Native speaking panda bear

Being the one with the better command of Chinese at home (it really doesn't take much to beat an ACS boy at Chinese), the onus has been on me to introduce the children to Chinese. I've done what I can to ensure that they can get into a kinder that will give them some sort of introduction to Chinese but I'm not about to be one of those moms who sit back and let other people do the work for her while she goes out and does her nails. Although, let it be known that I would like to do my nails soon. Anyway, after speaking to some people in Early Education, I decided the most painless way to do it was through song and videos to capture their attention.

The songs worked marvellously. Their favourite is a counting song that goes, literally translated "1,2,3,4,5,6,7, where are my friends (wo de peng you zai na li), here they are (zai ze li), here are my friends (wo di peng you zai ze li)" where they'll spin themselves into a tizzy and then laugh hysterically as their world spins around them.

Then I also bought a DVD for them. This is where it gets totally ironic. We live in an Asian society with the Chinese being our dominant race, yet it is next to impossible to find good DVDs to introduce Chinese to them. They all sound like squealing hamsters that inhaled helium. Where I finally found DVDs that I thought were worth getting were worth getting was an American website called Asian Parent. Of course, one could say that it is the US and one can find just about anything in the US. True, but I felt slightly cheated that I had to pay international shipping for something to introduce my children to Chinese.

But let me just say, at this point that it was the best $20 I spent on shipping because the kids just fell in love with the programme. Till this point, the twins have had absolutely no interest in television. There've always been other interesting things to do and explore but all of a sudden the television isn't tuned to golf, soppy Korean drama or cooking shoes. It's got a giggling panda bear puppet called Bao Bei talking about colours and animals.



My little girl, the soft toy expert immediately picked up on the Panda bear being named Bao Bei and has gone around muttering "Bao Bei" ad nauseum when she wants to watch the DVD. Evan hears her on her chant and will waddle over to the television to see if it's on. And whether or not the television is on, he'll climb up onto the couch and wiggle himself into a comfortable position with an expectant look on his face.

It's tuneful, it's simple, it introduces just a few words at a time and is repetitive without being boring. It's got real life images, of little children repeating the phrases and words as well as interact with the viewer, in this case, my 14 month old children. I read some reviews complaining that the disc teaches too few things and I'm thinking, for an introduction to the language, expecting a recitation of a Tang poem is just a tad bit over the top. I know it's working because Baby J now calls her big blue stuffed dog "gou" and waves her hand when I say "zai jian"(which is Bye!).

It's a little bit difficult to tell with Evan because he's less verbal than Baby J. But he does show an affinity to it because everytime he wanders of to do something while it's playing, he'll always rush back to check if it's still running.

He does however like the Baby Einstein bilingual board book I ordered from the same website.
It works because the Chinese is simple enough for me to read without pinyin and there is an English translation to it.


My only complaint is that the pictures, when they're paintings like these, don't hold the children's attention. Only the real images do. That said, I'm glad they're taking an interest in the books and the video and picking up words a long the way. Hopefully, this way, they don't fail their O Level Chinese, that is if the O levels are still around at that time.

Now to find Baby J a panda bear stuffed toy so that she doesn't have to fawn over the disc's box.

Technorati Tags: babies, language, speaking Chinese, Early Start Mandarin Chinese with Bao Bei