Summer Camp: Grow a Chinese Language Tree while Catching "Pokemon"- Advanced

Successful completion of this advanced camp will earn you the YELLOW BELT of Chinestory Language Program. A personalized certification will be awarded. 

Many people are overwhelmed attempting to learn Chinese with ineffective drills and hard memorization. Many learners of Chinese have experienced plateau after having memorized couple hundreds of characters by rote and then quit. What a huge waste of effort and time. 

How to make sense of these Chinese characters for the 21st century learners so that they become MEANINGFUL to you such that it is interesting to learn, and such that it WILL STAY LONG IN YOUR MEMORY?

Unfortunately, traditional textbooks and teachers primarily relying on mechanical drills and hard memorization do not appeal to 21century learners, making students hard to advance to higher level of linguistic competency. 

In this award-winning education curriculum design, based on LEGO-like building block concept that evokes deep learning by tapping into learners' innate language sense to "see the meaning" for themselves. Learners grow  themselves a Chinese language tree from its roots, making it possible to "learn one know ten” in an intriguing way.  In my recent TEDx talk, entitled "Learn Chinese in the 21st Century", I also revealed how learning the language can gain cultural insight and ancient wisdom. 

FAQ1: My child has zero background. Can he/she sign up. 
A: Sorry, but no. For absolute beginner, I recommend taking the "beginner" version of this summer camp, which is listed at the end of the page. This camp is designed for GRADUATES from my "intermediate" camp and those who has MORE THAN 40 hours of formal instruction on this subject or from a family where significant Mandarin Chinese input is provided. 

FAQ2: My child and my family is still exploring to see if Chinese is a good fit. We don't have a long-term, committed learning goal. Is it a good idea to sign up and try it out? 
A: Yes and No. It might not be a good idea to sign up a 10-session summer camp just to see if it fits you. I recommend my 2-session  (Intro to Chinese Characters and Calligraphy, Inspired by Martial Arts", for 6-9 y/o) or 4-session (Read a Teen Novel to Learn 150 Chinese Characters - through Pictures & History, for 9-14 y/o ) intro class for that sampling purpose.  However, if your child expressed strong interest in learning Mandarin Chinese, and your family supports it, then even though with zero background, you will be a good fit. 

FAQ3: What aspects of the Chinese language will be covered in this summer camp?   
A:  As all Chinestory curriculum, speaking/listening/reading/writing will be integrated together from the onset since day 1. We will start with pinyin, basic strokes, stroke order, and move quickly to vocab. We will be using Chinestory's award-winning learning 1 know 10 curriculum to quickly expand vocab. See a detailed description below. 

FAQ4: How do I know my child's level of proficiency at the end of the summer camp?
A: I'm glad you asked, as many parents of my students. I'll provide a FREE proficiency assessment test on the last day of the summer camp as a measurement of your child's learning effectiveness. I believe a clear road map facilitates effective learning. 

FAQ5: Is there a way to have my child practice the Chinese in a social setting? 
A:  Absolutely! Join our " Chinese-English Bilingual Kids' Club - Chinestory 中英双语俱乐部 ", weekend club, for 9-18 y/o, to practice communicating in Chinese with learners around the world. 

FAQ6: Shall I request a different time if I don't see any session suits my family schedule. 
A: I encourage you to get in touch with me through requesting a new time. As a rule of thumb, I provide TWO different sessions to accommodate time difference for my students living in the west hemisphere, i.e. North America, South America, West Europe and the east hemisphere, i.e. Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, East Europe.   

FAQ7: What's the best way to keep track of my child's learning?
A: I often post class information, learning fun tips, etc. on Chinestory's FB group called "Learn Chinese: Victory via Chinestory". You're welcome to join. 

Across our 10 one-hour sessions, students will learn the 2nd part of the 150 high-utility Oracle Bone Script roots and radicals, in conjunction of top high frequency characters, as well as sentence patterns. This course begins with a big picture introduction to a meta-learning question for English speakers - HOW TO EFFECTIVELY LEARN CHINESE? With the right meta-learning method, these roots and radicals will be studied using a range of consistent approaches, including visualization, flash cards, decomposition, contextual reading with guided think-alouds about unknown word meanings, translation, self-expression and writing activities.

WHO BENEFITS FROM STUDYING ORACLE BONE SCRIPTS ROOTS & RADICALS?

- heritage and non-heritage students learning Chinese as a second language (在海外学习汉语者)
- heritage and non-heritage students finding Chinese characters difficult to learn（学习汉字有困难）
- heritage and non-heritage students finding difficulty in understanding multiple meanings of any given Chinese characters, or multiple characters with the same pronunciation  （一字多义和同音字带来的语言理解困难）
-  heritage and non-heritage students who have a need to increase their listening, speaking, or reading vocabularies (扩大词汇量)
- curious learners who are fascinated with world language and culture （对语言及文化充满好奇心）

HOW, SPECIFICALLY, WILL YOUR CHILD BENEFIT FROM THIS COURSE?

(1) Each OBS roots or radicals gives a student access to the core meanings of an exponentially greater number of characters. Once your child learns 10 high-utility roots, s/he will be able to understand the core/basic meanings of 100+ high-level words. This is the benefit of LEARN 1 KNOW 10. 

(2) OBS roots or radicals identification facilitates compound character recognition!

(3) ALL AP Chinese and HSK vocabulary contains OBS root or radicals. The knowledge of OBS root or radicals will greatly enhance reading comprehension and expansion of vocabulary. 

(4) Stories of these OBS roots and radicals range from body parts to nature, from animals to agriculture and war. This not only reinforces memorization, but also  develops in the learner an understanding of human civilization from the perspective of natural language development. 

(5) Broadens the scope of learners’ world  knowledge, and cultivates in them a love for exploration of culture and society.


I hope you agree that the study of OBS root or radicals will be fruitful for you child! I look forward to working with you to promote your child's Chinese vocabulary development and cultural curiosity!