Learn Chinese

Our family is learning Chinese together. We have used several products over the years and we have learned something from every resource. Some products worked better than others for different family members. We all have our own learning styles, and each product needs to be researched carefully to find out what will work best for you.

Ling o Mi I just discovered this new tool! I like it because hearing the right tone is a HUGE part of understanding Chinese! I used it for an hour today I was surprised at how much my ability to hear the tones improved! I’ll be having my children work on this for about 20% of their time from this point on!

The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi abbreviated as HSK, is the People’s Republic of China’s only standardized test of Modern Standard Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers, namely foreign students, overseas Chinese, and members of ethnic minority groups in China. It translates literally to “Chinese Proficiency Test.”  I am currently gathering word lists and study guides for them and will be linking what I find here:

 

Chinese Startalk– Brigham Young University offers a three-and-a-half week Chinese language learning experience every summer.  Students must be motivated and be between 14 and 18 years of age (and be in 9th grade or higher.)  The application process usually begins in February and ends quickly because demand is high.  You will need a transcript showing the child’s grades and two letters of recommendation from current/past teachers.  The questions for the teachers are:

1.  How long and in what capacity have you known the applicant.
2.  Does the applicant demonstrate a consistently high level of personal maturity and sense of responsibility?
3.  Is the applicant dedicated to academic achievement?
4.  How will the applicant benefit from this experience?
5.  It is important that the participants attend regularly and complete the program.  Do you believe the student with complete the program responsibly?

Rosetta Stone is an excellent product for auditory learners. Even though you are seeing photos of the things that are being discussed, you do not see the words in pinyin. It is a good resource for young children, esp. the homeschool edition that will track them and keep them on the same level until they reach your preset proficiency. The adults in our house also use it for a listening resource.

Chinese (Mandarin) I We listen to this program in the car. There are three levels available. This is a good program to use if you are an auditory learner.

Fluenz was a favorite for a long time in our house, until we decided that we needed to learn to read/write characters.  Pinyin is taught in Fluenz.  You are quizzed and expected to remember the correct spelling and the correct tone mark for the pinyin! It is an excellent tool for visual learners, i.e. those that remember best when they see the word written in roman characters.  I believe that pinyin is necessary at the beginning of the Chinese learning process, so it was not a waste!

Active Chinese is the favorite “fun” program for my little children. The program takes you on an adventure through the Zodiac as you learn!

Chinese Podis now the favorite place for the adult (and teen) learners in our house! I wouldn’t recommend it as a place to start but once you complete a program such as Fluenz you could move directly to this platform. There are different levels of learning from working completely independently all the way up to having a teacher call you as often as 2x a week for 20 minutes. Prices range from $15.00 to $300.00 per month.

Learn Chinese Every Day is one of my favorite blogs. Every day you learn a new character and pre-recorded sentences (with pinyin and characters) are available for listening. My favorite thing about this site is the pinyin chart. It gave me a huge head start with my pronunciation!

Chinese Made Easier (Book 1) (English and Chinese Edition) is the book that was recommended to me by a blogger living in China. Now that we are getting better at pronunciation and have better character recognition, we are using these with more confidence. It is an expensive book, but it is worth the investment.

500 Basic Chinese Characters is an excellent beginner book for learning characters.

Popping Pandas sells all sorts of children’s programing in Mandarin Chinese. We have purchased several products from them! My girls esp. like Dora, who is teaching English to Chinese speakers!

Free Resources

My children watch the following programs for immersion and have a lot of fun with them. Scroll down to find the different programs. I have put them in order here for easy viewing! Enjoy!

Growing Up With Chinese This is a very fun little program for beginning learners! It includes Language points, vocabulary lists, radicals, and cultural spotlight and a Grammatical Primer list. I’m very impressed with this program!

 

Happy Chinese is a really cute Chinese language program produced by CCTV. My older girls love it because it teaches more than just “tourist” language. My little girls love it because it is really funny!

I did not receive free copies of these products for the purpose of reviewing them.  This post contains affiliate links.  As an affiliate, I will receive a portion of the sale of any products purchased through links included in this post. The thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Your experience may vary.  Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.

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