Teach Chinese to Your Child: When There Is Resistance

Teach Chinese to Your Child: When There Is Resistance

“I am not going to speak Chinese to you anymore, Mom.  No one is speaking Chinese except you.”  I thought I was doing a good job until the day my 7-year-old son announced his decision about speaking Mandarin Chinese.

He told the truth.

I was the only one who speaks Mandarin to him at home.  No one in his class speaks Chinese.  None of his teachers speaks Chinese.  The other person who speaks Mandarin Chinese to my son in the community is the owner of the little Asian market near the university a few miles away from us.

Could this kind and sweet Asian store owner help me?  She had been.  She was always so delighted to hear my boy speaking Chinese. She gave him lollipops whenever he carried a conversation with her.

For a seven-year-old, learning Mandarin Chinese at home with me was not as fun as going to soccer practice or swimming lessons.

The day had come. I was being challenged.

I decided to offer my son’s school an opportunity to incorporate a Play in Mandarin Chinese program into a weekly routine.  The principal was happy to add Mandarin to the school’s world language program in addition to Japanese and Hawaiian. The chairperson of the lower grades was excited about the initiative.  The principal gave us a green light.

We kicked it off at the beginning of a new school year.  A few weeks after we were into the program.  Kids started to chase after me on campus when they saw me.

They were excited!

My young students excitedly sang the songs I taught them in class.

Sometimes, a solo.

Many times, a choir.

These kids caught a lot of attention from parents who were on campus picking up their kids.

Later, a mother came to me and told me that her daughter surprised her by speaking Mandarin to a staff at a Chinese restaurant and got the chopsticks the girl wanted.

A few minutes later, the young girl asked for a glass of water for her mother in Mandarin.  The mother continued and said, “The owner of the restaurant even came out to chat with us. He was so curious about my daughter’s Chinese learning experience even no one speaks Mandarin at home…”

The program I ran was not a traditional language program.  It had no textbook.  There was no vocabulary sheet.  No tests.  There were Play Sheets and support from amazing support from faculty and parents.

It was going well.

My son continued to speak English to me.

Then, something happened.

One day when I was on campus a few of my young students saw me and came to show me the new Chinese expressions and rhymes they had mastered…  Right there, my son spotted me.  He ran over, tapped on my shoulder, and said, “Mom, tell them I am your son and I can speak Chinese, too!”

He decided to speak Chinese with me again.

And, I am no longer the only one who speaks Chinese at his school.

There are over one hundred students who have joined him and they are all learning Mandarin Chinese.

Sometimes we need creativity. Sometimes we need to think in the mind of a child about the why.

Journeying is the act of travelling from one place to another—not a moment of arrival.
You get there by being committed to the journey.

–Bernadette Jiwa

 

Resources you can explore to assist you to guide your child on the Chinese learning journey:

• Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda! steaming album – on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and major streaming platforms.

• FIRST MANDARIN SOUNDS an awesome Chinese word book  Traditional Chinese (TC) and Simplified Chinese (SC)

• Digital Play Books by topics

• Playful Chinese podcast

• Storytime Friday with Miss Panda

To learn more about the books Miss Panda Chinese has shared in this post you can click on the book titles. Miss Panda Chinese is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases.

Image by Kieth Johnston

Teach Chinese to Your Child: When There Is Resistance