Sunday, January 1, 2017

Mandarin Kids Tutoring

I teach Mandarin classes to early learners and their parents. I offer small hands-on classes that engage children with each other, allowing them to become familiar with the Mandarin tones connected with familiar everyday items. We use the simplified Chinese version, yet we expose the children to the written Chinese characters as well. We have been using My First Chinese Words from BetterChinese.com because my goal is really to prepare pre-immersion kids for eventual matriculation to immersion. I also use "Integrated Chinese" (https://www.cheng-tsui.com/browse/integrated-chinese-4th-edition) for middle school and high school learners that are ready. Some kids do ultimately move up to the Zhongwen series, but it is mostly for students living in Chinese speaking homes. Initially, we begin with fruits, colors, shapes, animals, familiar daily household objects. We fully synchronize to what the kids are currently learning in their own natural progression. We try to create a varied, playful interactive atmosphere where Mandarin introduced is very natural and logical.
For more information about lessons, please call me--Joanne Hall--at (408)733-1893Or email me at yiyaozhou67@gmail.com

I have also contracted with preschools to teach Mandarin. Contracting for 6-12 week sessions (for an hour 2-3 days per week) offers schools flexibility, and lets them also introduce the Mandarin option to their students, which is appealing to many parents. The key with alternative immersion is shorter exposures more frequently.


Ideally, children learn faster when they have a chance to be immersed in a language. Unlike many other Chinese language schools in this area, most of our students do not come from homes where Chinese is spoken. If it is it's not spoken very much. Since Mandarin is a major 21st Century language of international commerce and human affairs, basic exposure lets young children become relaxed and familiar with the language, which will help them with later, more rigorous formal training, should they choose to do so. Learning any second language will be a real benefit. When parents learn Chinese with their children, it makes practicing during the rest of the week much easier and results in more effective learning as well. But parent participation is not a necessity for good results--it simply adds to the mix. We consider our approach "pre-immersion." And indeed, many parents decide that being here in America they prefer a middle ground, a non-full immersion approach because they want their kids to acculturate better and avoid potential enclaving.

For preschoolers and early readers we use varied texts and a varied lesson plan approach. We also use the concepts of learning center and circle time. "Transfer learning" is a concept that recognizes that young students that study English and Mandarin...in the long-term are better able to learn German. All learning is inter-related.

We also teach level 1-3 students, and have a migration path for them as well. We work closely with a group that specializes with intermediate level middle school students. And I also teach middle school students. I have also worked in tutoring AP Chinese. One text we currently use is the Cengage Learning Asia series text, "Mastering Chinese Language and Culture" by Wang Shuang Shuang. We have also used the "Go! Chinese" text series by Julie Lo and Emily Yih. (see: http://www.cengageasia.com/). We continue to examine and explore new texts and new approaches, and opt for best practices...and best results. We are also now using the Cheng-Tsui "Integrated Chinese" (Levels 1 & 2) for Middle & High School students.(See: https://www.cheng-tsui.com/browse/integrated-chinese. Cheng-Tsui publishes a variety of texts.)

No comments:

Post a Comment