“I hear Chinese! I was so excited and I told my mom that I heard two people stand in front of the store were speaking Chinese.”
When I heard this I was just as excited as the student who was telling me the story. Her voice was filled with joy and smile. It is always wonderful to see the enthusiasm in children when they are learning. We need to keep that enthusiasm.
Learning is exciting. You want to see kids desire to learn more. They desire to learn more, not the parents, want them to learn more.
Learning a new language, Mandarin Chinese is the same. Keep it fun, playful and interactive. Listen, listen, listen, and listen more to Mandarin. That is what your child needs when you introduce Mandarin to her.
Listen to the songs and dance to the tunes. Print out the lyrics in pinyin and sing to your child or sing with your child. This is a playlist of Miss Panda’s album. Here is a playlist for popular Chinese songs for big kids. And, this one is a playlist for Mother’s day songs.
Use the Chinese expressions you have learned to talk to your child every day. An example is to say “I love you” Wǒ ài nǐ 我愛你-我爱你 in Mandarin and English to your child every day.
The more comprehensible input children have in the target language the more they are familiar with the sound. I recommend audio for children under two years old and no videos.
Use your voice to engage your child. Add household items that can make sounds to your songs, rhymes, and stories. If you know an instrument play it. Listen to Chinese words, listen to Chinese songs, listen to the birds, listen to the sounds of nature embed Chinese expressions in your conversation with your child.
When your child tells you they hear Chinese celebrate with him! Ask him what does he hear? Can he teach you?
Everyday Chinese expressions you can use:
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I hear Chinese! Three simple words and there is a story in it.
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I heard Chinese. | Wǒ tīng dào zhōngwén. 我聽到中文。-我听到中文。
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Do you hear Chinese?| Nǐ tīng dào zhōngwén ma? 你聽到中文嗎？-你听到中文吗？
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I hear people speak Chinese. | Wǒ tīng dào yǒurén shuō zhōngwén. 我聽到有人說中文。-我听到有人说中文。
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Do you hear that? | Nǐ tīng dàole ma? 你聽到了嗎？ -你听到了吗？
If you are a parent whose native language is not Chinese you can consider “Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda!” audio album – it is now streaming on Amazon, itune, and Spotify in addition to its CD and MP3 format.
This is an audio album designed for parents whose native language is not Mandarin Chinese and who want to introduce basic Mandarin Chinese to young kids (recommended for age 8 and under) in a playful, engaging, and interactive way. Miss Panda uses the Chinese English bilingual approach so you and your child can understand everything from the beginning. There is a companion learning guide to this album so you and your child can connect the spoken words with the written language.
Hope to see you and your little one in the program!
Photo by Alireza Attari
