When I first embarked on my journey to teach my daughter, Mulan, Chinese, she was barely three years old. I knew I needed to create a environment conducive to learning Chinese, so I started with the one tool that helped me learn a second language – books. I ordered a box of Chinese storybooks online and had my parents ship it from Hong Kong. It was an expensive investment. But as we moved forward, I realized that these books and the habit of reading were the cornerstone of our bilingual journey.
I know it is nothing like the latest gadgets, miracle products, or language robots. But this simple habit of reading is powerful. My daughter just turned four and knows 90 Chinese characters already after just one year of learning.
I know she is still far from being able to read independently. But the progress we have made is solely from her daily reading and without the help of curriculum such as Sagebooks and Greenfield. I was overjoyed with the progress that we all have achieved as a family.
So how can you effectively use books to teach your child Chinese? Below are my five tips:
(1) Choose books that interest your child
As I pondered the best way to engage my children, I realized that the key was to follow their interests. Mulan was into dinosaurs when she first started preschool so I looked for dinosaurs stories everywhere. I started with my local libraries but I had no luck since there wasn’t a big Chinese storybook collection. So, I ended up buying all my books online. I tried to avoid books that are purely “informational” or “vocabulary-focused,” and buy the ones that are story-based. Ultimately, it is the quality story that keeps your child reaching for the book again and again, not the vocabulary that the parents want them to learn.
My son, Mushu, just turned 2, and I am doing the same thing with him by reading him books of his interest. So, I have been reading lots of books about transportation and vehicles, and making vehicle-themed printables (see my resource page)!
(2) Relate new learning to familiar concepts
I am a big fan of combining what they learn outside of our home with what I teach at home. So my approach is to teach them the same topics that they are already learning at school. I have shared in my other blog post that I follow Mulan’s school curriculum to teach her Chinese. If she is learning about butterflies at school, I will read her books about butterflies in Chinese and do language activities at home about butterflies.
You may also include other general topics that relate to their everyday life, such as routine, days of the week, weather, and family members. These topics are relevant to them on a regular basis and they would find it interesting and fun.
(3) Use the “Print-focused read-aloud” method
Research supports the idea that reading aloud and focusing on print advances emergent-literacy (Sit Together and Read (STAR) – Crane Center). The use of a print-referencing style of reading has been proven to increase children’s print knowledge and thus results in a net positive impact on children’s literacy development. A simple way of incorporating this method during your read-aloud is by running your fingers under the text as you read. By doing this, you draw your child’s attention to the text and help them understand that what you are reading is the text, not the picture. They also learn the rules of a written text (reading from left to right, upper case, lower case, punctuation etc.), and they might surprise you by associating the text with what they already know. My daughter learned the character for “mouth (口）” because she thinks it looks like a square, the character for “already（了）” because it looks like “J,” the character for “ ten（十）” because it looks like a “cross.” There are many more examples I can share but my point is that making an effort to create awareness of the print helps develop your child’s literacy at an early age.
I understand that sometimes you might have just enough energy to get through the motions. Give yourself some grace and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t want to use this method. The same goes for the child. If he/she seems to be distracted and not paying much attention to your read-aloud, it’s okay too. Finish your stories the best you can and try it again tomorrow. The key is to find a happy medium for both yourself and your child.
(4) Reinforce with activities
Printable activities can enhance their learning from the storybooks and introduce new concepts as well. Mulan has surprised me many times when she points out characters that I did not know she knew. I remember the morning Mulan asked me to watch her write the character for “mountain (山).” I hadn’t explicitly taught her that character, yet she remembered it from her books and activities.
And because she learned this character herself, I had an opportunity to teach her another character, “to exit (出),” which is two “mountains stacked together!”
Another “nice-to-have” activity is a language immersion trip. We spent two months in Hong Kong this year and I cannot believe how much this trip has helped both of my kids’ Chinese. Mulan had an accent when speaking Cantonese before our trip, and her sentence structure was English-based. In just two months, her accent was gone, and she speaks like a local Hong Konger. Mushu was 1.5 when we went there and all of his new vocabulary during that time were in Cantonese.
(5) Find your balance
Teaching your child another language is a journey, and the road can feel long and lonely. Some nights, I was too tired to use the “Print-focused read-aloud” method, and I just wanted to put them to bed. It’s okay to take a break. Perhaps you can just do one read-aloud book and read the other one at a normal pace. The key is to make the experience enjoyable and fun for both the parent and the child.
Remember, teaching your child a new language should be a journey filled with joy and discovery, not stress and frustration. Celebrate the small victories and be patient with both yourself and your child. Language learning is a marathon, not a sprint. With consistent effort and love, you will see the fruits of your labor.
In conclusion, the key to teaching your child Chinese—or any language—is to make it an engaging and enjoyable experience. By finding books that pique their interest, relating new words to familiar concepts, using effective reading methods, reinforcing learning with activities, and finding a balance that works for your family, you can foster a love for language that will benefit them for a lifetime.
Happy reading and happy learning!