Sunday, October 14, 2007
Learning Chinese
Over the summer, I found an ad by a Chinese tutor offering to tutor for only ten dollars an hour. I didn't think I could pass that offer by, and so Thomas has been taking Chinese lessons from a Chinese woman recently arrived in America.
People often act like or say something along the lines of , "that's so impressive" when they hear that Thomas has been taking Chinese lessons. I always wonder why. If I had told them that he was fluent in Chinese that would be impressive--but just that he's taking lessons? Maybe he's taking lessons but doing really poorly--would that be impressive? LOL
People also often wonder why Chinese? There are many linkages to China in our families: my father was a Chinese linguist when he was in the Air Force; I was born in Taiwan, Republic of China; Gerry spent a lot of time at the Radio Shack factories in southern China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In addition, I feel that China may be extremely important in one way or another in the coming decades. If Thomas has at least some familiarity with the language it may open up whole realms of possibilities for him as an adult.
In college, I took a linguistics class in which we talked about how when a group of people move away from the mainland, the language of the people who moved stays the same, while the language of the mainlanders changes. Thomas' Chinese tutor has shown me that this is so with the Chinese/Taiwanese. The Chinese use Simplified characters while the Taiwanese use Traditional.
If you are thinking of beginning a course in Chinese, then you should give thought to which form of Chinese to learn. Of course, you already have to decide Cantonese (used in southern China) or Mandarin (the majority language), and then if you decide Mandarin, will you go with Simplified or Traditional characters? In other words, is your desire or need for learning Chinese stemming from future interactions with Taiwan or with China?
Unfortunately, I didn't know that when I bought this book: Chinese for Children, Traditional
Last May, I went to the big homeschool book fair with the intent to purchase The Learnables' Chinese on computer. Unfortunately, they had Chinese only as a book and cassette choice. I am hoping they make the computer version available soon. I have emailed them, and will update here if/when I get an answer. Update: I have heard from Jennifer Elliot at The Learnables. (That was fast!) She says they are working on the computer program but do not have a date for completion. Darn!
I suppose you've heard, Rosetta Stone is no longer allowing home use through libraries? And, while Rosetta Stone is universally admired, it's 209$ per level cost can be individually prohibitive. Right now, I want Thomas to have fun with Chinese--there's no need to take it too seriously or to rush to fluency. Perhaps I would feel it worth the two hundred dollars if there were.
Labels: Chinese, curriculum, Homeschooling, Thomas
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Are you learning Chinese? How long time do you learn Chinese and mandarin? Do you want to know your current level and achievement? I suggest you spend 5 minutes to know your Chinese level through watching a video on http://hello-mandarin.blogspot.com
Thanks for the links to your company. It looks like online, live classes would be a good choice for many people.
Hey Karen,
Having Thomas learn Chinese is a great ideal! I agree with you that he may need it in the future. My oldest brother learned Russian when he was in highschool and college. Back then, everyone thought it was strange (keep in mind that he is now 54). He works in high finance and his knowledge of the Russian language REALLY promoted his career and opened opportunities for him that he may not have had. He's never once regretted being fluent in Russian. You just never know!!
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Renee! That's exactly what I'm talking about.