‘Ni hao’ (‘hello’) is not yet the standard greeting at Young England Kindergarten in London. But after completing the first term of a one-year Mandarin course, the three- and four-year-olds are beginning to grasp the basics of the language.
Delivered by language school Little Mandarin Classes, an external teacher takes three classes of up to eight children once a week for 20 minutes.
Young England Kindergarten deputy head teacher Lucy Oldman (pictured) says the sessions are age-appropriate and taught interactively using songs and visual materials such as puppets. As well as Mandarin, the teacher uses British Sign Language.
The teacher will tell a story, which the children act out and sing along to, or engage the children with role-play topics. She also runs cultural activities, such as making Chinese lanterns or red envelopes for Chinese New Year.
When they complete the year, the children receive a certificate.
Young England Kindergarten children also attend Spanish classes once a week, and Ms Oldman says any language learning at a young age can help children develop concentration and understanding of wider communities. ‘It doesn’t have to be Mandarin,’ she says. ‘There are many studies on how being bilingual can benefit children.’
Ms Oldman says the classes are improving the children’s confidence. ‘We ask the children what they’ve learned from the lesson and if they can teach us any of the words,’ she says. ‘They quite like that. They have learned things the staff within the setting have not been a part of, and they can share that knowledge.’
She has also noticed the children are more inquisitive about the world, and they enjoy looking at maps and asking about the different nationalities of their peers within the setting.
‘I can’t say during our free play they are speaking Mandarin as yet,’ Ms Oldman says. ‘But who’s to say they won’t be in the future?’
www.littlemandarinclasses.co.uk
