Little Reader Chinese

I was recently asked to review the Little Reader Chinese content.  I must start by saying, that I am not the most well equipped person to review this program.  In the area that I live in, I don't know of anyone who even speaks Chinese, so I have never really had any exposure to this language.  However, K & I are always up for a challenge, so she has been learning Chinese for the last month!

 In order to run Little Reader Chinese, you will need to own the Little Reader program. Little Reader Chinese is available in either simplified or traditional written Chinese. There are 2 semesters of content available for a total of about 12 months of learning fun.  Just like Little Reader in English, this program is fully customizable.  You can choose your content, add your own pictures, voice or add new words or pictures.  The flexibility of Little Reader is one of it's best features.  The Chinese content also goes from letters, to words right up to stories.

While I cannot comment on the language, I can comment on a number of other aspects of the program. It was kind of neat for me to experience learning a totally new language & experience Little Reader from a similar point of view to what a child would have! 

The pictures and short video clips used in the program are very clear & concise. I had no trouble at all figuring out what each word meant, & I know that K is understanding some of the words too.  It is interesting though, that while she is definitely picking up some Chinese words, as far as I can tell, she is not learning them at the same voracious rate that she is in English.  I am guessing that it is because in English, she knows the letters, their sounds, & is starting to have some understanding of phonics, word families, & even just patterns in the words.  I expect that if we kept with it, she would soon begin to learn Chinese at a quicker rate as well.  I also think that I am probably not giving her credit for learning as many words as she has, again, more because of my lack of understanding of the language.

Notice K's fingers as the word fingers is displayed?


I also really appreciate that by having a native speaker, the program teaches children the proper pronunciation of each word - something that would be almost impossible for me to teach myself.

I imagine that all of you are wondering if I will continue on with Little Reader Chinese?  Who knows what the future holds, but at this point it will not be part of our regular routine.  Perhaps with my typical kids I may have continued on.  It is a great program, but K has too many other things that she needs to concentrate on right now.  Her neurodevelopmental program takes up a fair portion of our day & between that & running after my older girls, I just don't think I can consistently devote much time to anything else.  K is able to use the Little Reader program fully independently though, so you never know how often she will choose to play the Chinese content.  I really think the benefits to a 2nd language are huge, so although I am not ready to make a firm commitment to a 2nd language at this point, I am hopeful that she will continue to enjoy this program even if it is on a less regular basis.

While I am not planning at the moment to make Little Reader Chinese a part of K's regular curriculum, I do highly recommend it to anyone who is wanting their child to learn Chinese. 

Here is a link to learn more about Little Reader Chinese.
 
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This review was written in exchange for a free copy of Little Reader's Chinese content semester one.  I was not paid for this review, nor was I required to write a positive review.  This is my honest, unbiased opinion on this product.