Educating kindergarten kids about Chinese works best when there is the desire to learn. But how do you ensure that your child actually enjoys learning Chinese?
The Chinese language is largely infiltrating large segments of society today.
Unfortunately for many young children, Mandarin may be a tough language to grasp — but it doesn’t have to be.
Learning Chinese is no longer just about memorising texts. It can be a gateway to imagination and unforgettable learning, leading your child to greater opportunities for future success.
How a Chinese kindergarten can help your child reach academic and lifelong success
By providing an encouraging and positive environment with a myriad of hands-on activities, Chinese kindergartens can instill a love for both the Chinese language and its rich culture.
This lays a crucial foundation for when your child enters primary school. As mother tongue is an academic requirement in primary school and in the PSLE, parents may want to prepare their preschoolers in advance — not by drilling them, but by inspiring them to want to learn Mandarin.
That is where attending a Chinese kindergarten can help.
Here are the three ways that Chinese kindergartens can inculcate a lifelong love of Mandarin in children:
1. Children receive more Mandarin exposure through purposeful play and interaction with their peers when they attend Chinese preschools in Singapore
Although it is helpful for parents to speak to their children in Mandarin, adult interaction is different than peer interaction. In a Chinese kindergarten setting, children’s exposure to Mandarin is widened through both teacher and peer interaction. When students work on projects together, solve problems, and play amongst themselves in Chinese, they will naturally apply learned vocabulary and phrases to communicate more fluently.
The dialogue that takes place during crafted play and fun interaction goes beyond memorising texts, and is probably more enjoyable. This builds up children’s confidence, and their willingness to express themselves in Chinese.
2. Students’ learning experience is enlivened through Chinese music, speech and drama
To build up an intrinsic desire to learn Chinese, a Chinese playgroup or preschool in Singapore may incorporate music, theatre, art, and a variety of activities that engage students’ interests and imagination.
Speech and drama activities can build confidence as well as improve their literacy, intonation, and fluency in speaking Chinese on a day-to-day basis.
Whether it is through singing Chinese rhymes and folk songs or reenacting an ancient tale, Chinese kindergartens aim to create a warm and enthralling environment that emboldens the love of Mandarin.
3. Chinese kindergartens in Singapore foster curiosity and interest in Chinese culture and values
If your goal is to improve your child’s Chinese language skills, choose a preschool in Singapore with a core programme that expounds on Chinese culture.
To excel at a language, it is essential to also understand the history of the country it originated from; culture appreciation provides a richer context to the Mandarin learning experience.
Children love stories, and China’s rich history is full of interesting tales, morals and values that will captivate young ones, sparking their interest in the language too.
Clay modeling, Chinese painting, mooncake making and calligraphy are just some of the exciting hands-on activities that make learning Chinese a memorable adventure.
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