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How to Use the

Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese

Language Learning Kit

Introduction

Welcome to the world of learning Chinese. We hope that the language presented in this set of flash cards will help you begin speaking and reading Chinese with your child.

Whether you are a native Chinese speaker or just beginning to learn Chinese, you can teach the language to your child in a natural, simple way—by integrating the language into your daily speech. All parents teach their child a first language simply by talking with them on a day-to-day basis and commenting on all the activities that are going on. For instance, when choosing clothes for your child to wear, you say, “Which shirt should we wear today? The yellow one or the green one?” Or when going outside, you say, “Oh look, it’s a sunny day today.” In the same way, you can teach your child a new language. The best way to learn a foreign language is by jumping in and speaking it as much as possible, and these flash cards will help you begin to do that.

This set of flash cards is useful even for children as young as 18 months. Studies on foreign language acquisition show that there is a window of opportunity from birth to about age 7 that is the ideal time for a child to learn a foreign language. Younger learners absorb the sound, intonation, and structure of a second language intuitively, just as they do their native language, and they can reproduce the second language without a foreign accent. The younger a child is, the better his or her ability to absorb and mimic a foreign language, so start early, and have fun!

How and Why These Words Work

The Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese approach is a language learning program, rather than just a package of words on flash cards. The 64 words have been carefully chosen based on these criteria:

• The words are some of the most commonly used words and phrases in daily speech, and are easy to incorporate into your family’s daily routine: for example, 洗手 xǐ shǒu “wash hands” and 吃饭 chī fàn “eat dinner.” If you can begin to say these simple words and commands as part of your daily conversation, children will easily pick them up.

• The words are grouped into color-coded categories based on 7 themes that are familiar to children: basic etiquette and routine, identifying family members, objects, learning math, etc.

• Some pedagogical procedures and activities are suggested for each theme. Follow these ideas and be creative to think of your own.

• The words represent a range of sounds in Mandarin Chinese.

• In contrast to sets of flash cards that teach only objects, Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese presents a range of grammatical categories (nouns, verbs, pronouns, etc.) so you can begin to combine the words to create your own simple sentences. The words and sample sentences here represent a core vocabulary that will allow you to create a surprising number of sentences.

• Some songs, Tang poems, and a Chinese multiplication table are included, to make the language learning process playful and fun.

• While the focus of Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese Language Learning Kit is mainly on spoken Chinese, to encourage children to recognize Chinese characters the set includes instructions on how to identify components in each character and how to write it.

Tips for Teaching and Learning Using

Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese learning kit

1. Follow the sequence of the unit and study one unit after another.

2. Listen to and repeat after the audio to imitate the correct pronunciation of the words, phrases, and conversations. First work with the slow pace version of the audio to imitate the correct pronunciation and tones. Then use the normal pace version to acquire the natural intonation.

3. For each unit, first study the front of all the flash cards and make sure your child can produce these words without problems.

4. Then proceed to the back of the flash cards in each unit, following the sequence of the flash cards. Practice the phrases or conversations on the back of the flash cards one at a time.

5. When studying the phrases and conversations, try and imagine a real situation when each conversation takes place. Follow the suggested steps in “Some suggested activities” to design interactive and communicative activities between you and your child. Bear in mind that you are not just teaching the children individual words, you are teaching them to use these words in realistic contexts in order to perform communicative tasks. Make your tasks as realistic as possible. Having fun is very important!

6. When the child is able to use all the phrases on the back of the flash cards, teach the child to analyze and write the characters. Have the child identify the components and radical of each character. If the child is old enough, have her copy the new character stroke by stroke, paying attention to the correct stroke order. Remember, listening and speaking should be done before reading and writing.

Focus on personal interaction. Don’t just play an audio CD, or put your child in front of a DVD, and expect your child to absorb the language. Instead, initiate conversations with your child using the words, phrases, and sentences provided here. As you learn and teach new words, incorporate them into your daily conversation. For example, ask your child to bring you an apple, but say “apple” in Chinese. When you’re taking letters out of the mailbox, count them in Chinese. When your child gives you something, say “thank you” in Chinese.

Use the Audio. If you are not a native speaker of Chinese or have not yet acquired a native-like pronunciation, you should play the audio as much as possible for your child so that both you and the child can acquire the correct pronunciation and tones of the words and phrases.

Start small. You don’t need to start speaking full sentences; you can start with a greeting, a short command, or just a word.

Make it fun. Do guessing games, word scrambles, matching games with characters and pictures, treasure hunts, and whatever else gets your kids excited about learning. For example, younger children will love to play hide-and-seek and will pick up quickly on counting out the “1…2…3…, Here I come!” in Chinese. Add an element of challenge, fun, and adventure to everything you do.

Sing a song. There’s nothing like putting words to music when you want to remember the words! The audio includes some of the most popular songs sung by Chinese children. As much as possible, we’ve chosen songs that contain some of the words included in the flash cards. Play the songs at home or in your car (and sing along) and you’ll find your child singing them in no time. Soon he’ll start to make a connection between the words in the song and the words he’s learning with the flash cards.

Recite a Tang Poem. Young children in China memorize Tang poems when they are only three or four years old. Young kids have amazing memories at this age and they respond very well to rhymed phrases. They can absorb the sound and meaning of a poem surprisingly well.

Follow your child’s lead. Focus on the activities that interest your child. Don’t feel obligated to use these cards like a traditional set of flash cards, drilling your child on each word. But if your child happens to love being quizzed and takes pride in being able to answer in Chinese to the question “What’s this?” then by all means, ask her!

Use the language naturally. Don’t feel compelled to translate every thing; if you are using the language in context, children will pick up on what you are saying.

Speak as frequently as possible. To help you remember the words you are learning and to speak them throughout the day, put signs next to familiar objects, indicating the Chinese character and pronunciation. Or make a personal “photo album” by cutting out pictures of familiar objects, putting them in a binder or photo album, and labeling them with Chinese characters, pinyin, and English. Treat it like a book that you read with your child.