According to over 60% of our survey "To be
equipped for future opportunities" is the answer why they want to learn Chinese.
Family, traveling, and Chinese Culture are other major
reasons. Our view is Learning
Chinese gives your kids a seat at the table
of an increasingly competitive world.
For any doubts you have about learning the Chinese language and culutre,
article.
Sections:
Top 10 Reasons to Learn Chinese
1. You'll be Equipped for Future Opportunities
Learning to
speak Chinese is a great way to give
your children an advantage in the increasingly competitive business world.
Between equal foreign competitors courting a Chinese company, who will the
company choose to associate with: a Chinese-speaking foreigner or a foreigner
with a translator? China is emerging from a period of stagnation and again
taking it's place as one of the great powers of the world. China currently
has the second largest economy in the world, and has a huge growth rate of
averaging 10% per year. To take advantage of this huge economic shift
and opportunities.
2. "Made In China" and the Business World
From iPhones
and other cutting edge technology, to cheap products sold at prices that are
rock bottom, China makes it all. China has become the factory of the world and is moving up the technology food
chain. Look at the balance of trade between the US and China. According to Nobel Prize
Winner Robert Mundell China
will become the factory of the world;
in my opinion it
already has. Now products are built, as well as designed in China. In
the business world, especially manufacturing, knowing Chinese is
helpful.
3. Export Opportunities
China is a
huge export market for the US. 1/5th of the world's population lives in China. Overseas
Chinese dominate the economies of many countries in Asia, and speaking
Mandarin gives you an edge in doing business with
them. Countries with large overseas Chinese populations include
Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. China has
become one of the largest trading partners with the US. Over 16,000 US companies sell
products in China. Trade is
not only from China to the US, but also the other way. $41.8 Billion in 2006.
4. One-on-One Business Transactions
China is a 12 hour flight away from the U.S. Using Skype or calling China costs a few
cents per minute. As Thomas Friedman has written, the world is becoming "flat"
so communication, ideas, and goods are traveling faster and faster between
countries including the US and China. Learning Chinese gives you the
opportunity to take advantage of this change. It's a great ice breaker
when working with people from China if you can say a few words in Chinese.
This helps especially when dealing with business people on the other side of
the world via conference call if you can speak the same language, adding a
translator in negotiations is another barrier.
5. Political Opportunities
The Austrian Prime Minister, Kevin
Rudd is fluent in
Mandarin Chinese. The US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geitner studied
Chinese and attended Beijing University. The former Utah Governor,
Ambassador to China, and Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is fluent in Chinese (he learned it
as a missionary in Taiwan and has an adopted child from China). China is also
investing around the world, so being involved in government affairs is another reason to learn Chinese.
6. You'll Learn China's Fascinating Culture
Chinese
culture is over 5000 years old.
By learning the Chinese Language, you will learn another culture and
another way of looking at the world. Learning a language gives you a
better
understanding through the grammar and even how the words are derived
of the
culture behind them. And with 20% of the world's population in China,
it would be extremely beneficial to be able to communicate with them!
7. You'll Learn Another Point of View
When a child uses a word, this word also triggers associations in the
brain, brought about by the other languages the child knows. Maybe this
is why it seems people who know languages seem smarter. The numerous
mental associations playing in their brain, opens new ideas. It also
helps as people age. I once had a fun talk with a programmer explaining how
learning a new computer language helped keep his mind fresh.
8. Competitive Advantages
Chinese is the fastest growing Foreign Language being taught in US schools.
I like Mayor Daly's quote: "We want to give our young people
opportunities to advance ... and [Chinese] is a great opportunity to survive
in today's economy." Students can get higher grades when they
take Chinese subjects in school because they started early at home.
9. Japan is Learning It
Mandarin Chinese is the most taught foreign language after English in Japan.
If the Japanese are learning it, shouldn't people in the US? The Japanese
have a sharp scent on who or what is arriving. Mandarin Chinese is the
most used language on the Internet.
10. Family and Community
My daughter's ability (she is mixed) to talk to
my in-laws in Mandarin is a gift I am glad my wife and I gave her. If
you have relatives who don't speak English, but only Chinese, it's so great
to be able to speak with them in Chinese. If you also live within a
Chinese community, it's nice to be able to relate to neighbors and friends
speaking their language. I can't tell you how proud my wife is that my
daughter got selected to be the announcer for her Chinese Choir (in Mandarin
Chinese)! There are big Chinese communities all over the world. Whether for business or to establish personal ties, knowing the language is
not only useful, but endears you to people you want to connect to.
As adulthood rolls in
and the need for knowing Chinese becomes crucial, hopefully children will
tell their parents "Thank you for taking the time and effort to have me
learn Chinese."
Ready to start?
Browse Learning Chinese Materials now.
Top 10 Learning Chinese Problems & Solutions
- "We are native speakers, but our kids refuse to speak
Chinese or learn the culture"
Unfortunately, some children who have native
speaking Chinese parents refuse to learn Chinese. This is often done
in the teenager years as a method of defiance to establish their power as
they become adults. With defiance issues at that age, consider sending them
to a full immersion environment. Our daughter was starting to speak
Chinese with English Grammar, which frustrated my wife. The more
frustrated my wife became, the less my daughter spoke Chinese. My
daughter got to spend a summer with cousins in Taiwan, and nobody would speak
English to her. Within a day, she was even speaking some Taiwanese, not
to mention the Mandarin Chinese.
- "I am worried about my kids learning
Chinese; won't it hurt their English speaking skills?"
The truth is scientific studies have shown that children have an
amazing ability to learn more than one language, such as Chinese. If you are
a native born speaker, have one parent speak only English and the other
Chinese. This way the kids are forced to learn and speak both. My
wife speaks Mandarin Chinese to our daughter and I English, and it's worked
out great. We have not had the issue of having her mix up the English
and Chinese. Their is so much English in the US, especially when they
start school, that not getting enough English is not an issue. I have
seen students who only speak Chinese at home, start public school and become
the best in their class at English and want to become a writer. They
are also taking Chinese as their foreign language in High School. Kids have
an amazing ability to Learn a foreign language, as long as they are given the
opportunity.
- "It's easier to just speak English to my kids, I'm not going to teach them another language"
Kids have an ability to quickly learn a second
language without an accent that adults don't. There are so many adults
I have met who are learning Chinese in College where it's much more difficult as you get older. It would have been in
great favor if their parents had them learn Chinese when they were younger.
- "Learning Chinese is a waste of time, it's too hard!"
Some US born Children and even their native
parents believe this. There are many reasons why one should learn to speak
Chinese. Studies have shown that being truly bilingual can help a child develop
their brain in new ways and make it easier to learn other languages as
well as understanding the Chinese cultures better (like why the number 8
is a lucky number in Mandarin, and 4 is not).
- "It's not fun like other studies in the US!"
Usually kids have this belief and it takes time away from their other
studies and video games. Usually parents think their children have
better things to do, and everybody knows English anyway around the
world! However, there are many products and tools out there that make learning Chinese fun and easy!
- "Learning Chinese Characters is too hard."
There are great books and even computer software and some great books that make learning Chinese
characters easier. I won't be surprised when they finally release more apps for this to make it even easier!
- "Neither my wife or I speak Chinese. There is no native
speaker at home."
Many
parents are finding online tutors to help
them. Finding local tutors at a center or have someone you trust come
to you are classic ways of selecting a good teacher. Some parents are
even learning Chinese with their kids. Many curriculum and other
Learning Chinese tools are specifically designed for non-native
language
learners of Chinese.
- "I'm so afraid my kids will HATE me for forcing them to learn Chinese."
It's
important to work with your kids so they
are not being forced to Learn Chinese, but actually enjoy learning it.
Picking the right curriculum that matches their learning style is also
very
important.
- "I don't have Time! We
have Piano, Soccer, and other things to do!"
Time management is always a challenge with
young kids. Prioritization and asking your self "am I doing the right
work?" are key. Creating a weekly schedule and a dedicated time for Learning
Chinese can help you a lot. Keeping record of a time sheet for a few weeks to see where your time
goes can also help. By starting a foreign language early, you will
actually be helping your child in high school to give them more time, instead
of learning a foreign language from scratch. Learning a language is just as important as other extracurricular activities.
- "I have no idea where to buy fun, entertaining and affordable Learning Chinese Materials!"
I can help you with that. ChildBook.com
has a full range of Learning Chinese materials. We have best-selling
books, CDs and DVD to suit your childs needs. I also offer lots of free
advice
and tips that are available as well!
Conclusion: Chinese Will Make You Better
- Being bilingual gives you more opportunities!
And by knowing a second culture, you can also relate better to other
people.
- By planting these seeds today, you are more
likely to become even more productive and well-rounded.
- With your support, now is the best time for your
children to learn Mandarin Chinese.
- Your commitment now will truly give them an advantage
later on.
Ready to
start? Browse Learning Chinese
Materials now.
Joke I used when I was teaching ESL:
What is a person who knows three languages? - trilingual.
What is a person who knows two languages? - bilingual.
What is a person who knows only one language? - American.
It's a joke that though funny on the surface, it does make you think.
My ESL student loved the joke once I explained it to them (humor can be hard to translate sometimes!).
What if My Kids Don't Learn Chinese?
Well, what happens if they want to do business in
that Giant Market Full of Opportunities, China?
- If they have Chinese-speaking parents, will
they bring the parents in to transact business for them?
- Will they do business using their
Kindergarten-Level Chinese with accent?
- Or take classes in Chinese as an adult and hope they don't have an American accent?
- Will they ask their parents, "Why did you
not force me to learn Chinese? It would have helped me so much now!"
Or will they be lucky that their parents, unlike others, took the
time to read them Chinese books as children and spoke
to them in Chinese, knowing they would learn English at school
anyway, and they now speak Chinese like a native? Or perhaps they had
one parent who spoke to them only in English, and another in Mandarin
Chinese. Or their parents don't speak Mandarin, but sent their kids to
Chinese School to learn or other methods. The choice as a parent is yours, but know that your kids knowing the Chinese language is an irreplaceable gift for the future.
Tips for
Learning Chinese
It's Easier For Kids to Learn Chinese!
Our Goal:
We hope that
parents take the time and effort to have their kids Learn Chinese. The best
time for Children to learn another language is before puberty, so they speak
like a native and learn very easy. We provide quality books, CDs, and DVDs and
other items that are fun and educational for helping children learn more about the Chinese Language and Culture.
We offer these materials both for children who have native speakers in the
family, as well for those whose parents don't speak Chinese.
As parents
and also as owners of ChildBook.com, we have made the commitment for our
child to be brought up bilingual, learning both English and Mandarin. We feel
this ability will help our child in the long term, so our child can make the
most of the opportunities that life presents.
How about you?
Help add opportunities for your child, start with
Chinese today.
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