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I am looking for a mandarin tutor for my twin 6 yr old daughters in blackheath london.

My wife is chinese and was educated in a strict environment at primary school. I was educated in London where my schooling was more "relaxed".

So my question is - to learn mandarin as a child do you think a more formal style of tutoring or a more relaxed style of tutoring would produce the best results from the child`s perspective.
8 years ago

Mandarin Question asked by Marcus

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5 Answers

I think it depends on your child. I`d always prefer to teach in a more informal way . But as long as the tutor has good subject knowledge and is engaging and makes your child want to learn it may not matter.
Answered by [Deleted Member]
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To answer your question, in my opinion. 6 year olds can absorb information and knowledge better when it is fun and memorable. However, the amount of learning is far less than a formal style whereby information are taught to ensure they learn the basics. There`s a lot to mandarin, especially writing it. There is no other way of learning how to write mandarin characters other than memorising and practising. There`s a certain structure as to how to write it but no connection between how you say a mandarin word to how it should be written. Hope this helps with whatever decision you are making. Sorry if I dint. :) Happy new year !
Answered by Emily | 8 years ago
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For 6 years old kids, I would prefer to choose a more relaxed way to teach them. They are not adults so I won`t teach a lot of grammars to them, instead, you can try to play some games or watch some Chinese cartoon with them. Making them love the language is very important.
Answered by [Deleted Member]
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Most Chinese people don`t believe "relaxed" style in learning Mandarin as the language contains "two" languages basically, namely speaking and writing. But to a 6 year old child if the aim isn`t very ambitious there is lots of fun methods to involve them to learn, especially her mum is Chinese.
Answered by [Deleted Member]
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It depends on the reason for them to take up Mandarin. If it`s for conversational purposes, I would go for a more relaxed method of teaching as they would be able to learn the language quicker and in a fun method. If it`s for more formal purposes (exams, read & write) then I would use a mixture of both. Strict as in to make sure they complete the exercises (homework) and to read up the notes provided to them on a regular basis in order to pick up the language quicker.
Answered by [Deleted Member]
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