It is not an impossible task to learn Japanese fast. First, enthusiasm, commitment, and focus can go a long way. Second, it helps to know certain basics. Written Japanese uses three different scripts:

* Kanji
* Hiragana
* Katakana

Kanji is composed of Chinese characters. Hiragana and katakana are syllabic scripts based on Chinese characters. A combination of kanji and hiragana are used in modern Japanese. Katakana is usually used to depict loaned foreign words in addition to sounds.

The characters are written from top to bottom, or vertically, and from right to left. This method is standard, although scientific journals and computers use the horizontal method, read from left to right.

There is a variety of politeness levels, depending on the social standings of the speaker and listener. Also, the language includes speech that males or females tend to use that is specific to their gender, which can mean differences in the use of vocabulary, grammar, and even pitch.

Many teaching sources promise quick learning of a foreign language. Choose a course wisely, one that is most suitable for you. Bear in mind your budget, level of interest, and the amount of time you are willing to invest.

To learn Japanese fast, pay close attention to the manner of study offered by different courses. This depends primarily on your need. Do you want to improve on your reading and writing skills? Do you only need to be able to get around while you travel, speaking to native speakers? If you expect you only need to know how to speak proficiently enough, you do not need to concentrate on learning characters as much as mastering conversations on everyday topics.

If you want to learn Japanese fast when you are focusing on speaking the language, speaking is easier to pick up than the writing part. Listening to audio files, such as listening to the language being spoken by a native speaker, is the quickest method to pick up proper pronunciation and wording. (If you do plan on learning how to read and write, lots of books have CD-ROMs that include audio.)

Listen carefully to the tones and then imitate them as best as possible. The only other things needed are patience and perseverance. There are no textbooks, teachers, or drill exercises involved here. When you study by yourself, you benefit from the convenience of learning any time, anywhere, at your own pace.

Another thing to consider in order to learn Japanese fast is the amount of grammar and vocabulary you need to study. For sake of time, you can focus on words you know you would use the most often, which also helps in remembering them. For grammar, you can save time by becoming familiar with the basic forms of sentences and words, just enough to help with constructing sentences and talking.

For practical and simple courses that are based on a step-by-step method of learning Japanese, try http://Pimsleur-language.com. The lessons provided are audio based and focus on improving comprehension and communication skills. For more information, visit http://www.pimsleur-language.com.

If you’re interested in learning Japanese vocabulary quickly, then consider Talk Now Japanese Software.

Also, be sure to check out our post on Resources for Learning Japanese.

There are two sides of Mandarin Chinese pronunciation: tones and syllables. An example of a syllable is “ma.” But the syllable “ma” has no meaning in and of itself; the meaning is determined by the tone in which you say the word. So whenever you study a new word, you not only have to remember the syllables making up that word but the tone in which those syllables are pronounced. When you learn Mandarin Chinese, remember to choose an instructional method that emphasizes audio learning, because you need to be able to hear and imitate the various different tones.

How many different tones are there? Mandarin Chinese has four different tones – a flat tone, a rising tone, a dipping tone, and a tone that rises a little and then falls. These tones are not difficult to replicate, but because they are so critical to the way you learn Mandarin, it’s absolutely vital that you choose an instructional program with a strong audio component.

Now on to vowels and consonants! Mandarin Chinese has sixteen vowels and twenty-one consonants, many of which sound very different than their English counterparts. Your best bet as you learn Mandarin Chinese is not to assume that a Chinese “B” is pronounced exactly like an English “B”, but to listen carefully to the way the sound actually is pronounced, noting the differences rather than the similarities. Another tip is to try and “fake” a Chinese accent as you practice your conversations. Subconsciously, you will actually produce a better, more authentic accent that way!

Many students beginning to learn Mandarin Chinese worry about the studying a language they can’t read. It’s certainly possible to learn Chinese without reading it at all; after all, toddlers don’t learn to read before learning to speak, do they? Nonetheless, it’s useful to be able to take study notes.

The solution to this problem is a system of using the Roman alphabet (the one we use) to render Chinese characters. This is called Pinyin, and it was actually developed by the Chinese to help very young children or illiterate adults learn to read the Chinese language in some form. Once English-speaking students learn Mandarin Chinese using Pinyin, it’s much easier to learn traditional Chinese characters.

I’ll bet you feel much more confident in your ability to learn Mandarin Chinese, don’t you? Don’t forget – begin with a method that emphasizes listening to native speakers, practice your accent every day, and learn Pinyin before you try memorizing Chinese characters. Follow these simple steps and before you know it, you’ll be speaking Chinese!

A good audio-based language course to use is Rocket Chinese Premium. It will help you learn Mandarin Chinese faster than any other way. Join Rocket Languages Chinese today and learn to speak Mandarin Chinese fast.

Be sure to check out the Foreign Service Institute Standard Chinese Course at our store.

Also be sure to check out our post on learning Chinese on line.

Author: Mike Cheng

 
Learn Chinese online is really a complete speculation in this age of globalization! There are lot of things, tools and languages program like learn Chinese online you can learn online, Even in your busy schedule on daily basis, it is not necessary to adjust our daily tasks and racing to turn around a classic (and very expensive ) Class. What’s more, is that learning Chinese online is often structured around games and fun activities – how much easier can remind you of something you might have learned by playing a video game that what you taught in a class years ago?   While Learn Chinese online, you have to access tests and questionnaires, lists of Chinese vocabulary and study games to learn them all. There are also audio files to learn Chinese online and for developing your pronunciation, and the video file too for cultural learning about language and writing forms.  

When it comes to the challenge to learn Chinese online so what do you need to know that for the control to a basic level, it is quite easy. While learn Chinese online Most of student finds it hard to familiarize with the symbols and replacing them with the English and Latin alphabets witch they have been used till yet. But with the enough practice and efforts that symbols can be learn in a small time period.  A student who wants to learn Chinese Online must know is that words have different meanings depending on the tone used, which means that you should always be aware of how you speak, or you would be to find itself just opposite than friend. The great thing about the Chinese is that while learning Chinese online you will soon find is a language which has a trouble-free structure, unlike Latin or even Germanic languages. 

 A very interesting is this fact you will find during Learning Chinese online, the Roman alphabet that we use today is symbolic logic sounds, so reading is a function of the left side of the brain, while Chinese ideographs are idiomatically symbolic images, to reading is a function of the right side of the brain – when we dream (a function of the right side of the brain), it is almost impossible to read our alphabet … it looks like all gibberish – but when we see Chinese ideograms in a dream, and we are familiar with them, we can read and understand them!  

An extra advantage of learn Chinese online, is in the forums. At any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we can have access to hundreds or even thousands of others people learning Chinese online along with us! Many of them are more qualified than we are in our infancy, and are very willing to help wherever we have difficulties May. It is an ideal place to find a framework. We can also practice speaking with each other, which we earn valuable experience. Learn Chinese online is really a superb experience!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/the-best-way-to-learn-chinese-online-571964.html

About the AuthorManish Sharma is Author for mandomandarin an  Online Chinese Tutor  to  Online Chinese Online  and mandarin online. Site also offers you learn Chinese through Chinese language lesson and Chinese language translation to learn Chinese easy.

If you’re interested in an inexpensive software based approach to learning Chinese, then consider Talk Now Chinese Mandarin.

Also be sure to check out our post on Learning Chinese.

The Analytical Reader: A Short Method for Learning to Read and Write Chinese

Elements of Chinese Grammar

Handbook to Chinese Language

Guide to Chinese Conversation

Grammar of the Chinese Language

Downloadable Mandarin Chinese Courses

If you are looking for additional material for learning Chinese, then consider the Standard Chinese course which includes text and audio.

Digital FSI Standard Chinese: A Modular Approach

Author: Chris Busch

Learning Chinese is easier with clearly defined reasons

 
Why are you learning Chinese? Whether you are just starting your studies of Chinese language or have been studying for a while, it’s of great importance that you’re conscious of your motivations for wanting to learn the language. The more clearly defined your motivations for learning Chinese, the better you will be at reaching YOUR individual goals. Sure, you may be saying, “I already have reasons for learning Chinese.” You might even have a few apparently good reasons for learning Chinese, such as:
 
“Chinese is the language of the future” or
“Chinese speakers are in high demand”
“China has 1.3 billion people” or
 
I’m not saying these are bad reasons for learning Chinese. They are fine reasons. The problem is that they’re not personal enough. It is crucial to have YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL reasons for learning Chinese because those are the only ones that will keep you motivated you during the long and occasionally difficult journey of learning Chinese. Also, having more specific reasons is better. A person who’s motivation for learning Chinese is “I’d like to research the effects of China’s Western Development project on ethnic minorities in XinJiang province” will have a much easier time than someone who’s reason is “I like kung-pao chicken.”
 
Having specific outcomes for learning Chinese will also help you to learn Chinese much more efficiently. You see, if we consider the first three reasons given above, we’ll come to the realization that they don’t address a few key questions that everyone should ask themselves when making the decision to learn Chinese. In the coming days, we’ll deal with what these questions are and how to answer them. Right now, we’ll just consider two questions as a way to show how having the right kinds of reasons can help a lot when learning Chinese:
 
1) “Should I learn simplified characters or traditional characters?”
2) “Am I going to just learn conversational Chinese, or learn to read and write too?”
 
If you have clearly established your individual reasons for learning Chinese, answering these questions will be much easier, and thinking about these questions will ensure that your reasons are the right ones for YOU. This way, your progress in learning Chinese will be much quicker.
 
Let’s consider the first question. “I am interested in diaspora literature written by Taiwanese authors” might be your reason for learning Chinese. Well, since they use the traditional writing system in Taiwan you will most likely want to learn traditional characters from the start. Or your reason may be: “I want to find a manufacturer of widgets in China without going through a middleman.” If this is your reason, learning traditional characters might not be so crucial. Many people don’t really think about this question too carefully before deciding on which system to use when learning Chinese. With both systems, simplified and traditional, it can be a HUGE task to go back and re-study all the characters in the other system. So making sure to think about this kind of question early on can really save you a HUGE amount of time.
 
It’s the same when you’re trying to decide if you want to just learn “conversational Chinese” or if you want to learn to read and write the characters as well. Lot’s of people are scared off by the thousands of Chinese characters and choose to stick with “conversational Chinese” and avoid learning the characters. I would say that this isn’t a good decision for anyone who desires to achieve at least an intermediate level of skill in spoken Chinese. It may be the right choice for some people though, in a number of limited cases. Like if you just want to impress your friends by ordering a few dishes in Chinese at the local ‘Sichuan Palace.’ Regardless of what your decisions may end up being, having individual and thought-out goals can assist you in making your choice.
 
These are just a couple ways that having thought-out and personal reasons can help you on the road to learning Chinese. Lot’s of other questions will come up all the time. If you have clear motivations for learning Chinese, you’ll be more likely to make the correct choices according to your own unique situation.
 
Read more about learning Chinese at Chinacopia.
 

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/what-are-your-reasons-for-learning-chinese-842407.html

About the AuthorChris Busch has spent over three years studying Chinese language and culture and has over two years experience living, working, and studying in China. He is currently focused on running Chinacopia, a resource center for information related to Chinese language, Chinese culture, and China travel.

If you’re interested in learning Chinese, then consider the FSI Chinese Mandarin Course from our store.

Author: Nick Clipton

Let’s start by giving a good number of reasons why learning Japanese might be of interest to you.

 ** You may be about to travel to a Japanese speaking country

 ** You have an opportunity to occupationally train some colleagues who only speak Japanese

 ** You want basic Japanese for business reasons and want to become more valuable at your job by being bilingual

 ** You are a fan of Japanese animation films, video games, manga comics and want to want to enjoy them more fully without relying on subtitles

 ** You would like to read books, magazines, and web sites written in Japanese

 ** Enable you write to and email Japanese speaking people

 ** Feel more confident and comfortable around Japanese speaking people

 ** Allow you to get hired by a multi-national business firm and possibly even work and live in Japan

 ** Japanese fluency definitely stands out on a college/university application, resume or curriculum vitae

 ** Just enjoy the possibility of making tons of new Japanese friends

 Besides that, it would be pretty impressive to be able to tell your family, friends, and members of the opposite sex that you “speak Japanese”.

 Your goal should be to learn to read, speak, and understand modern Japanese. Obviously this can’t be done from just a book. One of the better proven ways of doing this with less effort is utilizing “picture learning”. This method appears to better lock the language into your brain. Some computerized courses feature this approach to build vocabulary in terms of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. This system makes the whole process more fun and can have the student mastering hundreds of words in a matter of days. Make sure that whatever course you take covers both the Hiragana and Katakana Japanese alphabets. The better courses utilized a “game” type approach to reduce boredom, stimulate interest and improve speed of results.

 Once you gain the competence in Japanese, you will open up many personal and business related opportunities. For example, the U.S.A. does more business with Japan than any other country. You will be a valuable employee if you speak the language of the customer. Japanese is among the top 10 languages on Earth and spoken by over 130 million people. “Speaks Japanese” looks great on a resume or curriculum vitae, no matter what your line of work.

 In Japan especially, language has been grooved by culture. So as you study Japanese you also discover and learn more about their wonderful culture. Stepping outside your own culture and language will give you a fresh, new perspective. In addition, Japan has lots of great music that can be appreciated so much more because you can now understand it.Let’s start by giving a good number of reasons why learning Japanese might be of interest to you.

 ** You may be about to travel to a Japanese speaking country

 ** You have an opportunity to occupationally train some colleagues who only speak Japanese

 ** You want basic Japanese for business reasons and want to become more valuable at your job by being bilingual

 ** You are a fan of Japanese animation films, video games, manga comics and want to want to enjoy them more fully without relying on subtitles

 ** You would like to read books, magazines, and web sites written in Japanese

 ** Enable you write to and email Japanese speaking people

 ** Feel more confident and comfortable around Japanese speaking people

 ** Allow you to get hired by a multi-national business firm and possibly even work and live in Japan

 ** Japanese fluency definitely stands out on a college/university application, resume or curriculum vitae

 ** Just enjoy the possibility of making tons of new Japanese friends

 Besides that, it would be pretty impressive to be able to tell your family, friends, and members of the opposite sex that you “speak Japanese”.

 Your goal should be to learn to read, speak, and understand modern Japanese. Obviously this can’t be done from just a book. One of the better proven ways of doing this with less effort is utilizing “picture learning”. This method appears to better lock the language into your brain. Some computerized courses feature this approach to build vocabulary in terms of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. This system makes the whole process more fun and can have the student mastering hundreds of words in a matter of days. Make sure that whatever course you take covers both the Hiragana and Katakana Japanese alphabets. The better courses utilized a “game” type approach to reduce boredom, stimulate interest and improve speed of results.

 Once you gain the competence in Japanese, you will open up many personal and business related opportunities. For example, the U.S.A. does more business with Japan than any other country. You will be a valuable employee if you speak the language of the customer. Japanese is among the top 10 languages on Earth and spoken by over 130 million people. “Speaks Japanese” looks great on a resume or curriculum vitae, no matter what your line of work.

 In Japan especially, language has been grooved by culture. So as you study Japanese you also discover and learn more about their wonderful culture. Stepping outside your own culture and language will give you a fresh, new perspective. In addition, Japan has lots of great music that can be appreciated so much more because you can now understand it.

 For more information on learning japanese then just simply visit our site  learn japanese .

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/do-you-want-to-learn-japanese-easily-415872.html

About the Author:
hi i m nick from dehradun

If you’re interested in learning Japanese, then consider the following programs from our store:

Talk Now Japanese Beginner Software

Talk More Japanese Conversational Software

World Talk Japanese Intermediate Software

Also, be sure to visit our post on Learning to Speak Japanese.

Author: Gerrit Du Plessis

Are you one of those people who think you could never learn Japanese? I know, I know – the characters don’t look anything like our alphabet (because they’re not), and the words themselves sound much different than English (because they are). But just because the language is different doesn’t mean it’s impossible; 130 million Japanese speak it every day. If you want to know how to learn Japanese, read on!  The first thing you need to do before you start learning Japanese or any other language, is to determine the reason why you need to learn the language. While your motive may not be so important in beginning the study of other languages, it’s a critical factor in determining how to learn Japanese. Why? Well, if you’re just going over to Japan for a very short time and will be spending most of your time with people who know English, all you probably need is a brief introductory course that teaches you a few essential phrases like hello, excuse me, I’m sorry, and the like.

However if you need to speak and understand conversational Japanese from basic to intermediate level, then you need to learn more than just a few basic Japanese phrases.  If you fit into that category, you may want to try either a formal Japanese course at a school, college, or university. You may also find it more cost effective and easier to learn Japanese with audio-based language learning programs, software games or watching Japanese movies. Regardless of your choice of how to learn Japanese, make sure you select an audio-based method. You need to hear the language spoken by a native speaker. Books alone will not do. A good Japanese audio-based program is an example of an extremely natural learning method. It attempts to replicate the way Japanese children actually learn their language in the first place. 

How does this work? Small children will first learn how their home tongue sounds like when their parents speak to them. They learn through careful listening. As this takes place, the children are picking up vocabulary words they’ll be able to use themselves as they learn to talk. Have you ever noticed that if you ask a toddler to “bring me the ball,” he will comply long before he’s able to form the words himself? He’s acquired a passive vocabulary, but not yet an active one. You’ll find, as you find out how to learn Japanese, that you’ll follow the same progression recognizing words first, then understanding them, and finally being able to use them correctly.  What about writing? You may ask. How am I going to learn to read all those inexplicable symbols?

Well, it’s up to you to decide whether you need to learn them or not. If you are just planning to visit Japan for a short holiday, then you possibly may not need to learn to read Japanese to begin with. However if you want to become fluent in Japanese then it is a good idea to learn to read the Japanese language as well. If you decide that for you, reading is an essential step in how to learn Japanese, study the kanas, hiragana and katakana, two basic components of the very complex Japanese writing system. And make flash cards!  Speaking the Japanese language is its most important aspect, and not reading and writing as most people would like us to believe. You will have a huge advantage over other people traveling to Japan who do not speak the language, if you can manage to learn conversational Japanese even if it is just at a beginner level. So regardless of your decision on how to learn Japanese, concentrate on learning to speak it well, and enjoy your immersion in another culture!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/how-to-learn-japanese-language-845511.html

About the Author:
Gerrit created the popular   http://www.listenhear.info/ 
Discover more secret ways to learn Japanese fast? Visit his  Rocket Languages Japanese  site and grab your 6 day Free Japanese language lessons now.

If you’re interested in learning Japanese, then consider the following programs from our store:

Talk Now Japanese Beginner Software

Talk More Japanese Conversational Software

World Talk Japanese Intermediate Software

Also, be sure to visit our post on Learning to Speak Japanese.

There are several ways you can learn the Korean language, to varying degrees. If you study Korean at a college or University, you will receive an intensive education on the alphabet, reading, writing, and speaking the language that will give you a leg up on communicating with Korean citizens and work associates. If you are planning a career in as a United States diplomat, for example, there is a chance that your job will take you to Korea. Being able to communicate with native Koreans will help you make the most of your job and experience in a new land. You will be a better representative of your country if you are able to demonstrate your willingness to learn the indigenous language. Your cultural sensitivity will be appreciated. Also, if you plan to be a teacher of English as a second language, being fluent in Korean will make your experience living there more pleasant. As an instructor of English, you will be teaching Korean students, but you will also be learning from them.

Another way to learn the Korean language is by enrolling in one of many accelerated courses that are available through community colleges and even online. An accelerated course in Korean will provide you with a basic knowledge of the language, which will allow you to understand basic phrases, and ask basic questions. You will also be introduced to the Korean alphabet, which might seem daunting. There is language instruction available for purchase, as well. You do not learn the language by memorization. Rather, native Korean speakers provide real-life scenarios that provide you the opportunity to “learn as you go”, using voice technology over your computer. You get immediate feedback, which is a less stressful way for you to learn. When the learning process is less stressful, you are more apt to take the information in and retain, thus learning the Korean language with greater ease than you thought possible.

Whether you are interested in learning the Korean language for your own intellectual development and enjoyment, or you are inclined to do so for a job such a international diplomacy or teaching, learning to speak, read, and write Korean gives you the knowledge to communicate with people of a different culture, and if you are working abroad, helps you to have a less worrisome experience communicating with native Koreans. There is nothing more stressful than being unable to communicate with people while in a foreign country.

Learning Korean will alleviate that stress, as well as make a good impression with your overseas associates. Learning the Korean language will enhance your travels and work experiences in that you will be appreciate the lives and culture of the Korean people, a people that seem mysterious to us. Learning a second language such as the Korean language is an intellectually and personally improving achievement that will provide many benefits to you professionally and intellectually.

Be sure to visit our post on the Korean language.

Also be sure to check out our following Korean language resources.

Pimsleur Korean Comprehensive I CDs

Pimsleur Korean Comprehensive II CDs

Talk Now Korean Beginner Software

Foreign Service Institute Korean Basic Course

Actually, I don’t think so. Chinese grammar is much simpler if compared to that of the European languages. English speakers sometimes complain that languages like Spanish have a complicated grammar (masculine and feminine genders, verb conjugations, etc), whereas the Chinese language has little or no bound morphology and there are no grammatical paradigms to memorize. Each word has a fixed and single form: verbs do not take prefixes or suffixes showing the tense or the person, number, or gender of the subject. Nouns do not take prefixes or suffixes showing their number or their case. I’m not trying to tell you that Chinese has no grammar; what I means is that due to the lack of inflectional morphology, Chinese grammar is mainly concerned with how words are arranged to form meaningful sentences. Plus each Chinese character pronounced in one syllable, that’s why when watching Chinese movies, you find that a few words can be translated into a syllable mapping in the English subtitle.

Probably, you would say that the above is far from enough to convince you; okay, I’ve got one more encouraging and authoritative evidence for you. A couple of days ago I fortunately came across one piece of inspiring news when reading Beijing Times: Less than 1,000 Chinese characters allow you to read 90% of the current Chinese publication, according to a survey conducted by the Education Ministry and Language Commission of China. The findings of this survey is claimed to be based on 900 million characters used in more than 8.9 million files chosen from newspapers, magazines, the Internet and television. Nowadays, the Chinese media is using fewer characters, and to understand 90 percent of the content in publications, you need only to know about 900 of around 50,000 individual characters that are made up of Written Chinese. On the other hand, how many words are there in English? Almost 100,000 and it’s still on the rise. One important reason for this is that Chinese characters, unlike English words, are mainly to represent meaning, not pronunciation, and what’s more, many characters are archaic and some found only once in the whole history of the written language, such as the names of people or places. An average Chinese university graduate may know only about 6,000.

Now, would those all above relieve you a little bit in your Chinese language study? Hope so, but do not misinterpret this: I am not in any intention to convince you that Chinese is very easy to learn or other languages like English are much harder; what I mean is that Chinese is really not that difficult as you imagined or heard about, it’s just very different from your mother tongue, but difference does not necessarily mean difficulty, right? And that hard Chinese idea won’t be of any help in your study. Trust yourself, once that fear factor is overcome, the language is actually not that hard to learn. Good luck with your Chinese language study.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Lily is the author of EaseChinese.com at http://www.easechinese.com, a website providing a collection of reviews and recommendations of Chinese language learning resources, and more. She is also a would-be TCSL (Teaching Chinese as a Second Language) teacher, living and studying in Beijing, China.

Learn Conversational Chinese Resources

Vocabulary Builder Mandarin Chinese

Talk Now Mandarin Chinese

Talk More Mandarin Chinese

World Talk Mandarin Chinese

Talk Business Mandarin Chinese

Author: Ray Ritchey

Native Speakers for Teaching Chinese

One 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 taking 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. There is a huge amount of independence in children in the US and using boring teaching methods that do not capture the interest of the child so they want to go to school without a lot of parental pushing will end up in failure. With the child being forced to go to school and often treating it as just babysitting, and not learning Chinese.

An alternative is finding a school that uses more of a Montessori Method or what is used in ESL where there is a lot of conversation. I was pleasantly surprised by my daughter’s public school language teacher who spoke of using this method in the classroom, instead of the traditional focus on grammar in learning many foreign languages. At a young age, I would suggest programs that teach using a lot of singing and other fun activities.

Summer Camps

Going to a summer camp in a full immersion environment is a great way to learn Chinese! Each year ChildBook publishes the largest list I have found of Summer Chinese Programs. These range from weekend programs in the US to programs that include a boarding school to programs in China and Taiwan. I favor the full immersion process as a great way to Learn Chinese.

Chinese Learning Products

CD’s for Learning Chinese

CD’s come in two different types. One is products that are 100% Chinese of Chinese Children Songs or stories only in Chinese. Some products include a book of lyrics in Chinese, and other’s don’t. Other products are designed to teach Chinese and have a booklet with lyrics in English, Pinyin, and Chinese Characters. The teaching Chinese products are both from from the US (the majority) and a series from Singapore. The products for Teaching Chinese are bilingual, so the songs are sung in both Chinese and English. What I like about the CD’s is they give a parent a chance to be part of the process where they can Sing Happy Birthday in the Teach Me Chinese CD and Book in both English and Chinese (this series focuses on popular songs in Chinese and English). The other series have specially written songs for Teaching Chinese. The Teach Me Chinese Series has Teacher Guides available. The Sing & Learn Chinese CD & Book includes a track of the songs without words (like Karoke). Let’s Sing Chinese is a 3 product series from Singapore that has both familiar songs and new ones. 3 is the most I have seen of any series of Cd’s for Teaching Chinese to Children.

Video’s for Learning Chinese

Video’s such as from Mei Mei use more of a hands on approach teaching basic Chinese vocabulary and she currently has five video’s in her series. From the first one that teaches counting and parts of the body with songs through an approach that children love to later ones that progress such as her Play and Learn Chinese with Mei Mei where an actual Chinese Kindergarten is visited. What is great about this video is it gives your Child the chance to compare their experience and see the differences between their school and the one in the video. From lunch to PE to naps. To select the right video for your child, I recommend reading the reviews (both good and bad).

Books for Learning Chinese

A great book for those just beginning to Learn Chinese is I Won’t Bite. It’s a touch and feel book that has Pinyin, Chinese Characters , and English. The challenge of using a book is often you need to know how to read Chinese, in order to teach from it. A fun book for exposing Children to Chinese Characters is Long Is A Dragon by Peggy Goldstein A selection of books for Learning Chinese Character

Software for Learning Chinese

Any day some Software should arrive that has been highly recommended by customers.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/learning-chinese-for-young-children-including-preschoolers-and-toddlers-247296.html

About the Author:
ChildBook.com for over 10 years has been helping Children in the United States learn more about Chinese Culture and Language. They do this by selling Chinese Children’s books, Music, and Video’s in both Chinese and English. ChildBook.com was started in 1998 due to the frustration of the owners in finding good Chinese Language Learning material to bring their daughter up bilingually.

For additional Chinese Learning Resources, consider the EuroTalk software series:

Vocabulary Builder Chinese

Talk Now Chinese

Talk More Chinese

Talk Business Chinese