Many parents face challenges to get their children develop an interest in Mandarin, let alone read and write them. One of the reasons may stem from parents' own Mandarin 'roadblock' as they are not confident of the basics themselves. Thus, they aren't sure how to start 'teaching' or exposing their little ones to the new language. Do you know that children are able to pick up languages much faster compared to adults? We have to make full use of this 'golden period' to help them develop a strong foundation while they are young. By having greater exposure to the language, their confidence and interest increase and they will naturally be more inclined to learn the subject. You must be thinking the easiest way to do so is to send children for Chinese enrichment classes when they are 18 months old. But in retrospect, not all classes are built the same.
I will be sharing with you my own experiences as a mother and as an educator on how to pique interest in the Chinese language in a child.
#1: Cultivate the love for the language at home
Many parents share with me that with their poor mastery of Mandarin, they find it a challenge to cultivate a positive Mandarin speaking environment at home. But what we are striving to do here is to start with very basic conversational skills, asking routine-related questions (e.g. 你想吃什么？）and conversing casually on a daily basis (e.g. ask your child how was his/her school day - 今天你在学校学些什么？). From there, we expand a child's responses by encouraging them to give longer utterances. While children have the natural tendencies to reply in English, encourage them to respond in Mandarin and give little rewards/ labelled praises each time they make a good response （e.g. 我喜欢你用华语回答！) Additionally, it will be great if each parent can communicate in a different language (e.g. Mummy speaks in English; Daddy speaks in Mandarin).
#2: Expose the children to more Chinese prints and immerse them in the Chinese culture
Start by bringing your child to the library. Parents can scan through the books and sieve out those appropriate books suitable to your child's level of understanding. Encourage him/ her to go to both the English and Mandarin sections to choose the books he/she wishes to borrow. This provides the child with a sense of control and autonomy over what they are reading, and translates into more investment on their part to engage with the reading materials. Some genres to consider are: fairytales, folklore, fantasy and books related to values or inculcation of positive habits (e.g. teeth brushing). With the Mid-Autumn Festival coming up, parents can take the opportunity to open their eyes to the rich cultural origins and significance of the festival, besides consuming mooncakes and admiring lantern displays.
(Above: A book on Chinese New Year origins and practices that we borrowed recently)
My husband and I bring our son to the library fortnightly and each time we will borrow 24 books (12 English books, 12 Chinese books). We place equal importance in both languages. Each night, we take turns to read 2 books as bedtime story. We started bedtime story routine right from birth. Sometimes, we narrate the English contents using Mandarin and vice-versa. This is to provide more exposure to the language and to let the child know that stories narrated in 2 different languages are equally interesting. It can be as simple as describing the pictures in the books and asking simple questions related to the story. Do not be disheartened if they provide a 1-word or short phrase responses, or in mixed language. Correct them on the spot and get them to repeat after you. To further expand on their understanding, besides asking literal questions (i.e. responses directly stated in the text), parents can explore inferential questions (i.e. responses that are indirectly stated, induced or require other information). Not only a child feels involve in the story-telling sessions, these questions can spark a child's creative thinking and comprehension skills. This enhances both the linguistic abilities of the child, as well as expand their cognitive capacity.
Examples of literal questions:
-Why is the girl crying? (小女孩为什么哭了？）
-What does the monkey like to eat? (猴子喜欢吃什么？）
Examples of inferential questions:
-What do you think is going to happen next? (接下来你觉得会发生什么事？）
-Why do you think he is feeling sad? (你为什么说他难过呢？)
If your child can recognise some of the words (English/ Chinese), involve them! When you come across a particular word your child can read, always stop and provide them with practice opportunities. They may not get the words right on the first, second, or even third try. Remember- consistency and encouragement is key! This will greatly boost their confidence.
#3: Make learning easy, reachable and fun
When it comes to teaching and learning, many parents have the wrong idea that learning has to be seated, with paper and pencil. In fact, most children are visual, textile and kinaesthetic learners. This means that they learn better when they see, touch and be on the move. So as parents and educators, we need to use their strengths and teach in fun and engaging ways. This would mean activities have to be multisensorial.
Even as adults, we are all very attracted to the different environmental prints we see daily and all around us. This is more so for the children as their curiosity pique when they see something new. So how can we introduce new words to our children and make sure they retain those words?
Below is my personal sharing of a real-life experience on how I teach my son to read and recognise Chinese words. I started teaching him word recognition at 18 month old. As of 3.5 years old, he can recognise more than 300 Chinese characters and is able to read sentences in relation to the words he has mastered. One must be thinking about the amount of time 'tutoring' the child. Think about quality (time) over quantity. The Pareto Optimal principle suggests that 80% of the results are driven by 20% of our efforts in many things that we do. If you can only spare 10-15 minutes a day after dinner to do some learning with your child due to work commitments etc., then do it! Use any available personal interaction time you have with your child to teach/reinforce a new/learnt skill (from school or at home).
Taking advantage of his interest in cars and toys in general (because which child doesn't like to play?), I created lots of manipulatives to engage him in learning. This is a directed and purposeful play. Remember: learning has to be fun. At 18 months old, it was nearly impossible to get him to sit down to learn. But not only was I able to get hold of his attention, I was also able to meet my goal of imparting those new words and at the same time, work on his fine and gross motor skills. Note: If you create a game, make sure the game can be adapted for multiple uses - teaching numeracy, for instance - so it maximises the learning outcomes using the one game created.
(Above: An example of the manipulatives I created. The cards can be replaced with English words/ letters/ even phonics related activities)
#4: "Seeing is believing"
As mentioned earlier, children are very good visual learners. If they do not 'see' it, they will not be able to 'learn' it. Preschools are decorated with many different types of visual information, charts, manipulatives as every space serves as a potential learning moment for children. Similarly, if you want your child to learn new words, make sure they are readily available and children can see them. These 'displays' can be in the form of pictures, posters, flash cards, charts or maps.
Similarly, I make use of many flash cards in my classes. These are not just ordinary flash cards, but rather, flash cards that are sourced/ created purposefully to make it easy for children to remember. Children who attend my Phonics classes would know how easy it is to learn new words with the creative flash cards I source/ make myself. Remember: If you find it difficult to learn as an adult, the children will find it even harder. So, always think from the standpoint of a child. Note: One has to explicitly teach every new word (from how it looks and the meaning behind it). You cannot assume the child knows what it means!
(Above: Image taken from Shopee. These are some samples of the flash cards I use and they can be purchased easily from Shopee. Note: Not all words in the dictionary have a picture. If I cannot find a particular word card I need, I will draw it myself/ make up my own story of how to recognise a new word. Example: the word ‘虎’- 森林里有几只老虎？有七只！)
At home, I constructively made use of my furniture and displayed word cards on the cupboards. These word cards get rotated every month. You may think it is just for 'display' but my son is able to come home and tell me the word cards have been changed! This shows that he has been observing the 'displays' without deliberately standing there to read. An example of how I get him to read off the words for me is when he is riding his scooter. We treat it like a game: Every time he passes by the word cards, it means 'traffic light has turned red'- he has to stop. He has to read off few of the words I point. Another example would be to use bean bags and get him to throw at the words he knows how to read. Whatever method you use, make it enjoyable!
So how do we progress after a child can read some single words?
Move on to reading short phrases, followed by long sentences, before progressing into getting the child to attempt to read a simple story book. You do not need any special resources; all you need is just an exercise book and a pen.
(Above: Caerus progresses from simple sentences to more complex sentences in less than 1 year)
(Above: Caerus reading at 2.5 years old)
(Above: Caerus reading at 3.5 yrs old)
Yes, teaching a child is tedious. But the end result is rewarding. Being able to read at 2 years old? Yes, it is very possible (with a lot of hard work). Starting off with English is much easier. Once your child is able to gain some competency in one language, expand the approach to another language. Don't worry about whether you can 'teach' the language; treat it as a journey of learning for yourself, too! It would be quality time spent with your child as well. Do not doubt yourself and your child. They have more potential than you think.
Feel free to drop me a text about your own experience ;)
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