If you make a child write a Chinese character 10 times in one day, he will forget the word a week later. He also will not know how to use it in his compositions. However, if you let him read Chinese story books regularly, he reads the word in many different sentences which is the best way to learn how to use the word. He comes across the word everyday as he reads, after one or two weeks, the word will be retained in his long term memory and he will never forget it.
Many parents think that kids can learn Chinese by doing assessment books. This is a misconception. Chinese assessment books are useful only to gauge a child's standard of Chinese, they are not meant for kids to learn Chinese. Kids should learn by reading good Chinese story books.
A child who has read many Chinese story books will have no problem writing compositions, he naturally knows what words to use and how to form good sentence structures. In Singapore, Chinese composition becomes critical at P3, and if we want our kids to be well prepared, they must have read many Chinese story books by P2.
The result of forcing children to do tons of Chinese assessment books and to practice writing the same words over and over again, or by memorizing model compositions, is that once kids complete their last Chinese exams in secondary school, they will never want to read anything in Chinese again. I know a lecturer, age 30+, who studied Higher Chinese in school. When working in China, I found out that he could not even read shop signs or road signs written in Chinese.
The authors of the bestselling books 好妈妈胜过好老师 (尹建莉) and 四五快读 (杨其铎) both emphasized the importance of reading as many good books as possible. Reading extensively is the key to success. If we train kids to read good Chinese story books from a young age, they will continue to enjoy reading Chinese novels after they grow up and Chinese will always be a useful language to them for their entire life.
Before the age of 6, kids should read as many picture books as possible. Check out this page for a list of wonderful picture books for kids: How to raise a bilingual child
By 7 years old, kids should start to read chapter books. I know that many kids reject reading books with too many small Chinese words on a page. Parents can help by looking for books that have bigger words and some pictures so that kids don't find them too daunting to read. The best way to encourage kids to read, is to ask them to read every word out loud and help them with words that they don't know. You should aim to get your child to read out loud to you (do not read to them) for at least 30 minutes every day, even on weekends and holidays. If you can persist, your child will improve very quickly.
Both my kids start to read long chapter books in P1, thanks to the excellent 四五快读 series of books. If you have not been using these books, and your child is already in P1, it is not too late. Your child should be able to complete these books within 6 months. In fact, the 四五快读 books are all we need to give children the confidence to read long novels. After children have completed these books, they should read as many good Chinese books as possible. This is the best way to learn Chinese.
I found quite a number of good books in our National Library which can help primary school kids to transition from picture books to chapter books. All the books listed below can be found in our National Library. To search for the books, go to http://www.nlb.gov.sg/, click Search Catalogue, Advanced Search. For books with Hanyu Pinyin, I advise parents to cover up the Hanyu Pinyin like I did : Reading long Chinese novels by 7 years old. Hanyu Pinyin distracts the child from the Chinese characters and will significantly slow down their speed of learning Chinese words.
杨红樱 is currently the most popular writer of children's books in China. Her books are beautifully written, and she uses many 成语 and good vocabulary on every page. The library has a large collection of her books. The following book is very suitable for P1 kids :
小男生杜歌飞
My P1 boy enjoyed reading this book. There is another book 小女生金贝贝, about a girl who is the classmate of 杜歌飞. Both are highly recommended for P1 kids.
The following series of books with Hanyu Pinyin, all written by 杨红樱, are suitable for lower primary kids : 没有尾巴的狼, 我是马小跳, 最美的一课, 仙女蜜儿, 亲爱的笨笨猪, 金瓜汤银瓜汤, 最后的晚餐, 沙漠运动会, 流浪狗和流浪猫, 一只会笑的猫, 小蛙人游大海, 森林谜案
Search for Keywords : 杨红樱
For kids in upper primary, I highly recommend the 笑猫日记 series of books by 杨红樱. These books are very popular with kids in China. My girl has been reading these books since P1, and she enjoys reading these books very much. 杨红樱 writes beautifully and she truly understands how children think. However, many kids from P4 to P6 may not be able to read these books independently because there are many words which are not in the MOE syllabus. I advise parents to read these books with your kids, help them with words that they don't know, and they will develop a love for these books. 杨红樱 is currently the richest Chinese writer in China and there is a good reason why kids love her books.
笑猫日记 : 塔顶上的猫
Here is another book suitable for P1 kids, written by 王淑芬:
There is one book for each year from P1 to P6 in this series, all books are very well written and funny : 一年级鲜事多, 二年级问题多, 三年级花样多, 四年级烦恼多, 五年级意见多, 六年级怪事多
There is one book for each year from P1 to P6 in this series, all books are very well written and funny : 一年级鲜事多, 二年级问题多, 三年级花样多, 四年级烦恼多, 五年级意见多, 六年级怪事多Search for Author: Wang, Shufen
A parent jedamum recommended books by 张秋生. I found some of his books in the library. His books are quite fun and easy to read, suitable for P1 to P3 kids. The words are big and there are not too many words on a page. Click on the photos to read the words :
玫瑰山谷里的强盗
Other books by 张秋生 : 浴缸里的泡泡熊, 野葫芦大院的巫婆, 十二个月的小巴掌童话, 顶呱呱的呱呱先生, 爱打扮的豹先生, 蓝天里的蜗牛, 有魔力的怪草莓, 哭鼻子的灰小狼, 打喷嚏的兔子
The following series of books is also written by 张秋生. There is no Hanyu Pinyin, but there are many pictures in between the words which make it more appealing for kids.
奇古拉国王的超长面条
Books in the series : 奇古拉国王的超长面条, 奇古拉国王和胖奶妈, 奇古拉国王和女巫姨妈, 奇古拉国王的猪朋鸡友, 奇古拉国王的趣事儿Search for Author: Zhang, Qiusheng
The following series of books, 童话般的公主们, should appeal to girls. Suitable for P1 to P3 kids.
爱说"我不要"的公主
Other books in the series : 爱听恐怖故事的公主, 不像公主的公主, 骄傲的公主, 梦想当海盗的公主, 喜欢恶作剧的公主, 只关心自己的公主, 听了太多公主故事的公主, 被施了魔法的公主
Search for Keywords: 童话般的公主们
孙幼军 is a famous author of children's books in China. His books are humorous and easy to read. The following series of books are suitable for P1 to P3 kids : 小母鸡嘀嘀咕咕、小狼请客、胖小猪的春天,狮子大王和太阳
Search for Author : Sun, Youjun
I also found the 神奇树屋 (Magic Treehouse) series of books in the library. This series is originally written in English and translated to Chinese. Search for Author : Mary Pope Osborne
Each book includes the Chinese version first, then the English version. The original English version is too simple for my kids, but the Chinese version is quite challenging for P1 to P3 kids. My P1 boy has just finished reading one book, 与海豚共舞, and he enjoyed it. There are a total of 34 books in this series, and each book covers an interesting topic and kids will learn a good amount of general knowledge from these books.
Here's a series for kids who loves small animals, suitable for kids P3 and above.
Books in the series : 风雪中迷途, 和你一起回家, 孤零零的阿尔菲, 不想再流浪Search for Author : Holly Webb
The Geronimo Stilton series of English books is very popular with kids. This series is originally written in Italian and translated to English. I did not buy the English version for my kids, because I find that the Chinese version is better written. The Chinese books may be difficult for kids below P3 because there are many challenging words. These are more suitable for kids above P3. Search for Keywords : Geronimo Stilton
For upper primary kids, I highly recommend books written by 张之路, another well known author of children's books in China. His books, like 霹雳贝贝, are highly imaginative and well written.
霹雳贝贝
Other books by 张之路: 魔表, 非法智慧, 羚羊木雕, 小猪大侠莫跑跑Search for Author: Zhang, Zhilu
Note:
When looking for books in the National Library, their website may show that the books is not on loan, but you may not be able to find the book on the shelf. You can reserve the book and collect it at a branch near you at $1.55 per book.
15 comments:
Hi Tamarind,
Sorry for the late thank you for replying to my concerns and questions about whether memorising compositions is the way to go. I didn't have the time to go back to visit your village until now.
Very thankful for your latest entry on encouraging parents to perserve with reading books with children. It gave me more courage to work with my children on that direction.
Before I got to read your replies and latest entry, I was so 'fearful' to just rely on reading everyday and not touch those model compositions and getting them to memorise vocabularies and phrases. I was afraid how my children were going to catch-up with the pace or requirements from school. How are they going to expand their vocabularies by just reading when they just read to get the storyline and not pick out the words or phrases used or how the sentences are structured.
Just not too long ago, another parent told me again that sometimes there is no choice but getting the children to memorise is the fastest way to do it. Memorise vocabularies and phrases and guide the child to use it and with time he/she will learn. By the time wait for the child to learn to pick up words from reading, how to see any results quickly.
Your sharing has told me that I must not rush and expect to see immediate results. This is a long-term thing and the important thing is to nurture the child to love the language and reading and not detest it when he or she is older.
I can't thank you enough for your generosity in sharing.
My son hates to read. If I do not get him to read to me, he will not even pick a book to read. When he reads aloud, it is in a staccato manner. Whilst reading, he sometimes misses out words. His 'the', sometimes would be read with 'a'. Should I correct him each time he misses a word or reads wrongly and if he did not read the 's' and 'ed' at the end?
Did you encounter times when child does not want you to cover the hanyupinyin? What do you tell your child when he/she detest? My son totally loaf this. Whenever he doesn't know the words, he would very conveniently want to look at the pinyin without pausing to try to recall the words. Should I just allow him to do that?
Thanks again for your advises.
Hi Tamarind,
Wow.. Thats a long list of books u have shared, thks! My girl can read pretty well in Chinese now (thks for ur advise) but she still prefers to pick up a English book when comes to reading by herself.
Does ur children still spend most of their time on playing since they r in pri level now?
By the way, did u borrow these books from the lib too?
Cheers.. Melody
Hi Charmaine,
When a child reads books written by a good author who has sold millions of books, for example, 杨红樱, every page is a "model composition" which is many times better than model compositions written by primary school children.
If parents can spend at least half an hour everyday listening to the child read out loud from a Chinese book, then we can make sure that he does not skip over words/phrases that he does not know.
My boy used to miss out words and even sentences when he was reading out loud. I always point to every word as he reads, and I always correct him if he reads a word wrongly. Now he has no problem.
My boy complained when I first covered the hanyu pinyin. I praised him every time he can read a paragraph without the need to look at the hanyu pinyin. Everyday after he has finished reading out loud to me, I cheer and clap loudly and tell him that I am so proud of him. Now he is very comfortable reading books without hanyu pinyin. In fact, he is very motivated to try to recall each word without any help from me.
I believe that children love to be praised and they will be motivated to learn when we give them lots of encouragement. It will take time for them to get used to reading out loud, and we have to persevere.
As parents, we do not want to keep pushing our kids all the way to P6 or secondary school. When kids are able to read Chinese books independently and confidently, they will be motivated to learn Chinese on their own.
Hi Melody,
Yes I borrowed most of the books listed in this page from the library. I own many Yang Hong Ying books.
My kids still have quite a lot of free time in primary school, except that once in a while their teachers may give them more than 10 pages of homework and they may take more than 1 hour to complete. Now they prefer to read on their own instead of playing with their toys.
Glad to know that your girl is reading well in Chinese :)
Hi Tamarind,
Thanks again for your advices and sharing. I am motivated to perserve on and thanks for the reminder to praise the children.
Hi Tamarind, can u advise me when my son is reading he does not want to be interrupted and check up new words. But he understands and enjoys the Chinese books that recommended you ESP 笑猫日记。he is in P5. Should I just leave him alone? I am afraid he is not learning ESP when he is not taking any tuition and spent most of the time reading. His Chinese result is only about 70%.
Hi Helena,
When children read on their own, it is very likely that they will skip over difficult words or phrases because it is too time consuming to find out the meaning. Personally I think that the best way to learn is to ask a child to read every word out loud from a book (even a long novel), and help him with words that he does not know. That is what I have been doing with my kids and their progress is amazing.
If the child is not willing to read out loud, then we can only encourage him to learn new words by looking up dictionaries. I have just written a new page :
iPad/iPhone app for learning Chinese
This app is very easy to use and may motivate kids to look up words on their own.
I have the whole series of 四五快读 but have no idea how to use it.
And my Chinese is not too good to read all the instructions.
When you have time, is it possible for you to translate and share how to use the books? Thanks a lot!
Hi Tamarind,
May I ask, did you your children read English and Chinese storybooks for 30 mins each everyday?
Is it necessary to increase the duration as the child is older and if child is very weak in the language? Daughter is P3 now.
Do you stop to ask questions about what was read from time to time? Should I also just explain those words or sentences that I think would be difficult for child to understand or just wait for the child to ask and him/her read on and not interrupt?
Did you let your children read books by Enid Blyton?
Thank you for your advices and sharing your experiences again.
Hi Karelessly_in_Love,
OK I will try to share in blog when I have time, but I am not able to fully translate the 30 pages, I need to write to the author to ask her permission first.
Hi Charmaine,
Yes I try to ask them to read in both English and Chinese to me everyday. When they have a lot of homework from school, I will ask them to read at least one page from a Chinese storybook because their English is already very good.
I think for a P3 child who is weak in the language, it will be beneficial for her to read at least 1 hour, if she does not mind. If she is relunctant to read out loud, start with 30 mins first, then slowly increase the duration, while giving her lots of encouragement. Most importantly, find a book that she likes to read. For example, look for books about girls who are the same age as her so she can identify with them.
I do not stop to ask question when my kids are reading. Actually they often ask me questions when they don't understand certain parts of the book. When there are words/phrases which I think are difficult for their level, I will quickly explain even before they ask and then let them move on. In this way they fully understand what they are reading and they don't feel that they are being interrupted.
I have a few Enid Blyton books but my kids don't really like to read them.
When asking kids to read out loud, I do not recommend Enid Blyton's books which I personally think are quite monotonous.
I highly recommend these wonderful children's classics :
The importance of reading books
Hi Tamarind,
First of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity to share about your method in teaching your 2 children to become bilingual. You really have inspired me deeply. I cannot agree more with you that academic mark is not everything, teaching them to love learning is far more important!
I have 3 daughters aged 8, 10 and 12. Yes, my eldest daughter is going to have her PSLE exam and I am very nervous about her Chinese. She is not interested in Chinese at all and not reading any Chinese story book. However, she is a affluent reader in English and a serious English book worm. So far, she is passing her MT exams but I know that's not enough. I want to nurture her to love Chinese as much as English. Do you have any advice how I can start? I am thinking about using Si Wu Kuai Du but worried she will find it too lame... (she is at this age now..)
My 10 year old is even worst. She hates Chinese (I feel like a failure sometimes). She failed her SA2 in P3 and her teacher suggested me to start her revision from P2 to P3... Do you think I can use Si Wu Kuai Du to boost her vocabulary?
I will definitely start Si Wu Kuai Du for my 8 year old daughter and I hope that I can persevere to complete it and help her to catch up.
I look forward to your reply!
Best regards and God bless you!
JYu
Hi JYu,
For your 12 year old daughter, you can try to get her to read the 笑猫日记 series of books, or 女生日记, all written by 杨红樱. 女生日记 is about a 12 year old girl and should appeal to her. You can start by asking her to read a few pages out loud to you everyday, then you can quickly help her with words that she does not know. Children do not like to read Chinese books because there may be many words which they cannot read, if parents can help them, they will be more motivated to read. After she finished reading the 杨红樱, get her the
wonderful 魔女宅急便 books about a 13 year old witch girl living independently. You need to focus on looking for Chinese books that she will love to read.
For your 10 year old daughter, you can use Si Wu Kuai Du, but start from book 3 instead. She should be able to progress very quickly to book 6. Then move on to 小女生金贝贝, 没有尾巴的狼, 仙女蜜儿, 亲爱的笨笨猪, etc by 杨红樱.
Make sure that your daughters spend at least 30 minutes to 1 hour reading out loud everyday. Note that you should not make them write or check the dictionary every time they encounter a word that they do not know. Just tell them how to read it, and quickly move on. They should improve quickly. You need to persist everyday, even on weekends and public holidays.
Besides reading, also look for good Chinese cartoons, movies, TV series for them.
Hi Tamarind,
Thanks for your very fast reply with such detailed suggestion. I will try them all out and will let you know how it go.
Do you have any good Chinese Cartoons, movies and TV series to recommend? :)
Cheers,
JYu
Hi JYu,
My kids like 喜羊羊和灰太狼 and the Doraemon series. They also like the Chinese versions of the Hayao Miyazaki movies like Ponyo, Kiki Delivery service, etc.
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