Mandarin Go | Is it a good idea to have your children learn Chinese?

Learning a foreign language is important for a child's education, and many studies have shown that the earlier this learning takes place, the easier it will be. If today English is certainly the most taught language, is it a good idea to be visionary and teach your child Chinese? At Mandarin Go, we thinks YES, and we tell you why...

1. Opening up to a completely different world

China is on the other side of the world, and its culture is often difficult for Westerners to understand. When you learn a language, you don't just learn to speak or write, you also learn to understand the country and its nuances. For a child, this is something important, because it will immediately broaden his vision of the world.

The same thing happens for children who, from an early age, travel a lot. They have a more global worldview, and these children will be more accepting of the diversity of today's world.

2. Learning Chinese is good for the brain

We are used to writing from left to right, while Chinese writing is traditionally from top to bottom, and from right to left (although increasingly, the Western orientation has been adopted in many media). It seems trivial, but it helps to develop motor skills in the child.

Learning to write characters also makes both sides of the brain work, which stimulates cognitive thinking, spatial perception. Even if the discovery of Chinese calligraphy is something disturbing, that its mastery requires years of practice, the art of drawing characters with ink and brush inevitably develops precision and concentration.

3. Chinese is a tonal language, which makes it complicated.

One of the hardest things to master when learning Chinese is tones. Each word can indeed be declined in 4 tones (plus a neutral fifth). While in Western languages, the tone makes it possible to convey an expression (questioning, exclamation, surprise), in Chinese it changes the meaning of the word.

Take for example the sound MA: when pronounced in the first tone, it means mother, and when pronounced in the third tone, it means horse. Not mastering the tones is taking the risk of misunderstood and being misunderstood.

Children have a great ability to discern tones, and as they grow up it decreases. It is estimated that after puberty, language acquisition abilities begin to decline. To speak Mandarin well, it is necessary to start early.

In addition, if the child later wants to learn another tonal language, it will be easier for him, because he will already have this experience with Chinese.

 4. Those who speak Chinese have better professional opportunities

China is increasingly influential in today's world, both commercially and in science and engineering. More and more French companies are collaborating with Chinese companies, and speaking the language is a considerable asset. More and more companies are looking for this type of profile.

Indeed, in China, the relational aspect holds an important place. Big decisions are often made after a good meal that seems informal, but creates a bond between the two parties. When a Frenchman speaks Chinese, it is both considered a park of respect (he has made the effort to learn the language of a country that is not his own), but allows to create an important relational link.

Even if your child's goal isn't moving to China, speaking Chinese will allow them to access positions and functions that they wouldn't have been able to claim by simply speaking English.

5. Learning another language will be easier

Parents often tend to think that learning a second or third language is always starting from scratch. As the learning processes are similar, the skills acquired are immediately put to good use.

All those who speak several foreign languages say it, it is always the first one that is the most difficult, because it forces the integration of new mechanisms. The following ones require much less effort.