Little Edison has started his Chinese enrichment class for a month now. The last update I got from his teacher is that he has started making friends and conversing in Chinese. That’s a pretty good sign to me.
This is part of our conversation last month before he started his enrichment class. I find it quite funny.
Me: Boy, how do you tell Lao Shi if you need to go to the toilet?
Edison: Lao Shi, wo shang ce suo.
Me: Not very correct. Try again.
Edison: Lao Shi, wo yao ce suo.
Me: Wrong! Try again.
Edison: Lao Shi shang ce suo! Hahaha!
Me: *faint* Wrong! I give you a hint. It starts with “Lao Shi, wo yao …”
Edison: Lao Shi, wo yao shang ce suo!
Me: Correct!
Teaching Chinese is an uphill task for me. I studied in a public school in Malaysia, and I took Malay Language as my second language. I didn’t have any formal education in Chinese Language, except a few extra lessons here and there during my Primary School days.
So, my Chinese vocabulary is VERY limited. Furthermore, I speak in Cantonese at home with my parents. I only learnt to speak in Mandarin with my course mates when I studied in the university. And of course by now, I can speak Mandarin like any other Singaporeans, and without the Malaysian slang.
I bought many Chinese story books, as well as workbooks for Little Edison, but something is still lacking. So, I’ve been searching for some good Chinese websites to learn the language. These are four websites that I’ve found to be very useful for me.
1. Learn Chinese Everyday.com (http://www.learnchineseeveryday.com/)
It’s a very good website to learn writing Chinese words in the correct stroke order. I find that the most difficult part is not the writing itself, but remembering the correct stroke order. So, this website is a very good reference to me.
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2. Chinese Learner.com (http://www.chineselearner.com/)
It covers reading, writing and speaking in Chinese. I like the HanYuPinYin portion.
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3. Hanlexon Chinese (http://www.hanlexon.org/index.htm)
You can find worksheets and flash cards here. You can also create yours and share.
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4. Kids Chinese Podcast (http://kidschinesepodcast.com/)
Lastly, this is the one that I like best. It focuses on conversational Chinese by topics. The worksheets are very good, and I also like the HanYuPinYin portion.
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If you’re also looking for Chinese educational materials online, please try the above and let me know if they are useful.
