Learning Mandarin without technology?

[Moonhawk]

So, we had a Major Breach of Trust with technology, and found out last night (yay for 2021, lol, saving 2022 by a hair). 

Kids will have No Technology for at least 5 months and then we will re-evaluate. Kindles (Paperwhites, not Fires) may be allowed but nothing else. 

One of the kids wanted to start learning Mandarin as a 2022 goal. Is this possible without internet/technology? I'd imagine a book would be not as effective without being able to hear it. Maybe a DVD set? I may be willing to allow static, non-internet DVDs at a set time. Streaming services are a no.

Any ideas welcome except for loosening the tech ban. It's completely necessary and fair given the circumstances. I don't want it to "ruin" 2022 for their other goals but everyone is in agreement this is a just action. If push comes to shove, it's the Mandarin that will lose out, not the tech ban.

 

[Alicia64]

I'm so sorry re: the tech problems. Doesn't sound fun.

Do you know Tim Ferris? He's heavily into world travel and has found the most interesting way to learn new languages (he figured his system out onJapanese as a teen).

My kids are in college but if they were younger, I'd totally try this out-of-the-box idea.

Of course some of this system involves some tech, but you can just bypass it for now. He's seriously into how your average comic book in Mandarin or Spanish or whatever comes in very handy. He wanted to go to a high school -- not college -- in Japan and thought that he'd have language classes. Huge miscommunication. No language lessons. He was very close to giving up and flying home. Google to read the story, it's a good one.

Here are two Tim links:

Learning a New Language in Record Time (that's not Tim in the photo.)

How to Learn Any Language in Three Months

He also explains why he thinks regular language courses don't really work for most long-term.

Writing this post has made me want to give it a go! Thanks for the push!!

Wendy

 

[thewellerman]

Is the mandarin a new goal entirely?  If so, I think a lot could be done to lay a foundation in reading and writing.  She could learn to recognize and write the alphabet, and get a jump on memorizing vocabulary in the written form.  She could learn songs and listen to the language to grow accustomed to the sounds.  When her ban is up, then she could start practicing speaking.  

[maize]

You could check your library for CD or DVD programs.

One other possible route, involving technology but no screens, would be to use screen-less audio devices like Amazon's Echo. There are many Chinese learning options on Audible, and those can be streamed through an echo device. Screen electronics seem to me to fall in a very different category from non-screen electronics.

You could also see if there are any local tutors.

[DreamerGirl]

I am second guessing myself, but I am fairly certain Kumon centers has an in-person mandarin class. But it was pre-pandemic.

 

 

[Farrar]

1 hour ago, thewellerman said:

Is the mandarin a new goal entirely?  If so, I think a lot could be done to lay a foundation in reading and writing.  She could learn to recognize and write the alphabet, and get a jump on memorizing vocabulary in the written form.  She could learn songs and listen to the language to grow accustomed to the sounds.  When her ban is up, then she could start practicing speaking.  

It's Chinese. There's no alphabet. And learning vocabulary written will not having meaningful ties to learning to speak at all. 

Honestly, I think you need a teacher to tackle Chinese. I don't even think technology gets you very far without additionally having a class or teacher. You need someone correcting your tones because otherwise you won't get it. 

There are DVD based courses. And there are beginner workbooks for learning to write characters. And there are textbooks - though these days, new ones all have integrated technology for the listening stuff. There's plenty of Chinese films and TV shows with subtitles, so that could be a component as well. I think you're just going to have to dig for resources and accept that they probably will be subpar. 

[PronghornD]

Try Pimsleur to start.

 

[Lawyer&Mom]

Assimil is a book based course that has the audio on a CD.

Integrated Chinese is a standard textbook and the audio is available for download.  
https://www.cheng-tsui.com/node/5665

You could download the audio and then burn it to a CD.  (Do you have a CD player than can play MP3 CDs?  They can hold a lot more audio.)

 

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Lawyer&Mom

[Spryte]

All tech banned? What about a zoom course on a visible to everyone machine? With a live teacher.

[Moonhawk]

Thank you for the suggestions, I'm looking at all of them.

I had originally been leaning towards live teacher online, or at least online course, since Mandarin is completely different and a tonal language. I am trying not to let my anger/punishment spill over and affect other things they are interested in, but I am also not interested in finding a miracle if it costs a lot or takes a large investment of my time to be productive. It may just be a natural consequence of things that they have to postpone learning this. 

Yes, all tech banned. Previously all machines were already in a visible spot. All computers have been taken into the parent office and stored. iPads for music lessons will be checked out only for the hour they are needed and then returned. I don't want to add another exception to the rule. If it was a different kid maybe I'd bend, but for this kid in particular they have lost all privileges for tech-related stuff. 

It really stinks for everyone. It is going to put them behind on different things they had been doing, and things we had been looking forward to teaching/doing with them. We had done a lot of work to make this a kid-tech-friendly environment and prioritizing tech literacy and skills (coding, art-related programs, our own professional programs, etc). 

It is what it is. 

[Clarita]

42 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

I had originally been leaning towards live teacher online, or at least online course, since Mandarin is completely different and a tonal language.

Do you live near any Chinese speaking communities? If you think there are Chinese people in your area who can possibly speak the language perhaps you can use Nextdoor or something to find if anyone can tutor your child. (pre-pandemic I totally looked into getting my kids a super part-time Chinese nanny). 

If you are learning mandarin there is a pronounciation guide they (Taiwan and Mainland China) uses for their little kids; China's is romanized and Taiwan's uses their own symbols. Learn Chinese, Chinese Books, Chinese Clothing, Chinese Jewelry, Moon Cakes and more. (chinasprout.com) actually sells a lot of different curriculums for teaching Chinese many of which will have audio support. No suggestions here because well it depends on what you are looking for in learning Chinese. Just to be able to communicate or if you want to deep dive into being able to read and write. The everyday language that you want to be able to communicate may use words that are complicated written, so some programs teach by topics of communication, some programs teach by easy words to hard words (and how words are put together), and some seperate the communication part with words you are learning for reading and writing. Yes I realize the website is in Chinese, just use google translate.

If it's for your youngest my kids (5 and 3) are thriving with Early Start Music - Kids Go Mandarin. It's full immersion music class in Mandarin. She has taught me so much about how to teach mandarin to my kids. You are required to do the class with your kids so there is no handing over the screen to them issue.    

A BUNCH of free resources for learning Chinese Welcome to the Global Chinese Network (Overseas Chinese Committee) HuayuWorld.org - Home. (Google translate again is your friend, For younger kids I navigated to an area where they have videos 小豆豆學華語 (huayuworld.org). You can watch the video and figure out how to say everything and your kids just have the workbook. Welcome to the Global Chinese Network (Overseas Chinese Committee) HuayuWorld.org - Learn Chinese and Move Forward - Textbook Download.

[Matryoshka]

5 hours ago, PronghornD said:

Try Pimsleur to start.

I've just gone through the whole Pimsleur Mandarin course myself.  I did it alongside Duolingo, but it could be useful by itself, or with some kind of a print 'Learn Mandarin' book. And maybe flashcards.

[SoCal_Bear]

Better Chinese curriculum is written for non-native speaking learners. 

https://www.betterchinese.com/collections/my-first-chinese-reader-homeschooler-packs/products/my-first-chinese-reader-starter-kit

I have this, but I got much faster results having my son take online immersion one on one classes with Lingobus. He could read almost 200 characters but would not speak at all. He has fluid conversations in Chinese now. This is really aimed at students ages 5 to 12 though. My son is now 13 but it's fine because he is at a higher level in the curriculum so it works. He started when he was 10. Msg me if you want a referral code to get free classes as you have to have a code before you sign up for a free trial class. The only problem with this is it does require access to a computer as the learning platform is online. When I buy large bundles of classes during sales, I've gotten the price down to about $12-$13 per class.