Category: 9 to 10 Years Old

Here are the reviews of the 3 apps which we had tried and would like to recommend to you. They have free versions which you could try out with your children to complement their learning. 

1. Chinese Skills

Chinese Skill is one of our favourite apps and we have been using it since 2015. It’s fun and interactive. It was the go-to app that we would recommend to parents and students to practise Mandarin when they are free.

You may notice that your child may get bored learning Mandarin the same way over time. Therefore, other than interactive games and flashcards, we recommend that you can download this free app to your mobile devices and give your child access to it whenever he or she requests for some screen time. 

The myriad ways that your child can learn a subject may get them pumped up about learning and sustain their interest longer.

We would love to hear your feedback about this app too. Do leave us some comments below if you have tried this app before.

2. Nemo

We think that this app is more suitable for adult learners. We are recommending this app to parents to learn a foreign language to become more empathetic and patient teachers.

We really like the design and functionality of the app as it immerses us in a foreign language. You can listen to the app whenever you are travelling and would like to drown out the chitter and chatter in the background. You may be pleasantly surprised when the words start screaming in your head a few weeks later. This mode of learning could be really effective and efficient if it can be interspersed into your daily life.

This app made us realise that we can learn a foreign language just by listening to it in the background. We think that the app helps to prep your brain to absorb and identify the nuances of a new language. 

3. Memrise

This app is pretty similar to Chinese Skill. We are recommending it as we like how we can review the words in many different ways. It is not really boring using this app. 

However, it can get overwhelming when our brains were overloaded with all the new words. You are expected to learn the pronunciation, script (e.g. 爸,妈,我,土,地）and meaning of the words （e.g. Dad, Mum, I , Soil, Ground)  all at once when you use this app. 

You may find yourself averse to using the app for a prolonged period when your limit was pushed. However, you may also notice that the new words will start screaming in your head a few days later after you experienced a state of mental frenzy while learning with the app.

Basically, this app is a tough app that pushes your limit. What we got out of this app is, no pain, no gain.

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1. Storytelling with Chinese Characters

Get your children to decorate the Chinese characters that they are learning. Their drawings should encapsulate the meaning of the words. This process is not only more engaging than rote memory learning, it will also help them to remember the strokes better.

What we have noticed is that as the children become more experienced in decorating the characters, they will go on to surprise you with their creativity and understanding of more complex and abstract words.

Can you guess the meaning of the characters above? Scroll down to the end of the post for answers.

2. Snakes and Ladders

Continue to capture your children’s imagination and push their capacity to learn with a game emulating the classic snake and ladder boardgame.

This is the best game to get your children interested in revising the new vocabulary learnt.

Why? You get them to write the words while creating the boardgame. You get them to read the words while playing. Most importantly, you get them excited about learning!

This game is also an excellent opportunity for you to introduce the different festive seasons such as Lunar New Year, Easter, Mooncake Festival, Halloween and Christmas. 

Additional Materials Required

1. Dice

2. Figurines

How to Play?

Step 1: Roll the Dice.
Step 2: The player will advance through the boxes with his/her figurine according to the number on the dice. The player will have to read out the Chinese words as he/she moves the figurine.

Rule 1: For any words that the player can’t read, he/she will not be able to move the figurine past the box.
Rule 2: The player will get to climb up the ladder if he/she lands on a box that has a connecting ladder.
Rule 3: Correspondingly, the player will slide down if he/she lands on a box that has a slide connected.Winner: The first player who completes the race will win the game.

3. Snap / Memory Game

To end off the lesson, you can get your children to create flash cards by writing the words in 1⁄4 of an A4 paper.

In this way, you created another opportunity for your children to practise writing while taking away the sense of repetition and boredom that was synonymous with traditional writing practices. If your children have the patience to complete this task, they will be rewarded with a game of “Snap” or “Memory Game”. You will need at least 2 sets of the flashcards to play the game.

How to Play?

Winner: The player with the greatest number of cards will win the game.

4. Parting Thoughts

For many English-speaker, Mandarin is not an easy language to master because they are so different. Even for native learners, Mandarin is a language that requires children to practise writing the characters diligently and consistently from a young age. Perhaps, this could be a reason why Chinese are known to be a hardworking race. The truth is, it certainly takes a sheer amount of hard work to master written Mandarin. Nevertheless, hard work does not mean that the process has to be dull and mundane. We can make it fun and engaging by interspersing the lessons with games and laughter!

5. Answers Revelation

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