Recommended book for teaching kids chinese?

[yedafu]

Hi evryone i looking for a recommended book/s to teach children(forth-fifth-six grade) chinese?

do you have any suggestions? 

thanks,

[Meng Lelan]

Yes but we need more information to help you...simplified or traditional, use for home or school study, purpose of Chinese study (for everyday use or more academic focus) and so forth. 

[roddy]

And we're also curious about where you're teaching, and how you got the job, and how many hours a week the kids get...

[Meng Lelan]

And we're also curious about where you're teaching, and how you got the job, and how many hours a week the kids get...

 

 

Uh, well, I do have some recommendations, but don't think I need to know how the job was procured. The location might be useful though (Chinese or non-Chinese speaking area/environment) .... also when you say 4th, 5th, 6th grade level, do you mean their Chinese reading level and are they heritage or non heritage learners? Now that will have a definite influence on what series are appropriate. 

[yedafu]

thanks! 

well so here is the detiels:

environment: my home land israel so its not a Chinese speaking area(不巧。。。：)

students: elementary school- the 4th 5th 6th grade- this is ther first time thay been studing chinese(so right now they know nothing)

the Job: well i'm a teacher- my major is chinese and i'v been studing teaching chinese as a Foreign language. 

[Meng Lelan]

Ok that information helps. I assume the language of instruction is English not Hebrew/Arabic? If so you do have quite a few options. The Ni Hao series from Australia is quite good though can be expen$ive. Website at

 

http://www.chinasoft.com.au/index.html

 

I would imagine your students would start at the green book level 1 of the Ni Hao series. 

 

There is also a series called Better Chinese but as a teacher I found the material kind of "babyish" and "childish" for use with ages 10 and over. Might be ok for ages 5 to 9 but other than that, well, you can take a look and see. 

 

http://www.betterchinese.com/

 

Some have reported being satisfied with a series called Chinese Made Easy but I have never tried it myself. 

 

Now the above series are ok for classes using English as the medium of instruction, though if you were planning to use Chinese only as the medium of instruction then tell me and I can give you the names of a couple more series that use an immersion approach (ie Chinese only). 

[China_Checker]

Would these books also work for teaching seniors as well or do you have something better for older folks 60+. My parents are going to spend a year in China traveling and I would like them to have some basic language skills. What do you suggest?  They will be arriving in June.

[Meng Lelan]

The Ni Hao books are targeted at age 6 to 14 years but nothing too childish that a friend of mine used them to teach a community college course. You might want to start your parents on the green book level 1 right at the very beginning. I think the audio might be available online, if not, then on a disk that comes with the book. Just keep in mind it teaches all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening), if you already know Chinese yourself then you can guide them through the book. 

[miaomiao]

My ABC kids are pretty fluent speaking wise. What books are there for my 4 year old?

[Meng Lelan]

美洲華語 is available in both simp and trad. Normally the series is used in a classroom in a Chinese heritage school setting and the students already can speak Chinese at home. Some Chinese speaking parents use this series at home to teach their own children reading and writing if a Chinese heritage school program is not available to them. The four year old can start on level K before going on to level 1.

[miaomiao]

That series looks pretty good, thanks! Wish it was cheaper though

[Meng Lelan]

Comparing with a lot of other publishers this is a really good value - each level comes with a textbook, workbook, DVD/CD, and flashcards for $15. Generally a set of instructional materials would cost at least $50.