—— What an ABC friend of mine said

The Pitfalls

Because of my life circle, I have met a lot of "ABC" friends in the United States, which is what everyone calls "Chinese".One of the things that Chinese Americans like to talk about most when they are together is their parents' super rigid and strict education methods that are incompatible with American culture.

For example, you must get an A in the exam, you must be a doctor, lawyer, and engineer when you grow up, and there is a Chinese school that can’t be beaten on weekends.

Maybe the complaints of the first few items can still be understood, but what can be said about the Chinese school?What's wrong with learning the language of your own culture only once a week?

The ABCs I know are all adults, so they should have a say in this regard.After asking, I found out that everyone’s answersYes:The learning experience in the Chinese school is completely useless!That's right, so far, I haven't encountered an ABC speaking Chinese school experience that is helpful for learning Chinese.

The biggest cause behind this phenomenon is cultural differences.

The Chinese classes they teach in American Chinese schools are all very old-fashioned Chinese-style teaching methods, the textbooks are also Chinese-style, and the teachers may not have the qualifications for teaching Chinese as a foreign language.The boring classroom learning experience is very different from the education they received in the United States since childhood., And it also took up precious weekend time, which made these ABCs have a great resentment towards the Chinese school that they must go to every weekend. They didn't want to go to school, and they didn't learn anything.

The Untold Secret

Many knowledgeable people may know that the bilingual environment in the United States is very bad.ABCs who grew up in the United States, no matter how fluent Chinese were in their childhood, they don't speak Chinese very much when they grow up, and most of them can't read or write.

However, there are good ABCs in Chinese.I know a few ABC friends in the United States and China who are good at listening, speaking, reading, and writing Chinese. After communicating, I found out that they didn't learn Chinese at weekend Chinese schools.Except for those who are qualified to be nurtured in China, the restAll Chinese really mastered in American universities, especially the part of reading and writing.

Out of curiosity, I asked what they rememberedThe difference between Chinese school and university Chinese class, The answers everyone gave are very consistent:

1. Spontaneity:The choice of Chinese in the university is my own decision, not driven by my parents, so there is no subjective rejection, so it is easier to study seriously.

2. Course Design:Most of the ABCs I know feel that the Chinese courses in American universities are much more interesting than the previous Chinese schools. Because they are designed by university professors for American students, they are in line with their usual cognitive habits and it is naturally easy to digest the content of the classroom. , More sense of accomplishment.

So as a mother who married an ABC and gave birth to another ABC, in order to keep my son who grew up in the United States interested in Chinese, I never let him go to a traditional Chinese school.Because I am worried that the traditional teaching methods of the teacher, the traditional textbooks published in China, and even the negative emotions that other classmates may have in learning Chinese, will more or less have a negative psychological impact on my children.

However, the conditions for raising bilingual children at home are limited.Especially literacy learning, it’s really difficult to implement.So I am also worried that my decision will delay my children's learning Chinese, and I have been groping in the state of riding a donkey and looking for a horse.

The Silver Lining

Unexpectedly, after the outbreak in the United States, a turning point suddenly appeared.

Around me, many Chinese mothers started to use online classes to let their children learn Chinese.Because it can be one-to-one, and there are no restrictions on the area, so the choices have increased, and I slowly started to understand the characteristics of these Chinese online courses.

But after researching around, I found thatMost courses still follow the old route, What makes me feel the most deduction is that they use almost all traditional textbooks compiled in China...

The Chinese course chosen for my son must meet the three rigid indicators in my mind:

Courses must be specifically designed for children overseas, andThe teaching model is close to the American way, So it’s not easy to have Culture Shock, and it’s easier to learn.

Teachers must have experience and qualifications in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, preferably experience in interacting with overseas students offline.I am a TESOL certified teacher, so I know that a good teacher needs to understand the rules and methods of second language acquisition.If you want to use these theoretical foundations in teaching freely, you need to interact with overseas students frequently and accumulate experience in the process.The set of Chinese teachers teaching Chinese children to learn Chinese is actually not suitable for second language acquisition at all, and it is difficult for children to accept in the United States..

I am a firm supporter of the concept of "Progressive Learning".It is necessary for children to find happiness in the learning process, to be able to apply it to daily life, and to develop the habit of active exploration and learning.Otherwise, once the boring and boring classroom experience makes my son repel Chinese, it is really not as good as that.

The Search

This path to find online courses is actually not particularly smooth.Most of the choices that can be seen do not meet the conditions; while the few that are more consistent, the price is too expensive.To be honest, I am disgusted with the prevailing domestic sales behavior of "must purchase large-value packages".Everyone's daily life arrangements are not static. If you buy a lot at once, you will feel very stressful.

Finally, after pondering and hesitating for nearly a year, I saw an online Chinese course in which a friend checked in in Moments, and it felt a little different.

After communicating with my friends, I decided to let my son try a lesson, but the result exceeded my expectations.Because of the experience of the whole course, the three conditions I listed before are met to the greatest extent:Curriculum design for overseas children, experienced teachers, Western practical teaching methods.

Although other online Chinese institutions have heavily built interfaces and app platforms, I am not very interested in flashy things.For an education practitioner,The most important thing is to develop effective courses from the perspective of students, plus a mindful and scientific teaching attitude..This is also my favorite thing about Kelly's!

They usedOwn original design course, Is not only tailored specifically for overseas bilingual children, but the most interesting thing is that there are many age-appropriate interactive activities in the classroom.

For example, the first lesson is "Carnivores"with"Herbivores"The difference, first my son watched a video of animals:

Then through games, let the children participate in the whole process:

My son is a very slow child. Originally, I was worried that he would be nervous during class and did not feel enough to participate. However, I did not expect that teacher Yaya, with his rich teaching experience, made my son become active all at once.The feeling of studying is the same as playing. My son is not distracted for a minute.After class,teacherGive me feedback on the spot, listen to my suggestions carefully, and exchange ideas with me enthusiastically.These are all services that I didn't expect before.

Other than that,What surprised me most is that the nature of the course content is actually teaching children natural sciences through Chinese..This way of learning science in Chinese is particularly efficient, because you can learn scientific knowledge andVery intuitively strengthens the concept of Chinese practicality for children, So children won’t complain that learning Chinese is useless.All day after class, the son was mumbling about the difference between "carnivores" and "herbivores." The old mother was very pleased.

After the class, I carefully studied the background of this Kelly's Education, because I rarely saw advertisements before. If I didn't see someone punching in in the circle of friends, I would never know that their courses would be so good.

After researching, I discovered that the background of this platform is really different from other online Chinese platforms that I have access to in the United States:

First of all, Kelly's Education is an online education platform established in Hong Kong.The market for teaching Chinese as a foreign language in Hong Kong was developed relatively early, so the competition among institutions is also fierce. Kelly's has won many local awards:

I have also been interviewed by mainstream media such as Phoenix Satellite TV:

In addition, they have an official partnership with the famous "Pinkfong". Pinkfong's Chinese videos are often used as part of Kelly's classroom teaching.

Due to some historical reasons, Hong Kong has been trying to blend Chinese and Western teaching models very early, and the founder of Kelly's is a returnee mother who understands the needs of overseas children better, so it is possible to develop such a curriculum that suits the needs of overseas children.

Online Chinese teaching institutions are now emerging in endlessly, but there are not many institutions with offline experience.

Kelly's teacher team has accumulated many years of offline teaching experience, which makes me feel particularly practical, which makes up for the shortcomings of pure online education institutions that are relatively impetuous and lack practical experience.

In addition, I learned that theirTeachers have overseas teaching experience.For example, my son’s teacher has 5 years of overseas offline teaching experience.All teachers in the team are formal certified teachers of Chinese as a foreign language, many of whom come from 985, 211 and overseas famous schools.This should be a rare teacher lineup in an era where online courses are flooding.

After collecting this information, the stone in my heart also fell.Finally, I found a reliable online Chinese course!

I only found out after contacting customer service,The icing on the cake is his price—— because they actuallyNo need to pay in large amounts in advance!

I booked 20 classes at a time, and the customer service team was very enthusiastic to build a large group of 12 people, and there were 7 head teachers in it, who could take turns to answer questions, solve technical problems, and ensure service quality.These are all I have not experienced before, and I am really happy.