Thanks to the British Council for the suggestions! These are what we really need to say to our young Mandarin learners. According to my own experiences of teaching and learning languages, reading books that one is interested in and can understand is crucial for making progress and developing interest and motivation.
According to the NSW new Chinese K-10 Syllabus (2017), it
targets three different audience groups: Second Language Learners (students
with no prior learning and/or experience), Background Learners (students with
prior learning and/or experience) and First Language Learners (students with a
background in Chinese). Although the
Syllabus provides the same outcomes for three different groups, it states
different expectations by suggesting different contents. It’s obvious that the
Syllabus is taking into account of the idea of differentiation.
Based on the idea of differentiation and a student-centre
approach, “Learn Chinese While Singing” Student Workbooks are designed to
cater for different levels of learners. There
are three levels of exercises for each song (Exercise A, B and C). Exercise A
is for the beginners, e.g. second language learners; Exercise B is for learners
who have some basic knowledge of the target language; Exercise C, which is more
challenging, is for more advanced learners, e.g. young newly-arrived migrants or
first language learners. Learners can
starts from the level that they feel comfortable and move on to higher levels.
This song is suitable for young children, especially K-2 students. It is originally from the well-known “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. For 2nd language learners, they will master quickly. It is also a great sense of accomplishment for children to sing 《小星星》in the early stages of learning Chinese. If the teacher can ‘add’ some actions while singing along, kids will enjoy it more.
For young children, like Trump's granddaughter, it is certainly fantastic to be able to sing 《茉莉花》 in front of Xi Jinping. But from the perspective of child psychology, songs that fit the mind and maturity of a child may be more engaging. For more information, email learnchinesewhilesinging@gmail.com
When learning Chinese, songs are effecive texts. In this song, you can learn the number (1-7), 'where?' (在哪里), 'over here' (在这里) and 'exactly' (就) etc. Apart from that, you are learning the language in a natural and relaxing way by singing it.
This is an inspiring YouTube video and useful teaching resource. Although A-Fu says that the pronunciation is challenging, he has spoken well. Many people, including some Chinese teachers, say that Chinese is a 'difficult' language. I do not agree.
There are many reasons why one can master a foreign/second language. Apart from the elements of the language itself (such as pronunciation, grammar, sentence structure, etc.), interest, motivation, learning environment, learning methods, and even understanding of
the culture, are key to the success of learning a foreign/second language. Simply saying that Chinese is difficult to learn is not true, and it doesn’t solve the problem either. After all, it is a relative concept. In Spanish, for example, the pronunciation is easy for Chinese learners, because its words are composed of 'syllables'. However, the Spanish grammar is very complicated. Relatively speaking, Chinese characters for many 'foreigners' are hard, but the pronunciation is not difficult. Moreover, the grammar is very flexible and simple. So, I think, when promoting Chinese as a second language (CSL), we should treat speaking/listening and reading/writing separately. After all, they are different skills. A learner who can say 'xie xie' may not need to be able to read or write '谢谢’.
With Chinese becoming more globalised, we definitely need more innovative ways of teaching.
