FAQ
FAQ Menu
Getting Started
Is Little Chinese Readers really free?
Yes. Although there are paid premium plans, Little Chinese Readers offers a lifetime free plan with access to monthly activity packs and a limited number of lessons.
Is a credit card required for sign up?
No, only a valid email address is required to join. Credit card is required only if you subscribe to a paid plan.
How do I sign up for the free account?
Sign up here with a valid email address to start your 7-day premium trial.
What happens after my 7-day premium trial ends?
Your plan will automatically switch to our free lifetime plan after the 7-day trial, unless you sign up for a paid plan.
How can I unsubscribe from emails?
If you’re not interested in receiving notification of promotions, free downloads, and new features, you can always unsubscribe with the unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email.
How do I delete my free account?
If you would like your account to be deleted (with all the progress and data deleted and unrecoverable), please send us an email to let us know with your username and confirmation for deletion.
Our Pedagogy
What's unique about Little Chinese Readers?
Little Chinese Readers is leveled based on the recognition of Chinese characters. As a language with 100% sight words, we believe this is the best way to acquire Mandarin literacy. After student acquires ~50 new characters per level, he/she can read companion stories written with only characters they’ve already learned, which reinforces learning and builds confidence.
What features are available in each lesson?
Each lesson comes with clickable sounds for every character, audio-book mode, and the option to turn on or off English translations, pinyin, and zhuyin. Every lesson also has companion writing worksheets, flash cards, activities, and review games designed to help expand and reinforce the new vocabulary learned.
What features are available in each story?
Each story comes with clickable sounds for every character, audio-book mode, and the option to turn on or off English translations. Every story also comes with comprehension worksheets and printable materials to continue the learning offline.
How quickly can someone learn 100 Mandarin characters?
With daily lessons using our program, we believe learners of all ages can learn to read 100 Chinese characters in less than a month.
How many Mandarin characters do you teach per level?
Little Chinese Readers teaches an average of 50 characters per level. We believe this is an optimal number that students can retain, when such learning is reinforced by spaced repetition and independent reading.
How did you choose which Mandarin characters to teach in each level?
Most of the characters are selected based on their occurrence of frequency in the Chinese language. This way, learners are much more likely to encounter the learned characters in other settings, thus reinforcing their learnings in everyday life.
What age group is Little Chinese Readers for?
While we designed our program with children aged 4-10 in mind, we have had learners as young as 2 and as old as… well, old. In essence, anyone can learn with us.
Is Little Chinese Readers for heritage students only?
No. We have students from heritage and non-heritage families. Mandarin immersion program students particularly have found the program to be incredibly helpful for non-heritage families who may need the extra support.
Paid Plans
What premium plans are available?
We offer a monthly and a yearly subscription plan. Please visit the Memberships page for more details.
What forms of payment are accepted?
We accept secure and safe credit card payments for Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. Our site encrypts your private information using a SSL Certificate. We do not accept Paypal at this point. Please contact us if you would like to use an alternate payment method.
How can I check my subscription information?
To verify your subscription information, please sign in and visit your Account page using the menu in the top right corner. From there, you can see your subscription history and billing information.
How can I change or cancel my subscription?
For your convenience, your subscription will automatically renew at the end of your term. You can easily change or cancel your membership at any time but visiting your Account page. The change will take place immediately.
Is there any guarantee?
We are passionate about learning Mandarin and have built a curriculum that we believe will help every learner improve Mandarin literacy. Hence, we would be happy to refund any paid subscription in full within 14 days if you are unsatisfied in any way — no questions asked! Just send us an email to let us know that you would like to take advantage of our money-back guarantee.
How do I request a refund?
We would be happy to refund any paid subscription in full within 14 days if you are unsatisfied in any way — no questions asked! Just send us an email to let us know that you would like to take advantage of our money-back guarantee.
Student Accounts
How many student accounts are available under premium plans?
All of our premium plans come with one primary teacher/parent account plus two student accounts. Legacy plans have up to five student accounts.
What's the difference between a primary account and a student account?
A primary account controls billing and subscription information and is also the Group Leader of the group consisting of the associated students. From the Progress page, the Group Leader can see and manage the progress (including marking lessons/activities complete) of each student in the group.
What if I need more than two student accounts?
For a customized plan with more student accounts, please contact us with the number of seats you need.
How do I sign up my students?
On your Account page, there is a unique link to be distributed to your students. Using a different browser (or logging out of your account first), use that link to sign up for each student. Each student will need a different username and password.
Can I track of manage the progress of my students?
Yes, definitely. Visit the Group Course Report to track the progress of every student in your group and visit the Manage Student Progress page to update their progress as needed.
Printable Materials
Which of the materials can be printed?
All of our lessons and stories come with printable materials, including the lesson/story book, writing worksheets, flash cards (coming soon), and more. Some of them are still in development but will be regularly updated.
How do I make a book from the printable?
Please watch this video for instructions.
How many copies can I make?
As many are you need for your personal use. For schools and commercial use, please contact us for an institutional license plan.