Princesses Learn Chinese app review: helping children learn Mandarin Chinese

Introduction

If you would like to introduce your child to Mandarin Chinese in a way that is engaging, interactive, and educational, the Princesses Learn Chinese app may be a good option. This app can be used on your iPod touch, iPad, and iPhone and is meant for kids aged four and older. It acts a wonderful first introduction or in combination with language classes or learning at home. The language is introduced through a number of different methods which are songs, stories, and games, all of which are perfect for kids.

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Learning Can Be Fun

While this app is of course an education-based app there is a lot of emphasis placed on making it fun and engaging so kids actually want to learn, making their level of success that much higher. The app exposes them to common expressions and words. The stories they will be reading are in English and then the Chinese aspect comes into play as a new expression or word is introduced on each of the pages. All of the narration is done by professional narrators so you know the quality is high.

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In the free version of the app you are given the first book for free, which is a great way to test out the app and the way the language is taught. Additional books can then be purchased for $1.99 each.

 

Using the App

Kids will not only be listening to the Chinese expressions and words on each page but will also be repeating it themselves. They are helped along by a Princess, which makes it incredibly engaging for young girls. Word association is practiced by matching up images to the Chinese pronunciation and character and kids can even sing songs in Chinese, an excellent way to help with memorization. Speaking of activities there are games such as bingo, memory, coloring, and stickers all aimed at helping them learn images, Chinese characters, and pronunciations. Through all the fun there is always an underlying focus on learning.

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The app enjoys a pretty high customer rating with customers seeming to be quite pleased with the offering. I’m not as overjoyed as some of the reviewers. I find the user interface quite basic, the graphics are rather average, and the experience itself is just mediocre. Many of the pages are very text-heavy and lacking in images and I think for young kids it isn’t able to keep their attention. I will say that using the app is very simple and the narration is excellent quality.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• User-friendly
• Professional quality narration of stories
• The first story is offered for free
• Helps kids learn common first Chinese Mandarin words and expressions
• Offers activities, games, songs, and more

 

Cons

• The graphics aren’t very exciting
• The pages are very text heavy

 

Final Thoughts

The Princesses Learn Chinese app for your iPod touch, iPad, and iPhone can certainly offer parents a fun way to introduce kids to Mandarin Chinese however, it’s not always engaging at all points through the app and therefore can have difficulty keeping the child’s attention.