Planning an Intro to Mandarin Class for Parents
A Recipe in 10 steps
- Recruit a native speaker: a parent, grandparent, teacher, or neighbor willing to meet on a weekly basis.
- Determine if the class leader will volunteer time or require a small donation.
- Set the class meeting place and time (mornings after drop-off, evenings, or weekends), and let your parent body know.
- Design a simple curriculum for brand-new learners, such as following the kinder curriculum: colors, numbers, family members, animals.
- Cover basic features using the kinder high frequency word list:
- How characters work
- Stroke order
- Pinyin and tones
- Online resources and apps
- Sprinkle in songs to liven up the class and help with different types of learners.
- Leave time for cultural stories from your teacher to add to the experience.
- Show off to your kids with your new vocabulary. Allow your kids to mock you for your pronunciation.
- Offer to sing one of the Mandarin songs at an assembly. Think twice about it.
- Understand how it feels to learn Chinese. Feel empathy with your kids and excitement for a new world opening up to you. Mix well and let steep.
Great ideas! I would love to go to a class like this!