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Enrichment Programmes & Activities
KID-FRIENDLY WAYS TO MASTER
MANDARIN CHINESE
It is easy to feel intimidated and assume teaching Mandarin Chinese to children is a near-to-impossible task.
With a few key pointers, mastering the language is actually easier than you think.
Mandarin Chinese, being the most widely spoken native language
in the world and recognizing the role that China is going to play
in the global economy, makes it a no-brainer that parents would
want their children to pick up the language. It is also the most
difficult language to learn, or at least it is perceived as the hardest
language for non-native speakers to master. The usual challenges
come with the intonation patterns and the ideographic (it uses
symbols known as Chinese characters) nature of the language. It
is easy to feel intimidated and assume teaching Mandarin Chinese
to children is a near-to-impossible task. With a few key pointers,
mastering the language is actually easier than you may think.
Rather than rote memorization, the following method makes
learning easier and produces long-lasting results:
CAPTIVATE
Children learn best when they
get to participate and explore
topics that are relevant to their
interests. Stimulate all senses
using multi-sensory learning
tools that engages varied
textures, colours, movements,
sounds, shapes or sounds to
sustain focus. Keep them
motivated with hands-on
activities such as songs,
games, colourful animations
and role-playing.
REPEAT
By repeating words or concepts,
children get to practice,
self-correct, master skills,
strengthen understanding and
retain knowledge. While
repetition is important to
children’s learning and
development, it does not mean
doing the exact same activity or
going through the same story,
over and over again. Instead,
provide them with different
opportunities to practice the
same skill. For example, learning
numbers through a song and
learning how to count using
beads.
ACHIEVE
Be it a beginner or intermediate
learner, learning Chinese
through playful, interactive
experiences and repetition will
help children develop skills in
all aspects of the language:
reading, writing, listening,
speaking, character
recognition, pronunciation and
vocabulary acquisition.
Kiddy123 VOL 02 15