Category: Mandarin

Category: Mandarin

The Secret Tools of a HotH Lao Shi

你好! The Mandarin programme at House on the Hill is one of the children’s favourite parts of their day in school, and this is due in no small part to our team of passionate Lao Shi (老师). Our Lao Shi diligently and conscientiously work to ensure that our students have a robust foundation in the language, with a fun and engaging curriculum designed to keep our young charges focused and excited to learn. After many months of planning, we finally launched a new afternoon, elective, full-immersion Mandarin programme (天天向上) last month. So far the reviews have been very positive. For this blog post, we thought we would take a look in the toolkit of our Lao Shi and pull out the secret tools that they use to engage with their students and make their classes so fun and effective. 天天向上 Curriculum In Singapore especially, many of our students graduate and go on to primary school programs where having a good foundation in Mandarin is extremely important. While our daily Mandarin program is extremely robust, parents who want more dedicated time with the language for their children now have the choice of daily whole afternoon immersive Mandarin environment. The curriculum takes the children through a combination of games, storytelling, cultural immersion and learning materials, with a focus on 听说读写 (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Our aim is to develop students who can comfortably and confidently use the language, with a strong foundation to build on as they leave us for primary school. They will also have a strong connection with the culture and language. So, how do our Lao Shi creatively help the children learn? For many of us adults, learning languages can be a challenge; this is even more so for young, easily distractable children. One of the best ways to learn Mandarin is by making it fun! This starts with the Lao Shi themselves, who approach lessons with a sense of adventure. We know that young children respond best to animation and smiles, and lots of body movement! This video is a great example of having fun whilst learning with Lao Shi – here she turns herself into the river in a role playing game. Secret Tool No. 1: Games! This leads us to the first secret tool in Lao Shi’s toolkit – games! A popular favourite with the children is learning through games. The Lao Shi employ all manner of games in class, such as action, role playing, music, card and outdoor games. This encourages pure immersion in the language and facilitates becoming more at ease with using it in a casual and informal setting. Secret Tool No. 2: Music and Movement Each term, our students will learn songs that relate to the theme of the term, which is an enjoyable way for young children to listen, acquire vocabulary, and for memory retention. This also encourages them to communicate clearly and well. We usually start a class by cranking up the speakers and having some singing and dancing as a warm up. Families can also have a sing-a-long session by using the song links that Lao Shi share with parents. Children even enjoy doing a little performance for their own families at home. Secret Tool No. 3: Pens The best way to encourage good Mandarin writing skills is by constant practice and repetition. Lao Shi employ different methods to keep this practice time fresh, through worksheets and crafts.  Different writing implements develop fine motor skills and prepare students for writing in primary school. Plus, writing with different colours is fun! Secret Tool No. 4: Printer and Laminating Machine Lao Shi often use printers and laminating machines to make their own equipment to aid with learning. These help to bring a topic to life for the children, in a simple and easy to understand manner. Secret Tool No. 5: Glue Glue is our Lao Shis’ favourite tool in the their toolkit. They are super creative and glue helps them to create all types of fun learning materials to use in class! For example,  Mandarin Sandpaper Strokes Drawing on our Montessori background, Lao Shi created a Mandarin version of the Sandpaper letters. Dr. Maria Montessori emphasized that writing should come before reading when learning language, and the same holds true for Mandarin. Our students first learn to trace basic 笔画 (strokes) and repeat the word to Lao Shi. Tracing the letters gives children the foundation for beautiful penmanship and helps them to learn how the sounds they hear are written. Lao Shi use crafts to encourage creative hands-on learning. This helps children relate their knowledge from the lessons to their work, increasing their interest in Mandarin. Secret Tool No.6 : The Great Outdoors There’s something about being outdoors that makes learning so much more fun! We go out when the weather is good, for water calligraphy, games and crafts. The children are more engaged and can experience the fun of learning Mandarin in a relaxed and happy atmosphere. Real life experiences and lots of exploration help to bring the language to life! To learn more about our regular Mandarin programme, please read our blog post: https://houseonthehill.com.sg/hoth/loving-mandarin 

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我爱语文!Loving Mandarin at House on the Hill

Mandarin has been an essential aspect of the curriculum since House on the Hill was founded in 2012. Mandarin Chinese has more than 1.3 billion native speakers, making it the most common first language in the world. Children from birth to age 6 pass through various stages of what Dr. Maria Montessori called sensitive periods for language, making it all the more critical for us to be teaching different languages in early childhood.    One of the first Mandarin words a child may learn at House on the Hill is 老师or Lao Shi (teacher). Our Lao Shis develop close bonds with all the children and are integral to the community of care and teaching at HotH. Lao Shis are often the first smiling faces children see at the morning health check, they can be found chatting with them at the playground and during lunch, and of course, they create and teach the bespoke Mandarin curriculum that HotH is known for (amongst children and parents!).   We teach Mandarin with games, activities, and cultural experiences so that everything is both fun and educational. The children are more engaged and can experience the fun of learning Mandarin in a relaxed and happy atmosphere. The children learn to communicate freely and express themselves confidently in Mandarin through songs, dances, plays, poems and other activities.   The key highlights of our Mandarin programme are:  自主操作  – Lots of hands–on learning to keep lessons fun and engaging  户外 – In line with HotH’s Montessori philosophy, this includes taking lessons outside!  探索– There’s lots of exploration through different themes with the language  听– Listening in class with fun and interactive ways  说– Children are taught to communicate clearly and well  读– We use a variety of education tools such as flashcards and storybooks to teach reading   写 – To learn to write, we use tools such as sandpaper strokes and constant practice to impart this skill  文化– Children are also exposed to drama, games, rhymes, chants, songs, music and movement to deepen their understanding of the elements of the Chinese language and culture.  We use real life experiences to bring the language to life too   The duration of the daily lessons is based on the children’s age, development, and concentration levels. These activities and lessons planned are engaging and rich in content which allow children to learn effectively within a half an hour to 45mins time span. On top of that, the Lao Shis conduct small group teaching as an extension after lessons.   Hanyu Pinyin   For local children, we know that they need to understand and use Hanyu Pinyin effectively when they start Primary School. However, it is vital that the children must have a good grounding and preparation in Mandarin as well as phonics beforehand. This is to prevent confusion between the two. Our primary focus is on equipping them with the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. K2 students will get an introduction and exposure of basic Hanyu Pinyin from Term 3 or 4 onwards.  Teaching  Our Mandarin teachers across our schools are native speakers. We have in place stringent hiring process to ensure we maintain the quality standards of teaching in all our schools. Besides meeting the criteria of educational as well as early childhood qualifications, our teachers must also have the passion and the natural love for teaching and guiding the children in all areas of their development. We also conduct constant teacher training.   Some commonly-asked questions about our program are:   Are HotH children prepared for Primary 1 Mandarin curriculum?   We equip all our students with a really strong foundation in Mandarin so that when they transit to any primary school they are able to continue to expand their language skills as they get older.   However, we acknowledge that there is a certain pressure involved with transitioning to Primary 1 in the Singaporean education system. Each of our students has a customised learning journey and we work hand-in-hand with their parents to ensure that their academic goals are being achieved. For children moving to the local system, we are aware of the skill requirements for Primary 1 and we prepare each student accordingly.   Help! My child won’t speak Mandarin even though he understands it.   If you are a bilingual parent or come from a family that speaks multiple languages you know the frustration of speaking to your child in one language and having them respond in another. Children of a young age will often use any vocabulary they know to make themselves understood, and as they grow older they will tend to use the one that is dominant in their society. If you are trying to converse with your child more in Mandarin there are some things you can do to help encourage Mandarin responses and practice!    Add additional Mandarin resources in your home like books, music or games.   Be consistent. If you only use Mandarin when talking to your child and expect only Mandarin in response they will begin to speak more   Create a need for them to speak it. Children know that you are bilingual, too! Find playdates or spend time with grandparents with whom your child can only communicate in Mandarin with.   Sometimes they may not know the word and will substitute in the English word. Gently remind them of the word and ask them to repeat it before moving on with the conversation.   How can I help my child learn Mandarin if I don’t speak the language?   Research on bilingualism mostly all comes to the same conclusion: more exposure to a language increases the chances of full bilingualism. If you or your partner do not speak Mandarin the best thing you can do is increase your child’s exposure to the language. The key is to create a conducive and comfortable environment to learning Mandarin.  Parents are always the best teachers and role model for their children. One suggestion Lao Shi has is for parents to pick up a few simple Chinese conversational phrases or sentences. In this way, children will not be shy or embarrassed to express themselves in Mandarin in front of them. Parents can also find some simple short sentence audio books or picture books to help children practice at home. Try role-playing! For example, parents can pretend to be students and get the child to teach them Chinese words that they’ve already mastered in class to boost their confidence.   Here are some tips from Lao Shi:  Play Mandarin language music at home   Label some of the things around the house in Mandarin. Get the children involved and have

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