“Mom, how to learn Chinese? This story is so long, I really can’t read it anymore.” “Keep going, finish the book!” “But reading is so boring, I’ve been reading it for a long time, and I don’t even understand the relationship between them.
“This is a conversation between Ms. Liu and her ten-year-old Chinese-American child. Ms. Liu very much hoped that her child would like Chinese culture, so she bought him one of the four famous novels, “Dream of Red Mansions”. (If you want to know more Chinese learning, please feel free to click here!)
Unexpectedly, the child had no interest at all and could not read it. So, what can parents do to make their children fall in love with reading Chinese books? We can try the following three methods.
- Targeted selection of books
A good book is not necessarily suitable for children to read. When choosing Chinese books, you should focus on your child’s age, hobbies, and needs. For example, for Chinese children aged 3-9, you can choose short fables, preferably with pictures, such as “Aesop’s Fables” and “Andersen’s Fairy Tales”.
Children aged 9-15 can choose novellas or idiom storybooks, such as “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and “Education of Love”. Only children over the age of 15 who have years of Chinese learning foundation can buy him classics. At this time, the child has his own appreciation ability and accumulation needs.
We can buy him some popular science books, including “Chinese Geography”, “Up and Down Five Thousand Years” and so on. In addition, when buying books, you should refer to your children’s opinions, and let your children choose according to their hobbies. Parents can’t buy books all over the place, lest the books they buy will be shelved.
- Parent-child communication is very important
Young children tend to gulp down the books when they read, and they read many books without actually acquiring any knowledge at all. Therefore, it is best for parents to have time to read with their children.
If there is no time, it is recommended that parents communicate with their children about reading experience before eating or going to bed. You can ask them these questions: which character do you like (dislike) most in this book, what story is told in the chapter you read today, what did you learn, what did you understand, etc.
Even if the child utters the simplest answer, parents should encourage in time and add positive reinforcement to the child’s reading, so as to improve the child’s reading self-control and reading passion.
How to learn Chinese?
- Help children develop good reading habits
Many children feel that reading is boring and uncomfortable, and it is more because they do not have good reading habits, and children will feel physically and mentally exhausted.
When reading, pay attention to the child’s reading posture, such as correct sitting posture, do eye exercises after reading the book, and look into the distance, which can reduce the physical pressure on the child’s reading.
In addition, it is best for parents to make a reading plan with their children. Including the fixed time and duration of reading every day, as well as the number of articles read. Avoid the disadvantages of children forgetting part after not reading for a long time after reading a part.
Making children’s reading system continuous is also conducive to helping them form a good habit of persistent reading. It is best for parents to lead by example, create a good reading family atmosphere for their children, and let them fall in love with reading through hearing and seeing.
4.Find the right textbook
While there are plenty of resources on the Internet, there is also a lot of distracting information of all kinds. How many times have you opened your web browser (or smartphone) looking for one thing, but got lost and lost time on YouTube?
Textbooks can help you stay away from electronic devices for a certain period of time and study more focusedly. Also, a good textbook can provide an overview and demonstration of a system, giving you the big picture, compared to short video clips, blogs, or snippets of knowledge in an app.
Be sure to find an appropriate textbook considering your age and interests. The right material should feel fresh to you, but not too difficult. Its topics should be interesting to you, and the focus of the dialogue or grammar should be on your cognitive level. It should also have practice and consolidation. When looking for textbooks, consult some professional educators, tell them your level and interests, and get a list of recommended books.
5.Make friends with other learners
You are not alone in this world, language is for communication, so you can learn a language by communicating, and you should!
Don’t be shy, tell your family, friends, and the whole world – you are learning Chinese. They will help you make progress. You may find a learning partner who has been thinking about learning Chinese or is already on the road, and share information and progress with each other. The encouragement of your peers will make you more motivated.
There are billions of Chinese-speaking people in the world, using the Internet and social media to find such a communication and learning partner. Zoom to meet him/her, make a study plan and have fun.
6.Make full use of time
How to learn Chinese? Learning Chinese does not require a lot of continuous time, you can use fragmented time. Study anytime, anywhere while you’re waiting at the airport or in the parking lot before coffee, dinner or a game. Download to smartphone apps, audio, video, vocabulary, short sentences, or from handwritten flashcards in your pocket. Repetition is the secret to memory, use spaced repetition to learn more scientifically.
It is very common that most people start learning Chinese within a few days, and then the battery dies quickly. Sustainable learning is challenging, but not impossible. Don’t be afraid to speak up and use Chinese publicly, we can learn better from responses and feedback.
Don’t hesitate to show off the new word or phrase you just learned. Watch some Chinese movies, listen to some Chinese songs or poems, if you don’t understand, don’t worry, you can start to increase your interest by appreciating the beauty of Chinese culture. Eventually, this habit will develop slowly, and day after day, you will become proficient in Chinese.
How to learn Chinese? Still thinking Chinese is difficult to conquer? If you study under the professional guidance of a trained tutor, you will find yourself making huge improvements over time.