What are the benefits for your child to learn Chinese? The Chinese language is the carrier of the splendid Chinese culture. Chinese is extensive and profound, has rich vocabulary and metaphors, and easily expresses delicate feelings. Mastering Chinese can help children better grasp Chinese culture.
In addition, learning and mastering Chinese is a significant trend of economic globalization. More than 80 countries around the world have incorporated Chinese into their national education systems, and it is estimated that over 30 million people worldwide are learning Chinese. This proves its’ continuous importance in daily life and work. In Hong Kong, many parents also hope that their children can master Mandarin and get admitted to good schools. Children always start to improve their Chinese in kindergarten, and obtain Putonghua test certificates such as GAPSK and KPCC, which can benefit their school application.
How should we help children learn Chinese better? According to a report (Link) by the British Council, children can benefit from playing, and engaging in recreational activities is an effective way to develop language and communication skills. Teaching Chinese through various activities can make it easier for young children to master Chinese. Compared with traditional teaching, children's learning in activities can stimulate their interest in Chinese learning to a greater extent. We combine Chinese education with fun so children can better grasp the language and culture.
Dadi Education summarized the following six ways for children to learn Chinese.
Learn Chinese through nursery rhymes
Parents and children deeply love children's songs because of their vivid and catchy elements. The sentences of nursery rhymes are usually straightforward. A few short sentences and a simple melody can form a nursery rhyme. Children can easily remember the content in the learning process. At the same time, the themes of nursery rhymes are informative about nature, such as flowers, plants, and trees, and symbols, such as letters, numbers, and colors.
In this way, we can integrate Putonghua teaching into nursery rhymes. For example, when children practice the pronunciation of the two initials "b" and "p", they can sing the song "little baby, blow the bubbles, the bubbles ran away and the baby chased them" in Chinese to practice. By practicing Chinese or Mandarin with nursery rhymes in a relaxed and pleasant environment, they can learn Chinese more easily.
Learning Chinese in ancient China dynasties
Immersive scene-based teaching can give children unique learning experiences through different China dynasties, and they will be more interested in the language, making it easier to learn new knowledge. In the Chinese teaching of young children, we can "travel” to ancient China, so that children can stay in a specific China dynasty to understand Chinese culture.
For example, in this Summer Camp held by Dadi Education, students will play the roles of ancient Chinese characters. Under the guidance of our teachers, they will understand ancient Chinese paintings, calligraphy, and other Chinese cultures. When teaching calligraphy, students will learn the writing style of Chinese characters in "traversing" different dynasties, understand the long-standing development of Chinese characters, and know how Chinese characters evolved from "Xiaozhuan" to "Clerical Script", so as to understand the deep culture of Chinese characters and learn Chinese better.
Finding Chinese characters through physical activities
In order to further enrich the activities for children to learn Chinese, we can combine Chinese learning with physical activities. Research (Link) from the University of Illinois in the United States indicates that physical activity can enhance children's learning and memory abilities. Therefore, appropriate exercise is suitable for children's Chinese learning, allowing them to master Chinese more easily while exercising.
For example, in the activity of finding Chinese characters, children need to find the Chinese characters assigned by the teacher while running. While looking for Chinese characters, children need to respond to the sound and shape of Chinese characters quickly, and promptly run to the correct Chinese characters. This activity can exercise children's response-ability and, at the same time, enhance the fun of learning Chinese, so that children can have a more profound memory of the knowledge.
Learning culture through Go
Go contains rich Chinese culture, and it is the embodiment of Chinese culture and civilization. Go’s special terms, such as Tianyuan, Tizi, and Shuangfeiyan, can better let children experience Chinese charm and improve their understanding of Chinese. In addition, learning Go also enhances children's thinking ability, calculation ability, strategic thinking, and concentration.
We also provide the Go course in our Summer Camp program. In this class, children can learn and master the knowledge of Go. While teaching Go knowledge, the teachers will also interpret the Chinese culture behind Go, so that children can better understand Go and master Chinese.
Learning Chinese through robots
As an outstanding modern technology, robots can help children learn Chinese very well. The robot can help to practice dialogues based on children’s capabilities. When the child communicates with the robot, the robot can immediately respond to them.
In terms of Chinese teaching, children can play language puzzle games such as "Word Solitaire" and "Reciting Ancient Poems" with robots. Compared with real people communication, the robot has a more complete information database and can quickly and flexibly respond to children's questions. At the same time, as a technological product, robots are more attractive to young children. Children always regard robots as good friends, and are more willing to communicate and express themselves.
Learning Chinese through drawing
Drawing Chinese characters allows children to describe the meaning of Chinese characters through art. Children can use their imagination to express the characters they understand and visualize the connotation of the characters, deepening their understanding of Chinese characters.
For example, children can draw imaginatively on paper based on their own understanding, including facial expressions such as "happy, anger, sorrow, and joy” and concrete objects such as "fish, bird, plant, and tree". While mastering Chinese characters, children's artistic and hands-on abilities are improved, and their imagination is enhanced.
Combining funny and interactive activities and Chinese teaching can better cater to children's nature. They can improve their Chinese ability and achieve more comprehensive development in different ways. Dadi Education’s Summer Camp offers a variety of Putonghua education courses, including Chinese Improvement, Travel Back in Time, Cooking Class, Arts Classes, Interview Class, and Go Master Class, to comprehensively improve children’s Chinese ability.
Developed for Dadi Education and written by Union Communications.
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