Want Your Kids to Speak Chinese? Watch Nihao Kai Lan

China’s population represents 20.8% of the global population. It is also emerging as the next giant world economic power. China has not shown any interest in changing its official language or moving away from using 汉字 (characters) for their writing. While many Chinese speak English and in many places there is English signage (some of it pretty hilarious), business in China is still conducted in Chinese.

Kids have the capacity to learn anything, even a tonal language with writing that gives you no clue as to the tone or pronunciation. Sure, it takes a lot of practice and dedication. Actually, it takes a LOT of time and dedication and practice and usage, but in the end it is worth it because the language is incredibly useful

Now that you’re sold, how do you get the kids learning Chinese? If they are little (3-6), consider the new show on Nick Jr, Ni Hao Kai Lan. Kai Lan Chow is a bubbly, Dora-like cutie-pie who loves to play games and do cool activities with her friends. She speaks both English and Mandarin Chinese, mostly weaving the latter in when she is talking to both her friends and your kids. The show also deals with behavior issues that kids have and tries to teach them how to be patient and how to share. The sage for advice is Kai Lan’s 爷爷 （yeye) which is Chinese for paternal grandfather. He teaches the kids about Chinese culture, makes them dumplings and Chinese New Year dinner, performs taiji quan and supervises fun activities like backyard camping, a dragon parade and dragon boat races.

Kai Lan’s friends represent different ages and personalities. There is Rintu the tiger who is always eager to jump right into anything and get involved even when he has no idea what he is getting himself into.

Hoho is a little mischievous monkey who likes to jump and DJ. He even has turntables! Because he is really young, he often has a hard time with patience and authority.

Tolee is a koala bear who loves panda bears. He is a bit more introverted and unsure of himself, but Kai Lan and company help him realize his true potential.

They also have a friend named Lulu. She is a rhino who flies around using a red balloon. As far as I can tell so far, she is not a part of the usual gang and shows up when they need someone to help them fly.

Kai Lan does not force Chinese on anybody. She just uses it matter of factly and it is usually pretty obvious what the word means. If it isn’t, she uses it often and kids learn from the context. For instance, whenever someone leaves, she says 一会儿见 （yi hui er jian)。This loosely translated means “see you soon”. My kids are already saying it. They also have picked up the words for slippers, flashlight, car, some colors and numbers one through five. Sure, I speak Chinese and I try to help reinforce it, but I’ve also heard them speaking the Spanish that they learned on Dora so I am sure it is more of Kai Lan’s influence than mine. Either way, both my 4 year old daughter and 3 year old son have taken a keen interest in Chinese and I could not be happier.

Check out your local TV listings for Ni Hao Kai Lan and let me know what you think.

一会儿见

功夫爹