These Learning-Chinese home tips may be for your kids, or for you - if you're studying Chinese as well.

Mostly, try to incorporate these into your daily activities. These will all add up to mastering the language; whether your child is taking formal lessons in school or with a tutor, or informally at home.

Also, what is language without the social aspect? Do encourage your child to learn more about Chinese people, culture and customs as well.

We at ChildBook have combined our little methods in raising our kids to become bilingual and these came up. Write to us the little things you've been doing in your home to encourage your kids (and yourself) to learn Chinese faster.


Speaking Chinese

1) Let your child speak Chinese. Ask your child questions. If you speak Chinese, talk in straight Chinese. If you don't, you can ask what the Chinese equivalent for a certain word is.

2) If you speak Chinese, think out loud in Chinese. Some words will somehow be picked up, promise.

3) Put your cable channel on Chinese channels every so often. It could be on the news, movie features or sitcoms. Your child will somehow be able to pick up the tones even if s/he just passes by and does not watch. If you don't speak Chinese, if you find a show on the Chinese channel appropriate for your child's age, put it on every time. Maybe your child will want to watch the show.

4) Play Chinese songs CDs. Even if you don't speak Chinese, you may even be able to memorize the words as well. Play the CDs in the car as well. If you are letting your child borrow your portable mp3 player, upload some of the Chinese songs as well.

Reading Chinese

5) Have fun with read-along Books with CDs.

6) Bring out the sticky notes and marker. Write the Chinese characters or Pinyin equivalents of things about the house and post on that item. Yes, your house will be all dotted with yellows for a time, but it helps your child remember the words.

7) If you can read Chinese, have your Chinese magazines, newspapers and books lie about the house. (We've found the bathroom a very strategic place to "accidentally" leave books and magazines about. There is a high probability it will be picked up and browsed there.)

It Takes a Village

8) Teach your child how to play Chinese games. Play together. If your child has friends over, teach them the game and watch them have fun.

9) Participate with the community in Chinese festivals or events. Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn festivals are fun and expose your child to listening and reading Chinese with other people. Once in a while there are Chinese shows, museum exhibitions, etc. that are fun to attend and "covertly educational".

10) Bring your child regularly to Chinatown when buying weekly supplies. You can also "endorse" to your favorite Chinese-speaking people in the community that your child is learning Chinese and if they can please speak to her or with you in Chinese. Plus if they can point out to your child interesting Chinese information when you do your weekly rounds would be great. Nice folks would be more than willing to accommodate your request. They will surely be excited in your endeavor to continue the tradition of speaking the language.

Plus: Let 'em have fun and dress up. Let them have their own Chinese dress or kung fu costume. It'd also be nice if they have one for regular events, and the higher-end formal Chinese clothes for formal events. So that early on, they associate their Chinese formal dress with important events, such as weddings, birthdays, funerals, etc. It gives a sense that their Chinese identity is just as important.

Labels: Learning Chinese, Spend Time with kids learning Chinese

Chinese picture dictionaries help make learning Chinese easier for children.

Kids with picture dictionaries can become familiar with the dictionary’s content through the pictures. Chinese words can be worked on later.

Most picture dictionaries already have colored pictures. You may be interested in some Chinese word books that double as coloring books. Children are more likely to remember pictures they themselves colored.

If you are thinking of getting your child a Chinese picture dictionary, here are some reminders to maximize its use:

1. Choose if you're getting a Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese picture dictionary for your child.
2. Pick whether your child will like a colored dictionary, or those with pictures that can be colored.
3. Chinese picture dictionaries have more or less the following features:

· Pictures. Check the quality of the drawings if they appeal to your child.

· English word

· Chinese character

· Pinyin equivalent

· Use the word in a sentence

4. Let your child become familiar with the pictures.
   
5. You can sit with your child and point out pictures in the dictionary and the Chinese words for these.
6. Encourage your child to open the Chinese picture dictionary when ever the child is interested in anything in daily life. For example, your child becomes excited a bird is in the house. You can ask them to get the dictionary after the excitement has gone down and you can both look over the Chinese word for bird. You can also look at the sentence provided if the dictionary has it.
   

If you want to encourage your child to remember more words, Chinese flash cards can be of great help to repeat and practice Chinese words already learned.

Labels: ChildBook products, learn chinese, Spend Time with kids learning Chinese

Summer break is around the corner and small and big kids alike are looking forward to fun days ahead. We parents would like them to have fun but wouldn’t it be nice if we could sneak in some learning time for them as well?

You might or might not be met with rolling eyes when you suggest further Chinese practice, but I'm quite sure by this time you know how to get around having them gain extra learning without their noticing (or at least we like to believe they don't notice).

• For kids who thrive on textbook learning – even in summer – there are plenty of excellent textbooks written for teens beginning Chinese as a second language. Kuaile Hanyu has a textbook/reader and follows teen students as they visit China and try to converse in basic Chinese. Lessons used in the book are more about teens and keeps in mind the more advanced language skills of adolescents.

• For those who are to take the Chinese SAT II in a year or two (or three), it doesn’t hurt to start preparing now with Chinese SAT II practice books and tests .
  

• Videos. No talking baby pandas please for these young adults. There are interesting documentary videos hosted by young people that will have them pick up Chinese words and see more about Chinese culture as well. Favorites are: “New Year in Ping Wei”, “Land of the Dragon,” “Families from China” and "Chinese Cooking for Kids DVD".
  

• If you can’t get your teen off the computer to do Chinese lessons, why not bring the Chinese lesson to the computer instead? Kuaile Hanyu also has a 3-level software that features videos of exchange students visiting China , some practice tests and games. (Maybe you can haggle for your teen to look through the Kuaile Hanyu textbook reader as well? No? Just try?)

• A lot of Chinese words and grammar can be picked up from songs it will be a waste to not to try this medium. Thankfully, songs from other countries are not as hard to look for these days. Why not try to sit down together in front of the internet and look through Chinese singers that teens like? Maybe you can help download Chinese songs your child likes, and do it as the parents of smaller kids learning Chinese do. Play it while in the car or while having some down time at home. (Ear plugs can be of help here.)

• Books are an excellent antidote to whines of boredom after the computer is shut down. Kids who are used to reading Chinese can read Chinese Harry Potter in Simplified or Traditional characters. For those who want to REALLY keep their kids unplugged for a longer time, Chinese Harry Potter bundle set is also available. Yes, all books number 1-7 are included so your teen can read in Chinese that first day Harry received his invitation to study at Hogwarts, to the time Harry has a family with… never mind. Just read so I don’t spill. Chinese translations of the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit, plus also Eragon, can keep your teen busy reading for days and speeding up those Chinese reading skills as well.

Are you up to it? Think you can sneak in speeding up your child's Chinese this summer?

Labels: ChildBook products, Chinese Harry Potter, Chinese SAT II, Kuaile Hanyu, Learn Chinese for Teens, parenting, Spend Time with kids learning Chinese