tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post5324107996768239949..comments2023-07-26T13:56:29.944+08:00Comments on Our World. My World.: Chinese LessonsDGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-12880936391618887652011-04-15T14:31:36.454+08:002011-04-15T14:31:36.454+08:00Karmeleon & Domesticgoddess:
My husband is fro...Karmeleon & Domesticgoddess:<br />My husband is from M'sia :) <br /><br />Just like yours, K, he did his schooling in Malay. His family spoke primarily English. I'll work hard like you to brush up on Mandarin :)Corsage@A Dollop Of Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12147931647105342881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-6127534571214727932011-04-15T08:10:43.649+08:002011-04-15T08:10:43.649+08:00Linette, your gals are lucky indeed! Having a gran...Linette, your gals are lucky indeed! Having a grandparent around 3x a week to practise Mandarin with will help tremendously, esp if granny speaks well and converse plenty with them. <br /><br />Actually the 2-weeks China immersion plan sounds good, especially since you go to China often. I can't imagine doing that with my boys (not yet anyway) otherwise they will probably sulk the whole time.DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-54811129564329127952011-04-15T01:53:03.448+08:002011-04-15T01:53:03.448+08:00It is hard to find a good Chinese enrichment progr...It is hard to find a good Chinese enrichment programme for them, isn't it? I had been searching high and low, to no avail as well. My girls are lucky because my mum, who stays with me 3 nights a week, speaks 100% Mandarin with them. I kind of regretted not speaking with them in Mandarin from young, because now, they find it a little strange to speak to me in Mandarin, except for a smattering The Beauties In Our Liveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09445192882389093008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-67103779713512630042011-04-14T19:51:27.080+08:002011-04-14T19:51:27.080+08:00Haha! Kids are so cute to do translation voluntari...Haha! Kids are so cute to do translation voluntarily. My boys do the same. When they were smaller, they used to correct me when I said they are Chinese boys. They would call themselves English boys, like their dad who is from England.DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-63517526897013078002011-04-14T19:46:47.639+08:002011-04-14T19:46:47.639+08:00Only from Malaysia, but he never took Chinese, onl...Only from Malaysia, but he never took Chinese, only Malay. And spoke Cantonese with parents. But after leaving home for studies, he now even struggles with speaking Cantonese. ;P Our youngest even took it upon himself to translate to his dad! Observed that from the time he was around 18mths.Karmeleonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741439957163979032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-53379529276783014732011-04-14T19:43:15.796+08:002011-04-14T19:43:15.796+08:00Oh Karmeleon, I didn't realise your hb also do...Oh Karmeleon, I didn't realise your hb also doesn't speak Mandarin. Where is he from? <br /><br />Corsage, is your hb foreigner too?DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-21439735490602611102011-04-14T18:50:55.848+08:002011-04-14T18:50:55.848+08:00@Corsage - I learnt how to converse also by observ...@Corsage - I learnt how to converse also by observing the Chinese Playgroup teachers. Then ask them how to repeat if I didn't hear clearly, or when I am not sure. Learnt lots that way too! <br /><br />*hehe* the main reason why we didn't speak Mandarin at home is also similar - bc Husbs doesn't know Mandarin at all. So didn't try with older 3 kids until the youngest.Karmeleonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741439957163979032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-76469405978933040252011-04-14T14:52:51.345+08:002011-04-14T14:52:51.345+08:00Corsage, I think I would have done the same in you...Corsage, I think I would have done the same in your situation. Like another reader said, parents often improve as we learn alongside our kids. I think the writing is an easy phase once the child starts reading and is speaking fluently. You still have plenty of time on your side though, so you can enjoy the journey with her. :>DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-28117981097430721432011-04-14T10:07:18.978+08:002011-04-14T10:07:18.978+08:00I'll be very interested to read about your jou...I'll be very interested to read about your journey regarding this! My husband never had formal schooling in Chinese and I am very weak in it (can't read much without hanyu pinyin), so I have resorted to sending Bubbles to once a week Chinese playgroup. It is an accompanied class. By golly, I am amazed at how well she has taken to the language! I too am learning as I am in class with her Corsage@A Dollop Of Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12147931647105342881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-73932670463421290342011-04-14T07:12:18.366+08:002011-04-14T07:12:18.366+08:00Karmeleon, your little one is only 2. Plenty of ti...Karmeleon, your little one is only 2. Plenty of time to go.DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-50392033200851963722011-04-13T19:54:18.034+08:002011-04-13T19:54:18.034+08:00Hi Jeremy, thanks for coming forward to share your...Hi Jeremy, thanks for coming forward to share your experience. It is still not too late for your gal to brush up her English. :> Like you said, her Chinese is good, which means she has one less worry.DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-18153694222711818162011-04-13T19:42:26.488+08:002011-04-13T19:42:26.488+08:00That's right.
With 1 of me speaking Mandarin...That's right. <br /><br />With 1 of me speaking Mandarin with him, and 5 others at home speaking English with him and him reading primary level English & Chinese fluently without help, I am not so worried, since he is only 2years old.Karmeleonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741439957163979032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-67389493454289899962011-04-13T19:42:24.764+08:002011-04-13T19:42:24.764+08:00I am an avid reader of your blog,but never comment...I am an avid reader of your blog,but never commented until now. I agree with you. My daughter was looked after by a Chinese babysitter who speaks only Mandarin to her. Until she was 5. THen we put her in CC. Her Chinese standard is quite good but English is not so good. Because my wife speaks Mandarin to her and I speak English. But we so busy with work that we also hardly converse after work orJeremynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-77187881573683610292011-04-13T19:36:14.044+08:002011-04-13T19:36:14.044+08:00It is a choice we parents make, isn't it?
Lo...It is a choice we parents make, isn't it? <br /><br />Look at those children from China who speak Mandarin at home, hence are strong in Chinese language. They also have to work at their English. Some people think that it is easier to pick up English from school than CHinese since most subjects are taught in English. I have mixed views about this. <br /><br />If the child doesn't have DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-49292478654862850742011-04-13T19:20:23.236+08:002011-04-13T19:20:23.236+08:00Yes, it's not that poor now bc I did speak to ...Yes, it's not that poor now bc I did speak to him in mostly Mandarin from the time he was a few months old, and I've been trying out all those words from his books since then too. Which means I've been trying for 2 years. Surely I've improved, lah! He speaks mostly Chinese to me. And he speaks English to everyone else. His three-times-a-week 3-hr workgroup is solely English too.Karmeleonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741439957163979032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-60882897492123838682011-04-13T18:47:38.602+08:002011-04-13T18:47:38.602+08:00Your Chinese is not that poor since you can string...Your Chinese is not that poor since you can string together these two sentences. <br /><br />Speaking Mandarin to the kids isn't difficult and I've been doing that. But speaking ONLY Mandarin is something that I have to consciously switch to because in the past 2 decades, I have been speaking more English. <br /><br />With my older boy, there is some resistance from him to speak entirely DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05935605661515681127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554796584572564286.post-14499313689890504102011-04-13T16:05:40.867+08:002011-04-13T16:05:40.867+08:00Since you are already good in Chinese, why not jus...Since you are already good in Chinese, why not just speak to your boys in Chinese? Make use of the sentences and phrases you come across in books and use them in conversation. eg. 我们玩得满头大汗, or 看,天上乌云漫天,快下雨了。 Can't be that difficult, right? I'm personally poor in Chinese. Failed my Chinese oral even at A-levels, altho' I didn't fail my CL or else I would've needed to go to Karmeleonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741439957163979032noreply@blogger.com