Extensive Reading has been the key to our family’s Chinese learning. It’s about reading widely for pleasure, focusing on of texts where >98% of words/characters are known. This post describes how the approach works, and how stress free it can be. Don’t focus on teaching the child 500 words; focus on setting up a love of literacy for life.
Category Archives: Teaching kids Chinese
1000+ Chinese Picture Books compatible with Luka Reading Robot
Our 1000 favourite Chinese picture books to read with Luka Reading Robot or Luka Hero, split by age groups, along with tips on how to find great Chinese picture books for Luka.
Chinese eBook Apps for Children: Comparison and Review
A detailed comparison of nine Chinese e-Book platforms for Children, including Wawayaya JoyReader, Dudu, Ellabook, Epic, and others. The posts covers the range of books available, ease of use, and key considerations.
iFlytek Alpha Egg versus Youdao Dictionary Pen 科大讯飞扫描笔 vs 有道
This post is a detailed comparison of iFlytek Alpha Egg versus the Youdao Dictionary pen (科大讯飞扫描笔 vs 有道) in terms of design, accuracy, and other key features. They are both excellent options, and the race is clearly on between dictionary pen manufacturers in China.
Learning in Lockdown! – Chinese HBL resources
If you’re feeling the fear (again) of what the next month may look like for homeschooling, then this post is for you. This was a post I had hoped wouldn’t be needed. It’s a simple list of what worked best for us, during a 92 day period where our little family unit didn’t interact physicallyContinue reading “Learning in Lockdown! – Chinese HBL resources”
Parent Review: Alpha Egg Dictionary Pen Q3
A review of iFlyTek Alpha Egg Reading Pen – a handheld dictionary pen, which can read any printed Chinese or English text. It’s specifically designed to be kid friendly, accurate, and allows the user to effectively read and/or translate between the two languages, whether printed text or spoken. It’s like the Youdao pen but better!
Where to buy excellent Chinese books for children in Singapore?
Singapore is 100% blessed with a plethora of lovely Chinese bookstores, and many of our favourite ones have passionate owners who will be able to curate the perfect books for your family too. As a mother who doesn’t read or speak Chinese, I’m really thankful for the amazing options out there, mainly run by passionate mumsContinue reading “Where to buy excellent Chinese books for children in Singapore?”
Review: ExploArt Chinese classes at home in Singapore
Learn. Play. Grow. Exploart is a small Singapore-based business, which provides amazing Chinese-speaking teachers and babysitters for families in Singapore. We’ve loved and used them since early 2018.
Youdao Dictionary Pen: Comparison of 2.0 vs 3.0 vs Pro Version for Chinese-English
Comparing the differences between the four key models of the portable 有道 Youdao Dictionary pen (Version 2.0, Version 3.0, Pro version, and International Version) , which can all translate from simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and English, from individual words to entire sentences.
App comparison: iHuman Hongen Chinese (洪恩识字) versus Wukong Literacy (悟空识字) for learning Chinese characters
Our favourite Chinese literacy apps are iHuman Chinese Hong En Literacy (洪恩识字) and Wukong Literacy (悟空数学). Both of iHuman app and Wukong Literacy app are designed for children who have a sound spoken understanding of Mandarin, and are starting to learn characters/words in Simplified Chinese form. These are great apps for learning Chinese characters. This reviewContinue reading “App comparison: iHuman Hongen Chinese (洪恩识字) versus Wukong Literacy (悟空识字) for learning Chinese characters”