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From the lens Learning Mandarin Chinese.

  • Buchamar May 7, 2012 @ 11:00 am | delete
    This is great content for all So easy to learn these days!
    I review educational kids apps on my lens' - Come visit!
  • bakerwoman May 5, 2012 @ 7:07 pm | delete
    I bought a CD on learning Mandarin but never got started on it. I think it is a difficult language to learn but worth the trouble. It is the language that will connect many people in the world.
  • echineselearning2012 May 2, 2012 @ 3:44 am | delete
    Learning Chinese has become more and more popular. Chinese is a tonal language, that is to say learning Chinese is the alteration of a word's pronunciation changes its meaning as well.Chinese is the largest number for people use in the whole world.
    You will know China better though learning chinese.
    http://echineselearning.com
  • Anacruzperez Apr 19, 2012 @ 4:23 am | delete
    Thank you very much for your help learning Chinese.
    I am Spanish and I am learning Chinese for four years. I love this language.
    Xià cì jiàn!
  • inspirationz Apr 13, 2012 @ 12:08 pm | delete
    Great lens! If you're interested in hearing some Mandarin songs I've just done a lens on Mandopop which you may like.. :)
  • brynimagire Mar 24, 2012 @ 10:52 am | delete
    Awesome post ! Great lens !
  • iijuan12 Feb 29, 2012 @ 7:24 pm | delete
    Great resources listed! Blessed and liked.
  • Tolovaj Feb 25, 2012 @ 8:53 am | delete
    Mandarin Chinese is language of the future. Thanks for valuable info!
  • jamilbtec Jan 24, 2012 @ 11:31 am | delete
    Want to learn chinese visit this site.
  • mumsgather Jan 19, 2012 @ 10:36 pm | delete
    Great List of Resources. Blessed!
  • TransplantedSoul Dec 19, 2011 @ 7:01 pm | delete
    I took a manadrin course once - just for fun - its is harder than it looks! Try to look up how to pronounce the three words Cat Hair Horse ...wow which is which???
  • Makita Dec 21, 2011 @ 6:09 pm | delete
    It's all about the tones ... tricky to distinguish as an adult. That's why I'm encouraging my kiddos to learn in now while they are young. :)
    Cat = M?o (sounds like the sound a cat says, like meow but with w/o the e)
    Horse = M? (sounds like ma as in mama)
  • Lingun Nov 27, 2011 @ 10:12 am | delete
    Hi,
    We are the publisher of the best-selling Taoshu Learn Chinese Books for kids. We just launched a very cute and enchanting app for the iPad based on our Chinese books for kids.
    You can check out a youtube clip here http://youtu.be/N7Jp06KJJUQ
    or you can visit our website at www.littletaoshu.
    It's the more interactive and fun Chinese kids apps around.

    If you like, please email me for a promo code to download the app.

    Best,
    Lingun Sung
    Creator of Taoshu
    LearnChineseBooks.com
  • Makita Nov 29, 2011 @ 9:29 am | delete
    Taoshu looks great!! I will definitely contact you! :)
  • Cynthia Dec 2, 2011 @ 12:17 am | delete
    Oh, you are based in Singapore! That's great, I will be returning home for a visit in January. I have been to Popular bookstore and there are so many materials available, not sure which are good. Will definitely check out your site shortly.
  • Makita Dec 21, 2011 @ 6:06 pm | delete
    No, I apologize for the miscommunication. I'm in the U.S. I'm not affiliated with Better Chinese ... it's simply the curriculum we chose in the beginning and though we've tried others, it is the one we still like. I reviewed it here on my own free will ... not receiving a single thing (money nor product) from them.
  • Cynthia Nov 26, 2011 @ 6:49 am | delete
    Hi Makita, thank you very much for sharing your insight in home-schooling Chinese to young children. I am a Singapore Chinese who currently lives in Australia with my family. My elder son (5 yrs old) goes to a Chinese school once a week and I personally feel that it is not helping him much as the course is pretty casual. We don't speak Mandarin at home but I feel that it's time I, be a responsible mother, to teach him & younger son later the second language.

    I had a look at the better chinese programme online and it seems pretty good. Some centres are even using its curriculum which is impressive. I am really interested to get started on the programme as I feel that the curriculum sounds systematic with many aids to help the child along. Any advice from you is greatly appreciated.

    Thank you,
    Cynthia
  • Makita Nov 29, 2011 @ 9:25 am | delete
    Hello Cynthia ~ Thank you for your comment. It is good to know that others find my lens useful. You stated that your your son is attending a Chinese school once a week, but that you don't feel that it is helping much ... when we first started, my daughter also attended a school for 2x week for 1/2 day ... she did this for about 1 year. Then she switched to private tutoring 1 hr a week for 1 year, then it was semi-private lessons for 2 hrs a week for 1 year. Presently, she is working with a private tutor twice a week for 1 hr each session.

    Despite all this ... she has only recently been comfortable enough to speak or read Mandarin aloud to us as a family. She's always done her homework privately and though the teacher always said she was doing well, I never really had a good idea what she knew.

    My only advice would be that it takes time. Be patient. However, working with your son yourself .. in addition to the 1 day a week that he goes to Chinese school .. would be a huge benefit. The more often he experiences the language, the faster he will feel comfortable. Since you are fluent yourself, I would strongly suggest that you speak with him casually everyday. Perhaps use Better Chinese (or other program of choice) just a few times each week.

    I hope this helps. :)
  • Cynthia Dec 2, 2011 @ 12:14 am | delete
    Thanks very much Makita! I should really speak more Chinese to the boys, just that I, myself have forgotten many words! :) Haven't used the language much since I left school. I will give BetterChinese a try and I believe with the materials, it will be easier to start the boys on the language.
  • leto_leto Nov 24, 2011 @ 2:39 am | delete
    I love learning Chinese, the only thing is time! Don;t have so much time to study it everyday!
  • Makita Nov 29, 2011 @ 9:27 am | delete
    I completely understand! We try to squeeze it in whenever we can .. the more we practice, the more fluent we will become, right? I myself, am not learning Mandarin - I pick up phrases now and then, but my focus is on learning Norwegian as it was the language of my grandparents.
  • lychiIM Oct 25, 2011 @ 6:37 pm | delete
    How's your daughter's Chinese now? I hope she enjoys learning Chinese!
  • Makita Oct 26, 2011 @ 11:09 am | delete
    My daughter continues her study of Mandarin and loves it! She is able to read, write, & converse about simple subjects. I am amazed at how many characters she knows. We still use Better Chinese (she's in Vol 3 of My First Chinese Reader) but have begun to supplement with other curricula as well. :)
  • Rene Nov 5, 2011 @ 3:49 am | delete
    thanks for sharing!http://bit.ly/s1zfli
  • heehaw Oct 17, 2011 @ 4:53 pm | delete
    so, how is your daughter now, has she finished her Chinese lessons? how well she able to speak now? no matter what, do not give up, mandarin is a language which we need to explore till the end of our life. Have fun learning it.
  • Makita Oct 18, 2011 @ 6:52 am | delete
    Thank you(xie xie) so much for your inquiry. My daughter continues her study of Mandarin and in fact, her little brother (di di) has recently begun as well. She is able to read/write/converse about simple subjects. I am amazed at how many characters she knows. I trust that she and her brother both will pursue Mandarin for many years to come. We still use Better Chinese but have begun to supplement with other curricula as well. :)
  • Pennyseeker Oct 12, 2011 @ 6:23 am | delete
    Thanks for sharing!
  • Rosetta Stone Nov 5, 2011 @ 3:46 am | delete
    thanks for sharing ,good luck to your daughter.http://bit.ly/rG2soD
  • Rosetta Stone Nov 5, 2011 @ 3:48 am | delete
    good luck to your daughter!http://bit.ly/rG2soD
  • Rene Nov 5, 2011 @ 3:51 am | delete
    thanks for sharing!good luck to your daughter
  • DianaHarper Oct 5, 2011 @ 7:50 am | delete
    Thanks for the resources. My daughter wanted to learn Mandarin to converse with her cousins who are currently living in Shanghai. She went back to Spanish, temporarily because we did not have adequate resources. Squid liked. Facebook liked. Blessed by a Squid Angel.
  • NevermoreShirts Sep 29, 2011 @ 8:58 am | delete
    Wonderful lens! Excellent resource. :)
  • Acrelakedoo Sep 24, 2011 @ 2:10 pm | delete
    ????????????????? ???ni hao,??ni hau.
  • Makita Sep 24, 2011 @ 11:00 pm | delete
    Ahhh!!! You are so right! Xiè Xiè! I've corrected the mistake. BTW - I don't know why, the characters came through to my email notification however, they show up as a series of ???? here.
  • PositiveChristian Sep 4, 2011 @ 3:05 pm | delete
    I had a look at learning Chinese some years ago, but I found it very difficult to get started on a language which has no relationship what-so-ever with English. I decided to stay with European languages.
    Great lens though. The best time to learn is when you are very young.

    Angel blessed.
  • freepsptheme Aug 24, 2011 @ 10:33 am | delete
    Chinese(Mandarin) is getting important nowadays. Can consider sending kids to learn Mandarin.
  • Serenia Aug 23, 2011 @ 8:20 pm | delete
    This is a wonderful resource lens!!
  • EMangl Aug 17, 2011 @ 3:05 am | delete
    :-) should have started as a kid too
  • blackspanielgallery Jul 25, 2011 @ 1:31 pm | delete
    nice lens
  • christopherlee Jul 4, 2011 @ 5:34 pm | delete
    Hi, thanks for sharing your Len. Really good tips.
  • A_RovingReporter Jun 27, 2011 @ 1:45 pm | delete
    Ni hao. Zhu ni xue zhong wen cheng gong.
  • Makita Jun 27, 2011 @ 1:48 pm | delete
    Xièxiè n?. W? de háizi shì nàxi? xuéxí zuì
  • TonyChen Mar 31, 2011 @ 10:14 pm | delete
    You have a great collection of the resource for people who want to learn Chinese. I will feature your lens on mine.
  • Chinajoy Jan 24, 2011 @ 10:28 pm | delete
    I am a missionary in China, and I will say that learning Mandarin can be difficult, but very rewarding. Great list.
  • scar4 Nov 6, 2010 @ 3:31 am | delete
    Great resources, leave a footprint.
  • dannystaple Oct 13, 2010 @ 2:15 pm | delete
    I've also been trying to learn Mandarin - my wife is a native speaker. I found a podcast on it that I've got on my phone - http://www.melnyks.com/
  • Makita Oct 14, 2010 @ 3:52 pm | delete
    Ah! Thank you! I've updated the links list in my Podcasts module. :)
  • marquede7 Feb 3, 2010 @ 3:09 pm | delete
    awesomme information! it can be a challenge finding things for kids to learn in chinese and im glad i found it here!
  • shunju123@gmail.com Dec 28, 2009 @ 2:37 am | delete
    Its a great information about to learn chinese language..I am also learning online suing Chinesesphere and enjoying chinese language.
  • MandMx Oct 29, 2009 @ 1:24 pm | delete
    Great stuff. Just dropping by!
  • Jun 23, 2009 @ 12:05 pm | delete
    We're hoping to purchase our first foreign language program soon, and I'm pushing heavily for mandarin chinese; this will be an incredibly helpful selling point--"Look how many resources there are, honey!"
    Thanks again!
  • Janet21 Jun 15, 2009 @ 2:26 pm | delete
    Very helpful lens! 5*'s and lensrolled to my new Kai Lan Merchandise lens. :)
  • Makita Jun 14, 2009 @ 12:03 am | in reply to ChineseKitesforKids | delete
    It is different than Spanish - easier in some respects (you don't have to conjugate verbs) but more difficult in others (tones). It has been a lot of fun, though! I'm delighted that her passion has enabled me to learn another language as well.
  • ChineseKitesforKids Jun 13, 2009 @ 11:01 pm | delete
    This is an excellent source of information. I don't know if I could handle this language, I had a hard time with just Spanish. Great lens!
  • EverythingMouse Jun 5, 2009 @ 10:27 pm | delete
    This is a brilliant resource. We are learning French at the moment.
  • Makita Jan 16, 2009 @ 6:46 pm | delete
    Thank you, Jimmie!
  • Jimmie Jan 15, 2009 @ 10:46 pm | delete
    Have you seen this thread? http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76594
    May be some additional tidbits to add to your lens.
  • Jimmie Jan 15, 2009 @ 7:59 pm | delete
    Wonderful resources here. I'm new to Zon -- want to check that out for sure! :-)

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Makita

Eva is passionate about education and has extensive experience in both formal and informal settings. In 2001, she was awarded National Board Certification... more »

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