Chinese for Kids: The Joy of Learning by Playing
It is well known that learning a foreign language benefits students of any age. Children who learn a second language better understand their own, are more creative and develop more empathy. And the growing trend of Chinese classes for children confirms that the earlier they start, the faster they learn.
If you are thinking of enrolling your son or daughter in Chinese classes, in this article we will show you what benefits they will receive.
7 Benefits of Chinese Classes for Kids
1. Learning Chinese is FUN!
What do children like? The little ones love to play, draw, paint, sing... And fortunately, all these activities are present in Chinese classes in general, but even more so in Chinese classes for children. Let's see why.
It's a tonal language (it has 4 tones and one neutral), so musicality is present from the beginning. Songs and videos allow the child to acquire new sounds by playing and singing.
Then there is writing. While an adult may be scared to learn how to write Chinese characters, for children it is as entertaining as drawing and painting. Not to mention how calm they usually are while practicing the different strokes!
And finally, to help them incorporate character recognition and reading, there are so many playful activities that, if they have a good teacher, your child will never be bored.
2. Chinese for children: It's good for the mind
Bilingual people tend to have greater contact with the world around them and get along better with people from different cultures. In the case of children, their communication skills expand, their analysis of information is sharpened, and their social awareness grows.
In addition, the speed with which a child can learn a new language is greater than that of an adult, who already has his mind loaded with many more things. And if you want to add a third language or more, it's much easier for someone who is bilingual.
3. Chinese for Kids: Helps Develop Musical Ear
As we mentioned, Chinese is a tonal language so Chinese classes for children have that added advantage of helping them "tune their ears". In Mandarin Chinese, tone plays a critical role because a single-syllable word can have several meanings depending on how it's intoned.
As a result, many Chinese learners find that their ability to sing or play music by ear is greatly improved.
4. Chinese for children: Grammatical structures help memory
The patterns that Chinese sentences follow are simple for a child. For example, the formula subject + verb + object is the most used and is the basis of sentences. Thus, the phrase "I study Chinese" is: 我 (I) 学 (study) 中文 (Chinese language), "Wǒ xué zhōngwén".
Also, unlike other languages, learning to count is very easy once they know the numbers from 1 to 10. The process is very logical. For example, 15 is 10 + 5: 十五 (shí wǔ), and 35 is 3 times 10 + 5: 三十五 (sānshíwǔ).
It's also easy to remember the days of the week and months: they only consist of the expression for "day" (周; zhōu) or "month" (月; yuè) and the corresponding number. Thus, "Monday" is 周一 (zhōuyī) because it is the first day of the week, and "April" is 四月 or 4月 (sìyuè) because it is the fourth month.
Plurals are literally non-existent in the Chinese language, and the verb conjugations that give so many headaches to those who learn Spanish do not exist either. You see, it's all good news!
5. Chinese for children: Improves school performance
One advantage of learning Chinese is that, precisely because it is a difficult subject, it makes others easier. And by contributing to the use of other parts of the brain , it improves a child's performance in school, especially in math.
This is because, unlike other languages, learning to add is very easy once they know the numbers from 1 to 10. The process is very logical. For example, 15 is 10 + 5: 十五 (shí wǔ), and 35 is 3 times 10 + 5: 三十五 (sānshíwǔ).
6. Chinese for children: It provides more opportunities in the future
If your children start taking Chinese classes for children from a young age (4 or 5 years old, or even younger) many doors will open for them in the future, not only in their studies or jobs but in their interaction with other people. There are more than 1.3 billion native Chinese speakers in the world, so opportunities to practice the language will always abound.
In addition, China is a continuously growing economic power and offers many business opportunities for someone who speaks the language. Children learning Chinese today are preparing to take advantage of these opportunities in the future.
7. It can be an activity to do as a family
Had you thought about it? Even if you don't have the ease of your children, if you make the effort to learn Chinese you can also get the benefits we mentioned and more.
Even if they take separate classes, your children will feel that they are not alone in the task, which will give them more confidence. Learning Chinese as a family is a fun way to spend time with them. You can see it as a game, putting labels around the house with the names of things and practicing phrases together.
Rest assured that they will correct everything you do wrong, but they will also be of great help. Children can be excellent teachers. And if one day the family travels to China, everyone will enjoy the experience more.
There is no doubt that more and more parents see Chinese classes as a safe and beneficial bet for their children.
At our school, Hanyu Chinese School, we are dedicated to offering a quality educational experience, and we have courses aimed at the little ones, with our own material and excellent teachers with whom parents and children feel very comfortable. We invite you to participate in a free trial class to find out why we are the best choice for learning Chinese.
In addition, we encourage you to listen to our podcasts to supplement your learning and immerse yourself even more in Chinese culture.
Listen now to one of our many podcasts:
If you want your child to learn languages other than Chinese, Trainlang.com is your ideal destination. It is a special place where you can learn English and other languages in a dynamic and personalized way, adapting to your needs and learning style.
Contact us, we will be happy to clear all your doubts. Remember to ask about your free class!
