English has become the language spoken most often at home and some children today may find it more difficult to master mother tongue languages. Teachers at St Stephen’s School have gone beyond textbook learning to help students to master Chinese language and gain confidence in using it in their daily lives.
For Primary One students, fun activities are injected into their Chinese classes. Other than learning vocabulary and sentence structure through the textbook, students get to watch animations which incorporate dialogue related to the lesson content. The objective is to help students internalise what they have learned and apply the lesson content to their daily lives.
The school uses the animated clips, which can be found in the Xuele educational resources, to aid the learning of Chinese language, as teachers found that it piqued students’ interest.
“Today’s students are well-acquainted with technology and they love watching cartoons and animations,” explains Chinese teacher Mr Tan Yi Ru. “The students find the animated clips relatable and it helps to hone their listening and speaking skills.”
Additionally, what is taught in class is reinforced through role-play activities. Teachers would guide the students to engage their peers in conversation using the new vocabulary they have learned.
The use of role play in class has offered students a conducive environment to put their knowledge into practice, as well as an opportunity to extend a helping hand to their peers. “Our students have different learning capabilities. Those who are stronger in the language would help other classmates to practice so that they can improve and gain confidence in speaking Mandarin,” says Mrs Ming Loh, the head of department for Mother Tongue.
The activities have helped to improve their reading and writing skills as well. “The students can remember and relate to the Chinese characters better, as they can see how the vocabulary is used in daily conversations,” explains Mr Tan.
“Parents have told us that their children have gained confidence in using Chinese language,” shares Mrs Loh. “The students have become more receptive to learning the language and find that it is not difficult at all.”
