Learning Chinese As A Second Language For Kids

There are many English speaking families who send their kids to Chinese schools or plan to do so. There are also families which plan to send their kids to Kebangsaan school but they realize the importance of learning Chinese as a second language so they choose to learn either on their own or through a tuition center. Commitment and follow through is required to learn Chinese on your own. Finding the right programme and learning materials is also important.

5 Tips To Help Your Child Learn Chinese As A Second Language

1. Start early. This is especially important if you are planning to send your child to Chinese School
2. Find a good programme or center for learning Chinese. If you do not speak Chinese at home, this is important to introduce your child to the language
3. Exposure. Expose your child to Chinese using various media. Conversations. Cartoons. Books. Music.
4. Practice makes perfect. Provide your child with an opportunity to practice his language skills. Speaking and story telling would be perfect. If you do not speak the language, then you need outside help.
5. Make learning fun - Find apps that allow your child to play Chinese language games to improve their Chinese.

Currently one of the participating enrichment centers on Mumsgather Finds is a Chinese Language Lesson provider. You can view details about New Concept Chinese here. It utilizes course materials from China and its teachers are from China too so a totally Mandarin speaking environment is observed. They run courses with a full set of their own curriculum covering every topic from history to geography and including the rich culture, knowledge and civilisation of China. This course would be suitable for the SK child who is learning Chinese as a separate subject on their own or for a preschooler who is going to attend SJKC. However, once you are actually in SJKC, do note that the syllabus is different from the standard school curriculum as they have their own series of books.