or to introduce them to the basics of the
language. There are hundreds of online
lessons to choose from – from numbers
and nationalities to tones and grammar.
Just select what you need and play the
same clip again and again, until the
information finally sticks.
Just listening to Mandarin in
between lessons can help keep the
brain switched on to the language,
and there are a plethora of language
courses and podcasts that can be
downloaded onto all sorts of devices.
These range from formal, structured
lessons, to songs, to more informal
snippets of conversation. One app that
takes a less conventional approach
is Rapid Chinese from Earworms.
Described as a “musical brain
trainer”, this app repeats key phrases
and vocabulary to specially composed
music – all you have to do is listen a
few times and, in theory, just as you
remember a catchy tune on the radio,
you will remember not only the new
phrases but also the authentic accent.
Keeping a language recording in the
background when kids are a captive
audience – such as when they are
tidying their bedrooms or on a long
car journey – can help keep their
learning alive.
Child’s play
Much to many a parent’s horror, some
children and their electronic devices
and how some of these elements
can be applied to a child’s learning.
Researchers have isolated some clear
characteristics of a successful game
–
including an ability to move up
levels, leader boards, strategy, clear
goals and progress indicators – and
these elements are now being applied
to games to help children learn
Mandarin.
Apps that have sprung up
with some of the classic gaming
components that children find so
captivating include Hanzi Warrior,
Mandarin Madness, Chinese 4 Kids
Animal Kingdom and Catch Me If
You Can. If online dressing-up games
are more your child’s cup of tea, there
is even an app for that: Li in Beijing,
where you dress the digital paper
doll and learn the words for each
item of clothing as you go. Blurring
the lines between entertainment and
education, these games make study far
less painful for the next generation of
screen-dependent global citizens.
Online memory games, like
Memrise, also use some of the gaming
strategies, such as clear goals and
progress indicators, to help make
There are
hundreds of
online lessons
to choose from
–
from numbers
and nationalities
to tones and
grammar.
can rarely be prised apart. But choose
some game apps carefully, and those
devices might not seem quite so bad
after all. In recent years, there has
been lots of research into what makes
video games so appealing to children
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