The Best Tool for Your Little One to Learn Chinese

The ultimate goal is to help children develop a natural love for the language.

This blog is bilingual in both Chinese and English, with the English version of the content located at the bottom.

這幾年，我常被問到的就是「我要讓孩子學注音符號？拼音？還是直接識字？」以我自己在海外教中文的經驗，我覺得最重要的是給孩子「工具」——讓孩子能在中文世界翱翔的工具。

無論是注音、拼音還是識字，學中文的最終目標是讓孩子能夠自主閱讀，用閱讀來提升語言程度，並激發對中文的興趣。如果他們能自由自在地閱讀中文書籍，用中文流暢地表達自己的想法和感受，這些都比學會了會唸幾個字以及會寫幾個字還重要！

用我自己教學的例子來說，我的學生們大多是外國孩子和混血兒，家中並沒有全中文的環境，對中文字的認識和理解程度有限，所以我選擇給孩子的工具是注音符號，用注音符號當成小助手協助他們更快地掌握中文發音和字形。再加入不同系列的中文繪本書來作為課外讀物練習。在這裡，注音符號的角色是輔助孩子們認讀國字，讓孩子建立能自主閱讀的能力。當孩子掌握了如何使用注音符號，便可以用注音去學習新的字，進而擴大自己的詞彙與閱讀範圍。特別是對於想提高中文能力的孩子來說，這是一個不可或缺的步驟。

我們作為孩子在語言道路上的夥伴，最重要任務是為孩子們從旁提供需要的協助。所以在選擇學習工具時，家長們應該先思考以下問題：

Ｑ：不管是注音、拼音還是直接識字，哪一個是你最熟悉的？讓我們可以隨時與孩子們一起複習一起玩。

Ｑ：家裡有沒有能輔助這項工具的其他學習資源呢？讓孩子落實地發揮工具，進而變成能力，就好比是繪本書籍。

那你有答案了嗎？
那看完這篇文章後，你有什麼想法呢？我也想聽聽你的看法，歡迎訊息給我。
讓我們一起為孩子們創造一場最好玩的學習之旅吧！

Are you trying to find the best way for your little one to learn Chinese? Are you considering Bopomofo, Pinyin, or character recognition? Before diving into those, I want to emphasize that learning a language is a lifelong journey. Our goal is to use tools to help children achieve independent reading, improve their language proficiency, and develop a natural love for the Chinese language. Therefore, regardless of the tool we choose, it should provide a means for kids to navigate the world of Chinese and facilitate their language learning journey.

Many of my students come from non-Chinese speaking environments at home, which limits their exposure to Chinese. This lack of exposure can make it challenging for them to develop a solid foundation in Chinese. However, I've found that using Bopomofo is an effective tool to help them overcome this challenge. With Bopomofo, students can focus on the basics like getting the right pronunciation, tones, and Chinese character formation. Once we have a good foundation, we start to use a variety of picture books to practice reading. Bopomofo helps kids gain exposure and by using word-blending, they can figure out new words that they haven’t learned yet. Their reading skills eventually expand from new vocabulary words to sentences, paragraphs, and even whole books. This not only improves their Chinese proficiency but also boosts their interest and confidence in learning the language.

Learning progression should be like this:

As lifelong learning partners to our little ones, our most important task is to create an environment that fosters their interest in learning Chinese. When it comes to choosing the best learning tool for them, we can start by asking ourselves the following questions:

Which tool are you most familiar with - Bopomofo, Pinyin, or Character Recognition?
Are there any additional learning resources available for that tool in your home that can help strengthen their reading skills?

We would love to hear your thoughts on this and are happy to discuss it with you. Let's make learning a fun experience for our little ones!

Categories: : bopomofo, My Teaching Life