Are there any good foreign language ...

[Hot Lava Mama]

programs that teach Chinese? I have grammar age kids, but I can't find any that have Chinese.

Thanks
Hot Lava Mama

[Laura Corin]

programs that teach Chinese? I have grammar age kids, but I can't find any that have Chinese.

Thanks
Hot Lava Mama

The tones of Chinese are pretty close to impossible to get right unless you have a native or near-native speaker drilling you. If you haven't grown up with them, you just won't hear them.

The tones are not optional: they completely change the meaning. The same sound (to our ears) 'ma' means mother, hemp, horse or scold, depending on the tone used.

As far as curricula to use with a tutor, there are a few recommended on the chinasprout.com website.

Best wishes

Laura

[Pata]

My dd is learning Chinese and this is what we have found also. Get a tutor, the tones are very hard for use English speaking folks! If you have a college near you, start with thier language dept. Usually they can give you information about classes or tutors in the area. That's where we found ours. HTH!

[Kuovonne]

I'm also interested in answers to this question. I want to learn Chinese along with my oldest daughter, whom I'll start homeschooling for kindergarten in the fall.

However, hiring a tutor just isn't in the budget. (I've priced them for my area.) So, I'm hoping to get by in these early years without the expense of one. I know that the tones are very important and that pinyin is pronouced differently from English, so I'm hoping do some online tone and pinyin drill myself and keep a general awareness of tones to make up for the lack of a live teacher.

Whenever I look at chinasprout.com, I get overwhelmed with the options. I've also check out what I could find on learning Chinese from the local library and Netflix, and so far nothing "feels right" for my situation. There are lots of resources for teaching Chinese, but very few reviews.

I'm going to try "Chinese for Children" since I have it already, but I keep hoping that I'll find a better fit.

Oh, and stay far away from Rosetta Stone. I tried it and promptly returned it for a full refund. It might work for European langauges, and my daughter even liked "playing" it, but it was impossible for me to learn Chinese from it.

-Kuovonne

[Kuovonne]

sorry about the duplicate post.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Kuovonne,
Could you find someone who knows Chinese but needs help with English? DH is a grad student and many of his classmates are Chinese. One of them actually offered to talk to our kids in Chinese but it never worked out and he graduated last semester. :( Just a thought.

[Amanda's Mommy]

Another source is Asia for Kids www.afk.com (http://www.afk.com). They have a lot of programs. I am also looking for something. Right now the TV show Ni Hao Kai Lan is teaching us a few words. We have Rosetta Stone and I am working through it very slowly, I can't always hear the tones.

[Kuovonne]

Lisa-
The suggestion of finding a Chinese speaker who wants help with English is intriguing. I'll keep my ears open for one, although we don't get many foreign students in my part of town and I'm not usually in a position to meet them.

Carla-
I'm amazed at the number of resources on that Asia for Kids web site.
We don't get Nickelodean, so we can't watch Ni Hao Kai Lan, which is
a bummer, because I think that my daughter (age 4) would really like it.
Best of luck with Rosetta Stone. I couldn't get it to work for my brain at all. I bombed out when the boy started standing on the table.

-Kuovonne

[Hot Lava Mama]

Thanks for the information about learning Chinese. I'm still trying to figure out what to do. Right now, my ds 8 and dd 6 are learning latin and greek. I wanted them to take a really "hard" language in high school, so I was thinking about having them learn Chinese. Then I started thinking about how much easier it is to learn a language when they are young.

Given what you said, I wouldn't have the money or ability to use a tutor until they were a little older, anyways. (I also have a 1yo and 3yo, so money is kind of tight...not to mention my patience and time!) :D

Given your experience with Chinese, what would be your advice? If I want them to learn Chinese eventually, should I figure out a way to start now, or is it doable when they are older?

Thanks for your help and expertise!

Hot Lava Mama

[Julie Smith]

Sorry to 'steal' your thread Hot Lava Mama... But I have a question that sort of fits in here .

I want my kids to learn Chinese. My son will be starting Chinese preschool soon - 2 1/2 hours every Saturday during the school year. Do you think this is enough expose to the language so that when he starts formal studies in a few years the tones of Chinese wouldn't be difficult for him?

[Laura Corin]

Sorry to 'steal' your thread Hot Lava Mama... But I have a question that sort of fits in here .

I want my kids to learn Chinese. My son will be starting Chinese preschool soon - 2 1/2 hours every Saturday during the school year. Do you think this is enough expose to the language so that when he starts formal studies in a few years the tones of Chinese wouldn't be difficult for him?

I think it should help a lot - he'll probably still have to work at the tones (as it will only be a few hours a week of immersion) but I'm sure it will give him a good start.

Laura

[Laura Corin]

Well, I didn't start to learn Chinese until I was an adult and I have pretty decent Mandarin (and would have better if I actually studied these days).

My suggestion would be to either look for a student now who would do some tutoring for a low cost, or wait until later. I would also highly recommend finding a way for an older child to have a period studying in China. Time spent immersed in the language is immensely valuable.

Best wishes

Laura

[Julie Smith]

I would also like my boys to learn Chinese (2, and 3 1/2). I found a Chinese school near my house. In Ontario some schools will offer language classes to any group of 25 students for free. My oldest will start in the preschool program in September. It is every Saturday for 2 1/2 hours. The cost for the year is 30 dollars, one box of Kleenex, and a box of large zip lock bags.

It was only after hours of searching did I find this option. So I want to say - don't give up hope, you might find something.

PS. Thank you Laura for you Chinese help. :) I like reading your blog. :D

[Kuovonne]

Julie -

It sounds like you found a fabulous Chinese program for your kids.

There is a Chinese Saturday school in my area. I am actually taking Chinese as a Foreign Language there myself. However, their preschool class is for only 50 minutes per week and costs $120 per semester ($240 / year). Plus, it would cause a scheduling nightmare and cut into a lot of our family activities.

I'm still keeping my eyes open for other options.

I'm secretly hoping that I can learn enough pinyin so that I can start to teach my daughter some basics for free by myself. Or, hey, if I'm going to wish for the moon, wouldn't it be nice if a Mandarin speaking homeschooling mom could trade tutoring services with me?