Sarah, a ten-year-old girl from the Washington started her Mandarin learning journey with curiosity and enthusiasm. As her Mandarin teacher, I designed a personalized course that suits her needs and interest.
1. Use Engaging and Interactive Learning Material
We first pay attention to basic vocabulary and session phrases, combined with interactive games and online resources, so that she quickly mastered the basic grammar and made learning interesting. Sarah quickly grasped the main points and turned to more complicated grammar and sentence structure. It can be seen that teaching children knowledge in a way they like can help children get started quickly.
2. Provide Cultural Immersion Opportunities
In order to deepen her cultural understanding, we explored the celebration festivals such as Mid-Autumn Festival and the Chinese New Year. Sarah was very happy in the process of understanding Chinese customs and traditions, which enhanced her language learning experience and had a strong interest in Chinese culture.
3. Personalize the Learning Experience
With her proficiency continuously improved, I encouraged Sarah to participate in language exchange projects and connect with people whose mother tongue for Mandarin.Through these interactions, she has gained valuable real life practice and established a real connection with Chinese children.
4. Set Achievable Goals
Setting achievable goals played a key role in Sarah’s progress. We divide larger goals (such as reading a long article or writing a simple essay) into smaller milestones. Each small accomplishment boosted her confidence and inspired her to tackle more challenging tasks.
5. Foster a Supportive Learning Environment
Creating a supportive learning environment is critical to Sarah’s success. I talk to her in Chinese every time I go online, so that she can be exposed to as much Chinese as possible, and I recommend to her Chinese cartoons and movies that 10-year-olds like to watch, music, and software that can chat with Chinese people,such as Hellotalk、Skype. We even Joining a community of Mandarin learners where Sarah can share experiences, seek advice and find inspiration from others on the same language learning journey, all in all to immerse herself in the world of Chinese to the fullest extent possible. I provided her with constructive feedback and celebrated her efforts and progress along the way.
Sarah’s Mandarin proficiency expanded steadily. She developed strong speaking and listening skills, acquired a solid foundation in reading and writing Chinese characters, and gained cultural knowledge that fostered a deep appreciation for the language.
Learning Mandarin may seem daunting, but with right approach and mindset, children like Sarah can overcome challenges and achieve fluency. Encouraging them to embark on this exciting language learning journey will open doors to a world of opportunities. Every step forward brings them closer to fluency and a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.
If you are interested in having your kid learn Chinese, sign up for a free trial class via the form on this page, and we will be happy to help.