Details

“EasySteps to Chinese for Preschool and Kindergarten” is specifically designedfor non-Chinese background children, who are learning Chinese as asecond/foreign language. The series is suitable for preschool children aged 4to 6.

This seriesserves as an “enlightenment course” for the children who use “Easy Steps to Chinese”. It aims to plantthe seeds of the idea that “Chinese is not difficult” and “I like learningChinese” in the minds of young children, laying the foundation for theirsystematic learning of Chinese in primary and secondary schools.

The goal ofthis series is to help children naturally acquire Chinese pronunciation, becomefamiliar with Chinese character writing, and master the most basic words andsentence patterns in a relaxed and enjoyable environment. Furthermore, thisseries also focuses on cultivating their interest in learning Chinese,fostering a positive attitude, and developing good writing habits.

This seriesconsists of two levels, with each level including a textbook and a workbook. Inaddition, it comes with PowerPoint slides, word cards, downloadable worksheetsfor tracing characters, and various digital teaching resources.

Keeping thecharacteristics of young children learning languages in mind, the seriesintegrates materials and resources, such as word cards, picture cards, andinteractive game cards, with their functions while compiling the textbooks andworkbooks, making it convenient for teachers to plan and organize classroom activities.

The textbookfocuses on teaching basic language knowledge of Chinese, such as Chinesenumbers, simple characters, simple words, and short sentences, while theworkbook provides diverse, age-appropriate, and interesting exercises andactivities in order to consolidate the content of the textbook. The recurrenceof words and repetitive exercises are designed accordingly.

There are four unitsin each book: numbers, my family, daily life and school life. The courseprogresses gradually, helping children understand and master vocabulary andshort sentences while cultivating their ability to communicate using the Chinesethey have learned on the topics in the course.

After years of studying relevant second language acquisitiontheories and gaining insight from the experiments and results of teaching youngchildren Chinese and English, the author has developed a new approach toteaching Chinese as a second/foreign language to young children.

Based on the results of the successful teaching experiments,this series has been developed, ensuring that the teaching materials arescientific, systematic, and practical, while aligning with classroom teaching principles.

The course is designed with reference to the preschool educationguidelines of China and other countries. It covers five themes: language,mathematics, society, science and art, with the hope to inspire children’scuriosity about the world around them, guiding them to explore confidently andexposing them to learn some basic knowledge. The course also aims to cultivatechildren’s observation skills, hands-on skills, and develop their independentand logical thinking abilities.

Starting with simple characters is an easy and effective way tolearn Chinese for young children. Mastering a certain number of simplecharacters will pave the way for learning compound characters in later stages.

The rhymes, created with the newly learned simple characters andnew words from each lesson, not only can strengthen the repetition and practiceof vocabulary and language points but also cultivate children’s sense ofChinese language and rhythm.

Systematic study and repeated practice of Chinese numbers willlay a solid foundation for memorizing the times table in elementary school.

The course alsoemphasizes the importance of cultivating children’s correct pen-holding postureand promotes the development of arm, wrist, and finger muscles throughactivities such as connecting dots to form straight lines, zigzag lines andarcs, as well as tracing and writing Chinese characters. This approach ensuresthat children can write Chinese characters neatly from the very beginning.

Ms. Yamin Ma has an M.Ed. in Curriculum Design and Instruction from Queen’s University, Canada. She used to teach English at both secondary and university levels in Shanghai (China), Hong Kong (China) and Kingston (Canada) for over 10 years and has taught Chinese at primary and secondary levels in Hong Kong (China) for more than 20 years. Ms. Ma has been the Head of the Chinese Department in Island School (located in Hong Kong, China) for over two decades and has taught IGCSE, AS/A-Levels and IB Language B courses.  

This series is specifically designed for preschool children.Generally speaking, a four-year old child can use Book 1 (including 1A and 1B) anda five-year old child can use Book 2 (including 2A and 2B).

If there is a 30-minute Chinese lesson every day, most childrencan finish one book in one academic year.

After completing “EasySteps to Chinese for Preschool & Kindergarten” of this series, childrencan continue with “Easy Steps to Chinesefor Kids” (2nd Edition).

Since the content ofthis series is continuous and ongoing, teachers can flexibly adjust theteaching pace according to children’s Chinese proficiency.