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Showing posts from March, 2018

Find out how to get a Vietnam visa in Kunming

If you’re backpacking around China and find your way to Kunming, chances are you’re looking to travel into Southeast Asia next. The Spring City is the perfect place to begin your SE Asia adventure, as it’s possible to get a visa for Vietnam here and catch a bus all the way to the border.  Easiest language to learn is hard to find. 永安路 – yǒng’ān lù Yong’an Road 老滇过桥米线 – lǎo diān guò qiáo mǐ xiàn Old Yunnan Over the Bridge Rice Noodles 北京路155附1号 – běi jīng lù 155 fù 1 hào Beijing Road #11, Attachment #1 佳华广场酒店  – jiā huá guǎng chǎng jiǔ diàn Kai Wah Plaza Hotel 华夏银行 –  huá xià yín háng Huaxia Bank 红塔大厦 –  hóng tǎ dà shà Hongta Mansion 越南总领事馆 –  yuè nán zǒng lǐng shì guǎn Consulate General of Vietnam 东部客运站 –  dōng bù kè yùn zhàn East Bus Terminal 售票厅 – shòu piào tīng ticket hall 餐厅网吧超市 –  cān tīng wǎng bā chāo shì cafeteria, internet bar, supermarket 候车室 –  hòu chē shì waiting room 河口 –  hé kǒu Hekou

A well-loved New Years sight is the dragon dance

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Journey to China with Lingo Bus for Fun and Easy E-learning Chinese Lessons for Children 5-12! A well-loved New Years sight is the dragon dance. These are often seen at the temple fayres. Temples and parks across the city will have lots of food, games, rides, and shows available for families to enjoy. The dragon dance is normally the highlight of the shows. Students may also take part in their own dragon dances at school, or even create their own dragon dance by making their own dragon puppet. Since New Years means “out with the old in with the new”, it involves cleaning the house, wearing new clothes and decorating the house. I’m sure most children would be happy about shopping for new clothes and decorations but not so much about the cleaning! Chinese New Years decorations are not as extravagant as Christmas decorations. They normally tend to involve paper lanterns or paper cutouts that children can make themselves. Remember the most important thing about Chinese New Years i

China Morning P.E. classes

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In Europe, almost every child can master several languages, and will grow up. In the process of language acquisition, the child has a strong ability to distinguish self. In the process of contact both in  o nline learning for kids , parents need not worry too much. Physical Education and keeping fit is taken very seriously by Chinese schools as they hope to combat the growing trend of obesity in children. Every morning, and sometimes as a break during classes, students in the whole school must participate in morning exercises. It’s a sight to see, hundreds of students standing quietly in a school courtyard in perfectly straight rows, evenly spaced. Once they are ready, over a loudspeaker a teacher shouts commands and students begin their morning exercises.   The morning exercises involve a series of physical exercises to get the blood pumping and ‘wake’ the students up for class. They can also be mixed with Eye exercises but we’ll talk about that in our next post. T

Children’s books that journey into Chinese culture

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There's no denying that Chinese culture is very different to that of the west. Just like learning other languages,  learning Mandarin Chinese requires the knowledge of Chinese culture. No matter how much we try to explain it, sometimes the best way to introduce culture is through images. After all, seeing is believing! Using picture books is a great way to support Chinese language learning in young learners, so below you can find some popular titles. Red Is a Dragon: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Thong, Grace Lin This book is a mix of rhyming poems and illustrations that can only be described as culturally authentic. The story follows a girl as she discovers colors that are used as a way to introduce different aspects of Chinese culture. Readers are introduced to culturally important objects, since they may be unfamiliar with these words there is a useful glossary at the end of the book. The book also includes crafts and activities that children can create after reading the

Discover the power of e-learning

In today’s  online language education market, students (and their parents) enjoy a wide range of freedoms not afforded in a traditional physical setting. Besides not having to drive across town to a brick and mortar learning center, these include: Convenient and flexible scheduling The ability to select from many different teachers and tutors Access to experts in fields outside of standard school subjects A choice in program type and class size Educators also see a number of benefits made possible by the virtual classroom environment including: Convenient and flexible scheduling (Who wouldn’t appreciate this?) The ability to work from home or anywhere in the world A choice between offering services directly or through an online education company The chance to share their knowledge on topics which don’t fit within a standard curriculum What we’re seeing is an explosion in the accessibility of high quality education across all fields, ages, and nationalities – and it is

Learn Chinese Children’s Songs

Chengdu – 2 of 5 in a series of the most useful Chinese songs for kids! Good to study for how to remember: Chengdu 成都,Black 黑色,White 白色,Eyes 眼, Face 脸,Big 大,Panda 熊猫,Like 喜欢, Bamboo 竹子,Sleep 睡觉,Hello 你好. Original from : https://chinese.lingobus.com/2017/06/18/learn-chinese-childrens-songs/

Phrases that can help you shop in China

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China is the perfect country if you are a shopaholic! If it exists, you can find it in China, and you can get it cheap… if you are good at bargaining. But you have to learn to speak Mandarin before you shop there, at least some phrases for shopping! Here are some basic phrases to help you buy everything you will ever need in China. You can also choose to take an online language courses .  The most important phrase, asking how much something costs!        zhè ge duō shǎo qián ? 这个多少钱? How much does this cost? The literal translation is ‘This how many money’! “这个” (zhè gè) is an important word to know. If you want something you just need to point and say “这个”. It was the first and most important word I learned in my first week in China. When you are out shopping you might want to try some of the pieces you are buying so here is how you ask. wǒ kě bu kě yǐ shì yī xia ? 我可不可以试一下? Can I try this on? A very typical Chinese way of asking for something using the st

How to Make Learning Chinese Language Happen Part 2

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Let's continue yesterday's topic! There are two more useful tips that can help you to improve your Mandarin Chinese learning ! Two: Don't stop, use dead time. Learning Chinese is like climbing a mountain… whilst on skis! So as soon as you stop learning, you start going downhill again. There are many apps out there that slowly build vocabulary every day, the best thing about them is that they provide 10-minute bite-sized exercises so you have no excuse to keep on top of your Chinese. This also makes it easier when you are busy and don’t have an hour to spend studying. Use up dead time and turn it into a language learning opportunity, download podcasts, watch YouTube videos, the options are endless, there are many resources out there! Three: Set aside some time, get support. Although you may be busy, try to set aside some time just for Chinese learning where your whole focus in on learning the language. This can be done alone or with a tutor, which we suggest. Lea

How to Make Learning Chinese Language Happen Part 1

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A new language opens doors to a whole set of experiences and the ability to explore a new culture like never before, that’s not even counting the new career prospects it brings. Online learning for kids develops fast in recent years. There’s nothing more amazing and exhausting than learning something new and challenging. How about learning the Chinese language? Welcome to the worlds most-spoken language! Chinese Mandarin is spoken by 1.2 billion native speakers, that’s roughly 1 in 6 the population in the planet, and this number doesn’t even take into account second language speakers. However, not to discourage you, but alongside being one of the most spoken languages, it’s also thought to be one of the hardest. But don’t worry. We’ve got your back! One: Set realistic goals. I don’t want to disappoint you, but if you are a beginner do not expect to be fully fluent in a year. But don’t feel bad about that! Think back to your childhood, how long did it take you to l

Why Chinese language is getting more and more popular?

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First, a quiz about how many people are learning Chinese. What common ground does the daughter of the former US President’s daughter, Malia Obama, Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, and the current President Trump’s granddaughter, Arabella Kushner share? The answer is they all speak Chinese (or learn to speak). They are just a few examples of celebrities taking Chinese classes. If you search the keyword “Chinese Language” in Google Trends, you will find how popular this topic has been on the internet.  Why Chinese as a second language is getting increasingly popular? China is currently the second largest economy in the world with a strong momentum of continued growth. It is estimated that China’s GDP will eventually surpass the US in the years to come. Along with its economic development, China has been playing an increasingly important role in international relations, technology, and scientific research. Furthermore, learning a language that is currently spoken by more than

What do Chinese children do during vacations?

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In the Chinese educational system, there aren't as many holidays as in the western educational system. But children do many different things during their holidays rather than only attending online school for kids . So, what do they do during vacations? Some traditional holidays like Spring festival or Mid-autumn festival give people who live far away from their hometowns plenty of time to go back home to spend time with their distant family and share delicious food. It’s also a welcome study break for students who work hard all year. But holidays can also be seen as the wasted academic time, so for many students, they must spend their holidays taking extra classes either at school or with tutors to prepare for their upcoming school year. This is also because parents are busy and can’t take such a long extended period of leave. Introducing new cultures to their children is very important. Chinese parents believe so. They take this opportunity to take them abroad. Many scho

How to let kids interested in a second language

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This doesn’t come as a surprise, even as an adult I dislike doing things I consider boring, then they simply become a chore that I avoid as long as possible. An attitude that is not useful when learning a second language! Learn chinese for kids requires blood, sweat, and tears. Without interest as a fuel, many students burn out their determination and refuse to study a second language. The students in the survey suggested ways to make language learning more interesting. It’s not surprising that 29% would prefer classes to be more interactive, and 27% would like to be able to use technology or APPS in their language learning. With the advances in educational technology, students don’t have to be classroom-boundary longer. Technology has given parents and students the freedom to seek out better educational resources. A thoughtfully designed APP can inspire children and offer interactive classes that capture the student’s imagination and in turn motivates them to study. Confidence

Chinese version creating the opportunity to develop the language

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Living abroad doesn’t offer much of a chance to practice Chinese but if you live near a Chinatown why not head there for a day trip! Have your child talk with the shopkeepers to practice numbers, basic words, and phrases. It’s a great place to practice a lot of conversation in a short amount of time. Round off your experience by stopping off for food at an authentic Chinese restaurant. You will find that Chinese is the easiest language to learn . Like we’ve mentioned in previous articles learning a language as hard as Chinese can sometimes get you down to the point of giving up, especially when you turn learning Chinese into a chore. This is especially true when it comes to young children. Simply because they lack that determination drive that adults hold, although they more than make up for that in enthusiasm. One of the ways to help your children embrace learning Chinese is by making the process fun whenever possible. Here are some tips for incorporating Chinese into your family’s

Learning a language isn’t just about having a knowledgeable teacher

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Whether your child is learning Chinese, French, German, or Spanish, there’s bound to be somewhere around town where your child can get some practice in. Take them to a Chinese restaurant and buy them their favorite dish – but only if they can place the order in Chinese! This creates both a challenge and a reward, two important parts of a successful lesson. You can take it a step further by putting yourself in the shoes of the clueless tourist, letting your child take the lead in helping you order a dish to your taste using their second language skills in Chinese learning center  . International grocery stores are also great places to get a bit of extra practice. Imported foods and beverages will usually have ingredient lists in the target language, and lucky for you, your child is there to help you make heads and tails of them. While you’re getting some grocery shopping done, they’re working on their food vocabulary. If you live in a city with a bustling international community,

In Chinese Merry Christmas is known as Sheng4 dan4 Kuai4 le4

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Learn chinese words 圣诞老人 (sheng4 dan4 lao3 ren2) which in Chinese meaning old Christmas man, takes center stage as the main figure for celebrating Christmas in China. Christmas is not a national holiday, no one has the day off making it harder to celebrate. Because of this Christmas is seen and celebrated like other foreign holidays (Valentines/Saint Patrick’s/Thanksgiving) as an occasion to meet up and go out with friends and family for dinner. Even though as the world’s capital maker of Christmas decorations they are dirt cheap in China and can be found everywhere. Few actually celebrate Christmas the western way by decorating their house and celebrating with family. The few that have a Christmas tree may decorate it not only with western style ornaments but with beautiful Chinese paper lanterns, paper chains, this type of decorated tree is often named “tree of lights”. What might come as a surprise to foreigners is the common gift given on Christmas Eve in China, an apple

Love is considered a very strong word in Chinese

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Whether that is helping out with housework, or buying them a small token to show our appreciation, like  children learning  Chinese classes to help support their language journey. How we express love isn’t that different between cultures we all like to support and make those we love happy. Perhaps you remember from our earlier articles how numbers are important in Chinese culture, they can be used to express important meanings. There are many numbers that can be used to express love, although it would be weird to say this to someone, it’s common to send it as a text message.  The word to express love is 爱 (ài), and saying I love you couldn’t be even more simpler as it follows the same structure as in English ‘I love you’, so therefore, “我爱你” (wǒ ài nǐ ). However, in Chinese, love is considered a very strong word, and so it’s very rare to actually hear it being used.  It’s something to be saved for a married couple. Instead, we can say ‘I like you” using the same structure as

Chinese painting is known as Guohua

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Chinese language learning is necessary for little kids.  Chinese realistic painting is often very colorful and with a lot of details, it involves first drawing a basic outline of the object with a thin brush in black and then meticulously coloring in the detail with specialized brushes. A famous example of this style is the painting from the Song dynasty by the artists Zhang Xuan called ‘Court ladies preparing newly woven silk’. It depicts an annual celebration where the court ladies would prepare silk, therefore opening a window to the past. See how all the court ladies are performing different tasks, and how each has been painted to express their individual character. Unlike realistic painting,ink-wash painting is based on one color, black calligraphy ink. These paintings are stunning in that details are added by having different shades of black. This is a great example of ink-wash technique done by Chen Rong is ‘nine dragons’, which plays on the Chinese mythology of the

The celebrations bringing in the end of Spring festival start

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Practical online learning courses could speed up your listening abilility and speaking skills. For our previous series we focused on the first week of Spring Festival, don’t think the festivities start to wind down after 7 days, this is a two-week long celebration! Everyone starts to prepare for the lantern festival from the twelfth day by making or buying lanterns and then decorating their house. Lantern Festival is celebrated from the 14th to the 15th day by eating Tangyuan made of sweet rice and a sweet stuffing. This brings the end of Spring Festival until the following year. This isn’t a very big day of celebrations depending on what province you are from, the best way to describe this day is as the dragon dance day, since there will be lots of dragon dance shows. You can watch them on TV or head down to the temple fayres to see these. After this comes the birthday of the most important deity, the Jade Emperor. Sacrifices and fireworks are set off to celebrate his birthd