Have you ever wondered how you can make learning Chinese fun for your children? As difficult as it sounds, children have a massive potential in learning languages, and most of the time, all it takes is a little encouragement and spontaneity.
There are many ways a child can learn to write and read in Chinese. Each of them has its own strengths; the best part is, both live and online learning methods make use of multimedia to deliver engaging content.
This can greatly help the learning process, but there will still be times when students will feel discouraged and suffer from performance anxiety.
As parents, here are several ways you can follow to encourage your children to enjoy learning Chinese:
Expose Them to the Language
At a young age, language is taught rather than learned. Children can easily make meaning out of words that are familiar to them. This means that the first thing you can do to help your children learn Chinese more effectively is to expose them to the language.
If you are neither fluent nor conversational in Chinese, you can do so by playing Chinese music or watching Chinese movies together. These are fun ways to help them pick up words and widen their vocabulary outside school.
On the other hand, if you can speak Chinese, then using the language in certain engaging situations like storytelling or playtime will be also a great way to have them enjoy learning the language.
Traveling
Another great way to make your children love learning Chinese is to make them appreciate the culture as well. A trip to a nearby Chinatown or introducing them to Chinese cuisine is a great way to start off. If you have time and budget, you may even take the extra mile and travel to China once COVID restrictions are lifted.
On your trip, you can tell them that they will need to speak Chinese to the natives. This way, your children will find a reason to study the language and be excited about it.
Turning what used to be a “want” into a “need” is one of the best ways to encourage your children to learn. Now, the fun should not end there, and as soon as you arrive at your destination, you must frequently give them a chance to use what they learned like letting them order a snack or have a chat with a native.
Give them Chinese Books
These books don’t have to be academic books, but rather comic books, novels, or short stories. By giving them a Chinese book, they can practice their Chinese reading skills and also be encouraged to ask about certain words and characters in order to develop more understanding about what they’re reading.
Not only does this allow a fun learning process, but it can also help develop their reading habits and help them pick up new words much quicker. Just make sure to check out some good Chinese books on the market.
Cooking Session
If your child is not a bookworm, then perhaps you can set up a cooking activity with them. In this case, you can use these cooking sessions as a fun way for them to solidify their grasp of the language.
For example, you can print out Chinese versions of their favourite recipes and ask them to translate the ingredients and steps.
This will allow them to work on their vocabulary and language mastery, while making delicious dishes along the way. It can even motivate them to develop their sense of responsibility and make them work harder to get the dishes right.
Play Games
Language learning can undeniably be tough, especially for children. After all, not all children have enough interest in the subject to always keep their attention on it. In this case, making the process more interactive can make the activity more interesting and enjoyable for them.
One way to make the learning process more proactive and engaging is by using games to help them learn the language. Not only will this make it more enjoyable and interesting for them, but games can also serve as excellent language practice since they make it more meaningful.
When choosing a game to play, you must also consider how this will help enhance your children’s Chinese skills. One game you can play involves spotting Chinese signages and having them tell what they mean.
You can also give them a character and have them bring you objects that have this character in its spelling. This way, memorizing Chinese characters and words becomes easier and more natural.
Benefits of Learning Chinese
Children can enjoy a lot of benefits in the future if they learn how to speak Chinese. More than one billion individuals worldwide are capable of speaking Chinese, and this is mostly because there are a lot of Chinese companies that have made their names worldwide.
Aside from that, here are the other benefits a person can enjoy by knowing how to speak Chinese:
- International job opportunities
- Have more opportunities in the business world
- Enjoy Chinese movies, shows, and books
- Improve linguistic abilities
Conclusion
There are a lot more ways to make your children love learning Chinese, but the most vital thing you should remember as a parent is to be patient. At this stage, mistakes are inevitable, and this can be frustrating to your child.
Hence, you must make sure not to add up to this stress and instead encourage them to keep going. Make it clear that failing is part of the process, and in no way does this affect their overall performance.
In this case, you can also try out different learning methods to discover what’s most effective for them. Similarly, you could also look for a private tutor to help out with their Chinese language learning.
Overall, the most important aspect is to ensure that your child develops a solid grasp of the Chinese language while enjoying the process as they do so!
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