaching Chinese.

I DO have experience with teaching language to young children.

 

1) Play games as a family.  Candy Land (for colors), Uno (for numbers/colors).  Just looking at our games shelf, I see Alphabet Zoo, Add a Bug, Concentration, and Dominoes.

2) Do a search for "Learn English Video Games".  I found this page right away.  I know there are other vocabulary games available.  Use them as a reward after doing regular phonics lesson.

3) tabinfl discussed skype resources.  I have had good luck with this website.  Technically it is for those who are trying to learn a language, but I'll bet that if you placed an ad explaining what you need, you would find someone to help ease the transition.  It's easier to find a match if you "upgrade to a gold membership" for a nominal fee ($6/month through $24/year).  Disclaimer: do not let children be unattended on the internet.