How can preschools support the learning of mother tongue languages when they are now being spoken less at home? How can parents inculcate simple daily habits in their lifestyle that will expose their children to their mother tongue? Director of Mother Tongue Language Curriculum and Professional Development at NTUC First Campus, Dr Connie Lum, shares her insights.

Dr Connie Lum was involved in a project that examined the efficacy of a popular Mandarin eBook app among preschool children in Singapore. The project, helmed by Dr Sun He, Education Research Scientist from NIE, was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reflecting on the experience, Connie says that even though there were challenges caused by school closures and less face-to-face learning, it provided a golden opportunity for parents and young learners to be more exposed to using eBooks for reading and learning at home.

“The experience has made preschool educators and parents realize how multimedia technology that incorporates multimodal features such as text, animations, illustrations and songs, can actually help children in learning their mother tongue,” she points out.

Multimodal Learning in the Classroom

There has been more awareness in early childhood education (ECE) of the benefits of multimodal learning. Studies have shown that when our senses such as visual, auditory and kinesthetic are being simultaneously engaged during learning, we can understand and remember more.

Connie strongly supports using multimodal approaches in the classroom to enhance literacy and develop oracy among preschoolers. She notes that with more children coming from English-speaking households, it is imperative for teachers to teach mother tongue languages in innovative and engaging ways.

She gives an example of how her team at NTUC First Campus (NFC) have translated a well-known picture book titled Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? into a video.

“Instead of having a teacher read out the story as students quietly listen, the teacher will play a video of the story which is re-told in Mandarin. The video is rich with illustrations, animations, and catchy tunes that the children can sing along to,” she explains. “Not only that, the children have the freedom to move their body along with the music too.”

She emphasizes that actions such as singing and repeating of words as well as engaging in make-believe activities form parts of play, which is an important part in children’s academic learning. “We should not underestimate the aspect of ‘fun’ in ECE. It is when children are having the most fun that they can learn the most and retain new knowledge,” she says. NFC’s classrooms also have various hands-on and multisensory activities such as finger puppetry during mother tongue lessons.

Using Mother Tongue Language Daily

To nurture young children’s confidence and fluency in their second language, it is important to make the language relevant and applicable to their lives.

“In our classrooms, teachers converse in Mandarin not only during lessons but also during transitional periods such as lunch and bathing hours. During lunch time, for example, teachers will introduce the names of foods and fruits to the students in Mandarin,” she shares.

“Hopefully, they can apply what they have learnt in the classroom to their daily lives, for example, ordering chicken rice in hawker centres or even buying fruits in wet markets using Mandarin,” she adds.

Connie and her team have also written and published Chinese language books. These books are set in the local context, with words, dialogues and scenes that preschoolers can relate to in Singapore. “The books are themed around Singapore festivals such as National Day, Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Puasa. Apart from enhancing their literacy skills in Mandarin, the books can help them gain a deeper understanding of Singapore’s multicultural heritage,” she remarks.

Tips for Parents

Connie reminds us that a child’s home environment and early exposure to the mother tongue language heavily influences how well the child learns and is able to speak the language. The best age to start exposing them to the second language is when they are young. “It is actually during the infancy stage when they can easily pick up and speak their first words in the mother tongue language,” Connie explains. “The earlier you expose the child to the language, the easier it is for them to speak it.”

She advises parents not to focus too much on word recognition or using flashcards during the early years. “To cultivate a conducive environment that encourages mother tongue learning, parents can practise simple daily habits such as reading aloud to their children bedtime storybooks in Mandarin or playing Chinese songs every day in the home or car,” she shares.

“Another thing that parents can do is to involve their children in cultural celebrations, such as the Dumpling Festival or Lantern Festival, and initiate discussion on the cultural significance behind these festivals. This way, children will be able to make positive associations between Chinese traditions and the language,” she adds.

Future Hopes

Connie mentions that she has been working with local composers on creating new songs that children can sing along to. She notes that most books and videos used in local preschools to teach the Chinese language are currently imported from China and Taiwan.

“The best way that we can ensure our young students are able connect and engage with their learning materials is to set them within a local context,” she reiterates. “My hope for the next generation of preschool educators is that they will invest more time and effort in producing books and videos with local content.”

While the tried-and-tested ways of teaching do have a place in educating young learners, she also reminds teachers to augment those traditional modes of teaching in innovative, fun and engaging ways.