A new game has preschoolers matching Chinese characters and getting excited about language.
If you’re looking for ways to introduce your students to another language, take a look at KINGKA, the first children’s game to use Chinese characters as its key element. This simple lotto game (which becomes more complex depending on the age of the students and how fast they progress) demonstrates that learning Chinese isn’t as hard as people think.
“When I asked one of my students if he’d like to play a game that taught Chinese, he was very interested,” said Kelly Davis, a speech pathologist who works with children birth to age 6. The three-year-old boy enjoyed KINGKA and started matching the Chinese character cards within three to five minutes of game play.
“It’s a great show-off skill. Teachers can show parents the great new thing their children learned today,” said Davis.
Indeed, parents are clamoring for Chinese language instruction. Many believe that it’s the key to success in a global economy. The younger the learner the better: Studies indicate that the ability to learn a second language is highest between birth and age 6.
Other research demonstrates the critical link between reading and writing Chinese characters and strong math skills. Learning the characters helps develop all regions of the right brain including vision and spatial perception.
“KINGKA addresses a variety of vocabulary groups – numbers, food items and body parts, for instance – which, as a teacher, I find important,” commented Davis.
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Sholeen Lou-Hsiao, a Chinese-American mom and entrepreneur, came up with this unique and playful game for her son after reading that children’s IQ scores improved five points after learning Chinese characters. For more information, visit
www.kingkagames.com. |
