More parents today are paying attention to the education their children receive. They know when people have an array of skills, they have a multitude of open doors to choose from.
In today’s world, it’s a necessity to know more than one language, especially if one is going to compete in the job market. For some folks, learning the art of Mandarin Chinese is a necessity. In fact, most folks – both ethnic Chinese and foreigners – choose it for their second language.
How Parents Try To Help Their Children Learn The Mandarin Language
The problem, however, is how to teach and make children learn this language. After all, there are numerous reasons why children are unable to talk in or even want to talk in Chinese.
When you live abroad, it’s not enough to get Chinese lessons. For example: the United States has just only 200 Chinese middle and primary schools. For most would-be Chinese language learners, this isn’t enough. This means parents will have to hire private tutors, find Chinese nannies, Skype with a professional Chinese teacher or move to China to give their children the chance to learn the Chinese language.
Now, some folks may feel it’s crazy to travel all the way to China to learn the language. However, it’s these types of parents that want to give their child the most opportunities possible.
Why The Mandarin Chinese Language Is So Difficult To Learn
It should be noted that the Mandarin Chinese language is extremely tricky to learn. If you want to learn about language learning, it’s imperative you learn how important the Critical Period is. Now, if it’s your desire is to speak Mandarin Chinese like a native, it’s imperative to start as early as you can and get into the best learning environment.
The Chinese language is difficult to master because you need to master all characters and tones. Information from the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute says it takes about 2,200 class hours to learn the Chinese language… with about half of that time being spent within a country where the language is spoken. Spanish, on the other hand, takes up to 750 class hours to master.
Ethnic Families and Teaching Their Children A Second Language
Are you jealous of those ethnic families, where the majority of parents are either bilingual or multilingual? For them, the Chinese language is not hard for them to learn. Their children can naturally pick up the Chinese language. Of course, you may not realize it but they may face pressures or problems you never could imagine.
These parents want their children to learn the Chinese language proficiently because of the obligations they face. It’s these high expectations that make them nervous about the results. The reality is that very few children who live overseas learn to speak the Mandarin Chinese language competently.
At home, they can speak it well. But, to other folks, they’re unable to do it fluently. They can acquire native speaking languages and may reject speaking language they don’t typically use. Many of these folks have a general understanding of the Chinese language. But, when it comes to writing and speaking it, you don’t even want to know how bad it actually really is. They might be able to handle a short trip to China – living there is just not an option.
Put your children in the right kind of language environment will help them to naturally attain the Chinese language. Of course, there are no easy decisions. How can you give your kids the close look at China you want them to have to learn the Mandarin Chinese language? It’s true that getting a good education is difficult; but, parents always find a way to deal with the issue efficiently.
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