Customer Reviews

Play & Learn CHINESE with Mei Mei Vol. 1

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I ordered this dvd, knowing not to expect the best of audiovisual quality (see other reviews), and wasn't pleasantly surprised to find otherwise. I bought it because it is the first in this series (the others more highly rated).

Yes, it looks like it was recorded in someone's basement with an amateur camcorder. Yes, it is stilted. Meimei sits frontally and teaches us with little interaction, props etc. The children seem to be her regular students and often seem to wait for behind the camera prompting and seem very selfconscious. They either seem unprepared or precocious. It seems very uninspired and pedantic.

So why 4 stars and not 2? Because my 34 mo old son LOVES IT! I ordered the Little Pim series (he likes), the Baby Learns Chinese (beautiful), the Globe Toddlers Adventures in Mexico (totally overrated), all for him to learn and practice Mandarin... and he continually asks for MeiMei. I thought it slow and repetitive: he sits calmly watching and repeats after MeiMei and the kids. He gets up and copies the students' movements, and we like watching the games and playing associated with the songs. He has started counting in Chinese better than in English. He does all the same movements as MeiMei's students if you ask him his body part names (ie swishing his butt for pi gu! "shake your bottom" says MeiMei) He wants me to sing Ba Luo Bo (Pull out the Carrot) with him.

So, forget what the adults judge to be excellent videography, snappy animations, exciting teaching... this one is a winner!

Now we'll order the next MeiMei chinese dvds with confidence.

Having long familiarity with both Mei Mei (the real person) and all of her products, and being a professional educator of children myself, I would just like to clear up a few facts. First of all, her name does not mean "little sister." As anyone educated in Chinese will tell you, "mei" actually has several meanings, depending on the tone used. Mei Mei's real name happens to mean "plum blossom", and is not an attempt to fool anyone about her age (how ridiculous is that). Secondly, the method she uses to teach Chinese is a proven, long-established tool that every language educator is familiar with (though not all are able to use it so effectively). It is called TPR (Total Physical Response), and every parent should be aware that combining learning with movement is one of the SUREST ways to make that information permanent in a child's mind. Certainly, the video is not slick, like some, but evaluated on the basis of educational content and ability to hold a young one's attention, it is certainly a bargain, an opinion that all of the intelligent reviewers below enthusiastically endorse!

When we put on the video for our 4 year old adopted daughter, her face lights up and she starts to sing along with it. Mei Mei's charm has totally fascinated our daughter. We are so happy to have found the videos so that we can continue to foster both her English and Chinese.

My 15 month old daughter loves to watch Chinese with Mei Mei. She does not move while watching this video. Along with my older children, we all are singing with Mei Mei.

I have just ordered Play and Learn Chinese with Mei Mei Volumes 2 & 3. I eagerly await to see my daughters face when we watch them. These videos are a must have for children learning Chinese.... When purchasing this video, one must keep in mind it is developed by educators for kids. My daughter loves to watch Mei over and over again. Your children will not be disappointed.

Our now 15 month old daughter learned to use her VCR by herself just so she could watch Mei Mei over and over! She actually learned to turn it on and hit the "play" button because Mei Mei was there! She loves the songs, the games, and of course, Mei Mei herself. In fact, one of the first things that she has spoken (after Ma Ma, Da Da, etc.) is "Ai Ya Ya" (a song lyric). Our older kids watch as well and have learned most of the songs just from watching with their little sister. It's so clear that Mei Mei loves teaching young children how to speak and sing in Chinese. What a wonderful gift she has. There is now a volume 2 and 3 which we have JUST ORDERED from Mei Mei herself! Now there is personal service.

We recommend this video without reservation - GET YOURS NOW

I bought this tape for my daughter about 3 years ago and I can honestly say that we learned faster from listening to it then from attending Chinese school for 3 years for an hour every other week!You will find yourself singing the songs and speaking basic Chinese conversation with your child in no time!The children are adorable and Mei Mei has a special way of teaching that Makes you learn it whether you are trying to or not!:) I also liked seeing Caucasian children learning to speak Mandarin. I think that has a positive impact on my girls who are Chinese with Caucasian parents.My second daughter who we just adopted in July of 01 at 14 months of age LOVES to sit and watch this tape with her 5 year old sister!She becomes mesmerized by it. In fact, it is the Only video that she will watch. We are very hopeful that Mei Mei will make a second tape so that we can continue to learn in the fun and easy manner that we enjoyed from her first video! I have seen others but I really recommend this one if you want to learn Mandarin the fun and easy way! Mei Mei has a unique way of presenting it to you and also includes an easy to follow booklet! Xie Xie , Mei Mei!Vicki Popste

I bought this video for my daughters who were born in China. This is our first experience with a language video, and I'm happy to say that we bought the follow-up videos as soon as they were available because Mei Mei is a very effective teacher. This is not a "glitsy" video; Mei Mei focuses on teaching the language and showing children who are her students. We learned to count to 10 very quickly and also the body parts. We love to sing the songs along with the children on the video too. I think this video is a great way to learn some basics and to get a feel for the language.

If you're expecting to see a Sesame Street production here - you won't find it. The video looks like a day in the kindergarten with Mei Mei (the name translates as "younger sister", which the previous reviewer labeled as "baby sister" and making fun of that name is no different than making fun of any other English name).

Mei Mei is a middle-aged woman, who loves teaching kids - if the age of the flesh matters to you, and you're looking for younger flesh, you can get Jade's videos - she's more vivacious.

While this video is not wildly exciting, you will learn some basic Chinese words and few songs. Other videos in the series were somewhat more appealing to me, because they also had written Chinese characters.

I cannot say enough good things about the Mei Mei series! I think we bought them all. My kids have definitely learned some Chinese from them.

I would recommend the Mei Mei cd, too. The songs are very catchy.

Also, the Follow Jade dvd's are great. A little on the short side, approximately 30 minutes each.

Plus, we also bought this gorgerous "ASIAN AMERICAN BERENGUER GIRL DOLL" from EBAY, and my daughter absolutely loves to play with the beautiful doll and watch her Chinese dvd's.

How do you expect to capture the interest of young children with a woman sitting on a chair raising each figure to count one to ten and then repeating the whole sequence for a whole 2-3 minutes? Why would you teach shake your bottom? Why do you only show girls?

I don't think the contents were thought out well. There was only one girl in the tape who understood Mandarin, the others were obviously cued - some started pointing at certain body parts before they were named and some were just clueless for longer than it should take to comprehend the words. The presentation was clinical at best. The people in the tape smile and skipped around but they did't look like they were enjoying themselves. Showing kids learning is fun is the #1 way of getting the kids to learn.

I tried every few days to put this tape on, but every time (8 times so far) one or both of my sons would ask to turn it off or put on another program. If I kept it on, they were back in their play room again...