The place to ask China-related questions!
Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou Shenzhen Chengdu Xi'an Hangzhou Qingdao Dalian Suzhou Nanjing More Cities>>

Categories

Close
Welcome to eChinacities Answers! Please or register if you wish to join conversations or ask questions relating to life in China. For help, click here.
X

Verify email

Your verification code has been sent to:

Didn`t receive your code? Resend code

By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .

Sign up with Google Sign up with Facebook
Sign up with Email Already have an account? .
Posts: 37

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Q: How important is it for our kids to learn Chinese?

Just wondering how the expat community feels about this.

On the one hand there's the fact that English is and will remain for quite some time the international language, on the other there's the impressive rise of technological gadgets being able to handle instantaneous translations.

So how important is it for our kids to learn Chinese?

12 years 26 weeks ago in  Teaching & Learning - China

 
Answers (13)
Comments (2)
Posts: 960

Shifu

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

As an Australian my point of view is that it is very important that a child who wishes to study a language would choose Chinese as it could open up a lot of oportunity in the future with a nation that has huge trade and business links with Australia. Tourism into Australia from China will also be a huge area for future growth if the standards of living continue to boom for many Chinese.

Abmria. What are these technogical gagets you speak of that handle instantaneous translations. All those I have seen require a slow typing process and are only useful for very basic needs.

Report Abuse
12 years 26 weeks ago
 
Posts: 5539

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

chinese is not an international language so it is not really important (unless they plan on living in china), but i think it is important for young children to learn as many languages as possible because 0-5 their brains are best suited for learning languages and they will have so much more opportunities in life

Report Abuse
12 years 26 weeks ago
 
Posts: 135

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Necessary, no. Awesome, yes.

Give you kids that head start. How old are they? Are they at an age where language accusation will be a breeze if you just stick them with other kids? Bilingual people (and musical people) have a higher IQ on average than the rest of us.

Id say do it!

Report Abuse
12 years 26 weeks ago

Live passionately, even if it kills you, because something is going to kill you anyway."rn-- Webb Chiles

 
Posts: 1

General

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

You can get closer to people and share more intimate moments. Some very profound things happen, when you can converse with more of the people you meet. Chinese people have been segregated from the rest of the world for far too long, and the contribution of China to our collective understanding will be an asset; we cannot measure. Chinese have always been great inventors. They deserve that accreditation

Report Abuse
12 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 2409

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I always believe that kids should learn as many languages as they can.  My 3 year old boys already know Mandarin (main language), Cantonese, English and some French.  Plus since they are in an international school, they are picking up a few words of Japanese & Korean from their classmates.

My kids are WAY smarter than me.

Report Abuse
12 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 3318

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

If you have kids here and aren't making sure they learn Chinese, you're a fool. Even if you move home and NEVER have a single Chinese friend or business transaction again, the kid will be better off. I'm also shocked at how many people here think it isn't a big deal. Granted, I come from a super diverse city, but half of it is Asian. HALF. When I go home I feel like I'm still in China. If I could speak Chinese fluently I'd have a job working for the local government making $120,000 a year. 

Report Abuse
12 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 7204

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

For our point of veiw it is important as half our family dont speak english
Can you imagine not being able to talk to your own family members
I speak enough to get into more trouble but the kids can change from Chinese to english mid sentance and can read and write both as well
Im very proud of them and I know it will open up many oppertunities in their lives

Report Abuse
12 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 6321

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

If you are living in china YES! If they speak Chinese, no matter wjhere thery go they will be set appart from most others. I am fluent in engish and spanish and I am now trying to make Chinse my thrid language (a not so easy feat at 43!).
I say go for it! It will make your kids smarter, they will stand appart from the crowd of other expats who only speak a smattering of the language, add to their prestige and whenuniversity time comes, they willl have a very  nice feather to stick in their hat.
On a more practical side, speaking the language they will be better able to take care of themselves in china, communicate and understand more peolpe (both friendly and not so freindly).
Best of luck!

Report Abuse
12 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1076

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Chinese is only useful in China, and also, there are so many dialects and local "hua"s that, except for business (where standard Mandarin is used), this language isn't all that useful.  Most of the people who do international business know English anyway.

For cultural reasons, sure, have them learn it.  Learning languages is great for kids.

nevermind:

Are you kidding me? Go to Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle, San Francisco or LA.

12 years 21 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
12 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 2

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

It is always good to learn a foreign language as it increases the opportunities in one's life.

Report Abuse
12 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1197

Shifu

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I think the whole "everybody learn Chinese" craze is a passing thing. They did this back in the 1980's during Japan's "rise" and that vanished. That being said, I think it's an interesting and fun language to learn. I'd encourage my kids to give it a try.

Report Abuse
12 years 21 weeks ago
 
Posts: 19

Governor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

The economic of China have been developed fast, more and more MNC come to China seek chance, so that really big chance for your kid to get a good job from them

Report Abuse
12 years 11 weeks ago
 
Posts: 7204

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Learning anything is good for the brain
We speak both at home and my wife teachs them to read and write Chinese
and they learn English at school and at home.
as long as they are happy what will it hurt them?

bigkrishna:

rightly said, as long as u enjoy it, no problem...

12 years 11 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
12 years 11 weeks ago
 
Know the answer ?
Please or register to post answer.

Report Abuse

Security Code: * Enter the text diplayed in the box below
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <br> <p> <u>
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Textual smileys will be replaced with graphical ones.

More information about formatting options

Forward Question

Answer of the DayMORE >>
A:  "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "S
A: "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "Shenzhen agent can connect you with an employer, who's authorized to hire waigouren ... and can sponsor Z visa." It's not like every 10th person you meet in Shenzhen's hood can sponsor work visa ...  The only way to change from student to labourer visa is just a regular way by: 1. Finding an employer, who'll apply for an Invitation letter; 2. Exit China and apply for Z visa in your home country's Chinese embassy; 3. Enter China in 30-days after Z visa was stamped into your travelling instrument ...As I am aware, you won't be able to switch to Working permit by remaining in China....,so make ready for a return to your home .... -- icnif77