Archive for April, 2010
According to the US State Department, Chinese ranks among the toughest languages in the world for English speakers, requiring 2200 hours of study for minimal proficiency.
Therefore, it makes perfect sense for learners to start with the simplest Chinese characters, for example, pictograms, which are stylised drawings of the objects they represent (see How to help children learn Chinese characters? (Method 2))
Besides pictograms, a lot of ideograms are the simplest Chinese characters. Also called simple indicatives or simple ideographs, ideograms express an abstract idea through an iconic form. They either modify existing pictographs iconically, or are direct iconic illustrations.
In another word, ideograms are more like graphical representations of abstract ideas.
Bringing up Baby Bilingual, chinese for children, chinese language for young children, Chinese learning for babies, How to help children learn Chinese characters? | 
April 30, 2010 1:39 pm | 
Comments (1) Overall, My First Book of Mandarin Chinese Words offers a good start to expose Chinese language to young bilingual learners.
Book review, Bringing up Baby Bilingual, chinese for children, chinese language for young children, Chinese learning for babies, teaching young children chinese | April 24, 2010 7:14 pm | Comments (1) People say that “good broth will resurrect the dead,” and that “broth to a cook is voice to a singer”. And the best broth is home-made. I love to make my own chicken broth, because I could be fully in charge of what was in it. With broth homemade, I could totally avoid MSGs, add the right amount of salt and other seasonings and trim out most of the fat.
But sometimes I don’t mind to use a little bit canned broth just to add more flavors, like this recipe. The success of this velvety soup relies on a rich broth made by simmering a full-flavored stewing hen in chicken broth. The result is known as double broth.
Get children eat vegetables | April 15, 2010 8:39 pm | Comments (0) Now you know how to say vegetables and fruits starting with the letter o (see How to say olive, onion, nectarine and orange in Chinese?) , which vegetables and fruits start with the letter p? Here they come, pea, potato, peach and pear.
chinese language for young children, Chinese learning for babies, How to name vegetables & fruits in Chinese?, learn chinese for free | April 7, 2010 7:06 pm | Comments (0) At month 21, DD’s desire to be more independent was not only displayed by her physical abilities to do things, but by being comfortable to be left alone.
As to her language development, she began to say few words, some in English and some in Chinese, depending on whichever was simpler to pronounce.
Baby Growth | April 3, 2010 6:22 pm | Comments (0) 
