Archive for ‘Language’

April 10th, 2011

Learning Chinese for Young Children Including Preschoolers and Toddlers

Native Speakers for Teaching Chinese On method for those households that don’t have a native speaker is hiring of a nanny who speaks Chinese. The NY Times had an article noting the increase in au pairs from China. It is also possible to arrange play dates with other children who are learning Chinese as well as finding a Chinese speaking babysitter. Local universities will often have spouses of Chinese working on Masters and PhD’s who are looking for extra income. Another option is finding a local nanny, and there are a number around. If you are in public service, please remember Zoe Baird on the requirements for legally hiring a nanny. Truth to be told, there is a large population of people in the US from China who don’t have papers who work as nannies, so be careful. Nannies are also tak best scholarships for high school students ing care of your children, so picking the right person is extremely important, especially if they live with you. Friends of ours have gone through multiple nannies and it was not a good experience.Online Programs for Teaching Chinese There are also programs to expose Children to Chinese at a young age. I am not aware of any that are online for English speakers at this time. There are online programs for adults learning Chinese as well as native speakers.Private Chinese Schools Traditionally non-public Chinese Schools in the US start teaching children when they are old to sit still and copy characters. Most schools are still using traditional teaching rote teaching methods still used in Taiwan and China. For the most part with children in the US, it does not work due to culture classes.