Situation #4.7: Pinyin and flashcards are easy tools to use, but I am not sure whether they are effective.Reality: Pinyin (a romanization system that helps instruct Chinese characters by representing the sounds in alphabetic terms) can be easier to grasp, making a child more inclined to start learning and less likely to shun away from the first sight of characters. One thing you need to take notice, however, is whether there is confusion if your child is simultaneously learning the English phonetic alphabet at the same time. Pinyin may also help the child to read sooner since he can then put together the sounds and figure out the unrecognized Chinese characters during reading. With that said, pinyin can only help a child if he is orally proficient in the Mandarin dialect. The main disadvantage of pinyin, or any phonetic assistance, is that it takes away the urgency to recognize characters. Hence, a child may eventually lag far behind in character recognition and rely too heavily on pinyin alone. He may thus become less competent in reading text that consists solely of characters. Therefore, it is important to take notice and evaluate periodically that pinyin is used only as a guide to pronunciation and perhaps a stepping stone toward reading in characters, but never an end to itself. On another note, however, pinyin can be used in character typing on a computer, but it is not the only method.

Flashcards, as we refer to them, are a set of cards to teach Chinese characters. It usually includes a clear, large print of a Chinese character written on each card along with a picture that shows what it means. There is sometimes an English translation on the back or the front as well. These can easily be found in educational stores, especially in Asia. A Chinese character, however, is already a pictorial representation, often of its own meaning. Having a picture associated with the character may create unnecessary distractions and may, as a result, hinder the progress of character recognition. Showing only the Chinese characters is the most effective method. Actually, it can be quite enjoyable for the child because the composition of the characters is interesting and meaningful in itself.

Situation #4.6: My child can read most of the books in Chinese school. I wonder what other books I can find to help her more.Reality: Many of the required books in a Chinese curriculum are readers, which contain words that are at the children’s appropriate reading levels. They are constructed based on a set of vocabulary words that the children have just learned. While this is desirable so that they can gain the confidence in reading Chinese books right away, they should be encouraged to read great books that are standalone literary works by real writers, which offer better value and meaning to their lives.

If you have already searched for these great works, you will probably notice that compared to books in English, there is a considerable lack of children’s Chinese books that exist in the world that are written for enjoyment alone, without any didactic messages that are all too common in most storylines. You may want to try Taiwanese publications and translated materials from Western books at libraries and internet stores. Wholesome comic books and children’s magazines can be wonderful alternatives.

Everyone may have a different opinion about what a great book is, but you need to be aware that not all books are equally effective. Learning Chinese is just like learning any other language. It is a by-product of wanting to use it for some meaningful purpose. In order to learn effectively, the best route would be to make the meaningful purpose substantially desirable, so much that your child would want to learn the words without any motivation other than the interest alone.

Therefore, the books (or any media like videos) need to spark an utmost interest in the child, especially concerning those that are in Chinese, where the selection is already limited. You may look for those that are of artistic pictures, not cookie-cut-outs (all people have the same face or smile; outlined figures with even fill-in colors; computer-generated 3-D characters and sceneries; recurrent pictures on different pages). The language should not be didactic (obviously teaching a moral lesson), but rather full of expression from the language itself. The story line should be dramatic and lively, and it should speak to your child in a personal way, even if the topic is foreign to her. Every child is different in personality and need, and every family has different values and beliefs, but these are some guidelines in the selection of Chinese books for your child.