Bilingual D.I.Y.
"Although time-consuming, it wasn't very hard at all! You just need somewhere to work, a pen and some sticky-backed labels."
If you've read my first blog post (and if you haven't, why not take a look!), then you might remember that I mentioned making my own translations for some of my daughter's favourite English picture books. Well, here they are!
Before I ordered the set of Le Le Chinese books, I was in a place of desperation. Stores stocking these Chinese translations were either out of stock or a little pricey... And if I got it from overseas, I'd have to pay extortionate shipping fees and still have to wait for the delivery time (usually a month - give or take a bit)! Needless to say, we were in the middle of a COVID-19 lockdown and all the libraries were closed so I couldn't get my hands on Chinese language books recommended by a local friend even if I wanted to...
So the above are samples of my handiwork - a few nights sacrificed but well worth the effort, I think! (I hope you agree!)
Although time-consuming, it wasn't very hard at all! You just need somewhere to work, a pen and some sticky-backed labels (or you can use paper and tape/sticky-back plastic). If you're, working on hardback books, with each page finished in a gloss, I wouldn't recommend using glue and paper because it might end up sliding around when you work on other pages. I like the Post-It labels because they can be removed even after sticking, so if you want to resell or give away the book without the translations then that option always remains available!
If you're confident enough, you could translate the book yourself. But for official Simplified Chinese translations, I often went onto YouTube to find videos of the books with people reading and showing the pages. There're some really good videos I'm leaving in the footer, so give them a try!
I suppose this doesn't work if you don't know how to write the Chinese words... And sometimes, like my experience with Dear Zoo, it was difficult to find readings in Simplified. However, you can still work around this! I was still able to translate Dear Zoo because I had a little prior knowledge and was comfortable enough with Mandarin to listen and know the words needed. But regardless of your current fluency, at least you can start by showing your children these videos of people reading picture books in Mandarin!
It was a short one, today, but I hope this gets your bilingual journey started while we're still working on our main website and stocking books!
So, you've made it to the end of the post! Thanks for your continued support!
As promised, here are the aforementioned YouTube links:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Simplified): https://youtu.be/0Ir2RgqqiBI
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Traditional): https://youtu.be/qXbf_uJP6H0
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, too? (Simplified): https://youtu.be/PWn4KIVKDM8
Dear Zoo (Traditional): https://youtu.be/xXOWywkaOFk
Obviously, you can use your own equipment… but if you don’t have any, you can find the link to the sticky labels (left to right: increasing thickness) I used below… Plus, buying with our links will help support our website!
Let us know what your greatest frustrations are about creating the bilingual environment for your kids! Or, if you're a little older and learning another language, what frustrations do you face? Maybe you think the Chinese learning resoureces and books in the UK are a bit scarce? Leave us a comment!
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