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China Beats U.S. for Korean Students Seeing Career Ticket
China visa changes could attract job-hunting IT pros • The Register
$85,000 - $95,000 for PR Person fluent in Chinese
Wanted: Temp Attorneys With Foreign-Language Skills
Language lessons languish in Aussie schools
Nice Why Learn Chinese Editorial
K-8 foreign language demand up
Beijing Nigerian Pop Star
Forget Mandarin. Latin is the key to success?
Bilingual Education Pays Off, New Documentary Says
Au revoir for study of French, German?
Au revoir for study of French, German? - Pittsburgh Post Gazette The growth in Chinese is much higher than in German, French, and Spanish. What was left out of the article unfortunately was a comparison of the number studying Mandarin in the US. I like this quote: "I don't want to disparage France. It's a lovely country. And we have a lot of history with France," said Mr. Schwartz. "But I think there is probably no civilization with as deep and rich a cultural heritage as China."Labels: Why Learn Chinese
Top 10 Reasons not to Learn Chinese
Top Ten Excuses for not Learning Chinese - We are native speakers, but our kids refuse to speak Chinese! They refuse to speak to us in Chinese, and want McDonalds to eat!
Some Children, unfortunately, who have native speaking Chinese parents, refuse to learn Chinese. This is often done in the teenager years as a method of defiance and establish their power as they become adults. With defiance issues at that age, consider sending them to a full immersion environment. Our daughter was starting to speak Chinese with English Grammar, which frustrated my wife. The more frustrated my wife became, the less my daughter spoke Chinese. My daughter got to spend a summer with cousins in Taiwan, and nobody would speak English to her. Within a day, she was even speaking some Taiwanese, not to mention the Mandarin Chinese.
- I am so worried about my kids Learning English and Learning Chinese will hurt their English.
The truth is scientific studies have shown that children have an amazing ability to learn more than one language, such as Chinese. If you are a native born speaker, have one parent speak only English and the other Chinese. This way the kids are forced to learn and speak both. My wife speaks Mandarin Chinese to our daughter and I English, and it's worked out great. We have not had the issue of having her mix up the English and Chinese. Their is so much English in the US, especially when they start school, that not getting enough English is not an issue. I have seen students who only speak Chinese at home, start public school and become the best in their class at English and want to become a writer. They are also taking Chinese as their foreign language in High School. Kids have an amazing ability to Learn a foreign language, as long as they are given the opportunity.
- It's easier to just speak English to their kids. Why rock the boat and they are doing so well academically anyway!
Kids have an ability to quickly learn a second language without an accent that adults don't. There are so many adults I have met who are learning Chinese in College. It would have been a great favor if their parents had them learn Chinese when they were younger.
- Learning Chinese is a waste of time and is too hard!
Some US born Children and even their native parents believe this. There are many reasons on why to Learn to Speak Chinese. Studies have shown that being truly bilingual can help a child develop their brain in new ways and make it easier to learn other languages. As well as understanding the Chinese cultures better, such as why the number 8 is a lucky number in Mandarin, and 4 is not.
- It's not fun like other studies in the US!
Usually kids have this belief. And it takes time away from their other studies and video games. Usually parents think their children have better things to do, and everybody knows English anyway around the world!
- Learning Chinese Characters is too hard.
There is Learning Chinese Software and some great books that make learning Chinese characters easier.
- Neither my wife or I speak Chinese! There is no native speaker at home.
Many parents are finding online tutors to help them. They are also hiring tutors to visit them. Some parents are even learning Chinese with their kids. Many curriculum and other Learning Chinese tools are specifically designed for non native language learners of Chinese.
- I am worried about my kids hating my guts when they grow older for forcing them to Learn Chinese.
It's important to work with your kids so they are not being forced to Learn Chinese, but actually enjoy learning it. Picking the right curriculum that matches their learning style is very important.
- I don't have Time! We have Piano, Soccer, and more!
Time management is always a challenge with young kids. Prioritization and asking your self, and I doing the right work. Creating a weekly schedule and a dedicated time for Learning Chinese helps. Doing a time sheet for a few weeks to see where you time goes can also help. By starting a foreign language early, you will actually be helping your child in high school to give them more time, instead of learning a foreign language from scratch.
- I have no idea where to buy Learning Chinese Materials from!
I can help there. ChildBook.com has a full range of Learning Chinese materials. And lots of free advice and tips are available!
Labels: learn chinese, Why Learn Chinese
Why do business in China?
A very good article from the Economist
Schumpeter -The panda has two faces. Basically doing business in China is a pain. See Google and Rio Tinto, but the opportunity is huge. The Chinese car market is now greater than the US and China's economy is still growing at 10% a year. 75% of foreign companies surveyed in China are making money there, and half had higher margins in China than they did globally. Two rules to remember: - There is a negative history of foreign involvement in China for the last 150 or so years. Opium War, Boxer Rebellion, Rape of Nanjing, etc. ie the Chinese feel that foreigners have repeatedly mistreated them. And there is a lot of Chinese nationalism and pride in their history. Per the Economist senior executives need to spend 30-40% of their time in China smoothing things out with regulators and local officials.
- Never abandon your principles for short term gain.
Labels: Why Learn Chinese
Experience of Learning Chinese
Since people are focusing more on having experiences that last a lifetime, verses consumption, how does Learning Chinese fit in this? Teaching your kids Chinese is a gift that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. It will give them a different prospective on life, expanding their career possibilities as well as expanding and exercising different areas of their brains. It's also beneficial for adults to learn Chinese (Unfortunately, Childbook’s primary focus is on Learning Chinese materials for children). As you learn Chinese, you will also be learning about the Chinese culture. Language has a huge impact upon any given culture, and learning Chinese can give your child first hand experience of the intricacies required to be successful when interacting with the Chinese culture or even other Asian cultures. The main requirement of learning Chinese is not materials, but rather time and dedication. One doesn't learn a language by spending money, but rather by taking the time to learn the words, sentence structures, and by understanding the culture. Don't get me wrong here, although the right materials can definitely ease your path when learning Chinese, the time, effort and dedication required to truly master the language is what really makes an attempt to learn Chinese successful (or God forbid, unsuccessful). More on why to Learn Chinese. The article that got me thinking on this topic, Americans Doing More, Buying Less, a Poll Finds - NY Times. Labels: Why Learn Chinese
Why Learning Chinese Matters
Why Learn Chinese - Job Security
I had breakfast with a supplier this morning and she mentioned another reason on why to Learn Chinese. Her husband works in the Financial Industry and speaks Chinese, and because of this has kept his job while other people around him have not. Only negative is now my wife may be expecting me to improve my Chinese beyond the good enough to be laughed at by native Chinese speakers :-) Labels: Why Learn Chinese
Learning Chinese - Why Learn Chinese
An article from Scotland, Language teaching 'lets down Scotland mentions a major reason on why to learn Chinese is economic reasons, which got me to thinking so I updated my list. 10 Reasons to Learn Chinese1. China is emerging from a period of stagnation and again taking it's place as one of the great powers of the world. China currently has the second largest economy in the world. To take advantage of this huge economic shift and opportunities, learning to speak Chinese is a great way to give your children an advantage in the increasingly competitive business world. Not everyone in the world speaks English. 2. China has become the factory of the world and is moving up the technology food chain. Look at the balance of trade between the US and China. Per Nobel Prize Winner Robert Mundell China will become the factory of the world, in my opinion it already has. Now products are built, as well as designed in China. 3. Chinese culture is over 5000 years old. By learning the Chinese Language, Chinese you will learn another culture. Learning a language gives you a better understanding through the grammar and even how the words are derived of the culture behind them. There is a lot of Chinese Poetry that lose some meaning when translated. 4. China is a huge export market for the US. 1/5th of the world's population lives in China. Overseas Chinese dominate the economies of many countries in Asia, and speaking Mandarin gives you an edge in doing business with them. Countries with large overseas Chinese populations include Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. China has become one of the largest trading partners with the US. Over 16,000 US companies sell products in China. Trade is not only from China to the US, but also the other way. $41.8 Billion in 2006. 5. The world is becoming a global economy. Per a famous book, the world is becoming flat so communication, ideas, and goods are traveling faster and faster between countries including the US and China. Learning Chinese gives you the opportunity to take advantage of this change. It's a great ice breaker when working with people from China if you can say a few words in Chinese. This helps especially when dealing with business people on the other side of the world via conference call. 6. Learning another language gives you another viewpoint. The word he uses, that is ll of meaning, is Kaleidoscope. It does seem to help mentally as you develop new areas of your brain. It also helps as people age. I once had a fun talk with a programmer explaining how learning a new computer language helped keep his mind fresh. It will also help you when ordering Chinese food. 7. Learning Chinese will give a student a competitive advantage. Chinese is the fastest growing Foreign Language being taught in US schools. I like Mayor Daly's quote: "We want to give our young people opportunities to advance ... and [Chinese] is a great opportunity to survive in today's economy." 8. Mandarin Chinese is the most taught foreign language after English in Japan. If the Japanese are learning it, shouldn't people in the US? Mandarin Chinese is the most used language on the Internet. 9. Chinese has become very useful in government. The Austrian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.. The US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geitner studied Chinese and attended Beijing University. The former Utah Governor, now Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman is fluent in Chinese (he learned it as a missionary in Taiwan and has an adopted child from China). 10. Family Reasons - If you have relatives who don't speak English, but only Chinese, it's so great to be able to speak with them in Chinese. I can't tell you how proud my wife is that my daughter got selected to be the announcer this year for her Chinese Choir! Labels: Why Learn Chinese
Why Help your Kids be Bi-lingual?
I've been reading " The Bilingual Edge" (by Kendall King and Alison Mackey )and I must say I find the book very helpful. The text is easy to read, as though the authors are having a conversation with you. Interesting to me are the reasons they cited about the advantages your child will get by being bi-lingual (English-Chinese, for example.) It has been found that bi-lingual kids are: - Smarter. More creative, intellectually flexible
- Socially open.
It turns out bi-lingual children are subjected to more brain activity as they learn two different sets of language. And since their brains are more active, it is but natural for bilingual kids to be more creative and flexible. It was found that bilingual kids can come up with more different answers to problem-solving questions. Not surprisingly, even in test scores and academic performance, it has been seen that bilinguals tend to outperform monolinguals. Note that this is more true for children who have an advanced knowledge of another language, rather than those who know how only how to greet and count in a second language. (However, the latter still tend to be "smarter" than monolinguals. ) As for the social benefits, bilinguals are more understanding of people of the secondary language, and people of other cultures as well. Knowing another language opens their eyes and their hearts that people are different and people should take time to listen to each other. For kids, it is easier to learn about one's heritage if songs, rhymes and stories are understood in the native language. Later on, these children will be the same ones who will reach out to people of different groups. They will also be the link to the next generation's appreciation of one's culture. Either way, the intellectual and social boost being bilingual brings are characteristics we aspire for our children. Teaching your kids to be bilingual is a win-win experience for the child, for your family, community and even the global community. Bilingual Edge shares more about why, when and how to teach your child a second language. Or see more parenting-bilinguals books. Labels: bilingual education, parenting, Why Learn Chinese
Cute Comment on Learning Chinese
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