Teachers make learning mother tongue languages more engaging

SINGAPORE — When she was a student, Madam Wei Xiurong’s Chinese-language teacher would drone on and on in class, while she tried her best to take notes and memorise the words and characters.

Now as a kindergarten mother-tongue teacher herself, the 44-year-old has adopted a different approach, by filling her lessons with dramatisations of the books she reads out to bring the story alive in the classroom.

Instead of simply spouting lines from the book, Mdm Wei would get her students to act out, with her, the characters from the illustrations in the book.

In recognition of such efforts by teachers to engage their young students, Mdm Wei, along with six others, are due to receive the Outstanding Pre-School Mother Tongue Language Teacher Award at the 5th Mother Tongue Languages Symposium, to be held at the Suntec Singapore Exhibition and Convention Centre on Saturday (Aug 20).

They will receive their awards from Ms Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Education (MOE).

The award recognises pre-school teachers for their passion in making the learning of mother tongue languages engaging, and in nurturing a love of languages among pre-school children. Another five teachers will receive the merit award.

Another award recipient, Madam Nor Aisah Amad, recalled how her fear of an intimidating primary school English teacher made it difficult for her to develop an interest in the subject. She attended class simply to avoid punishment.

As such, the 47-year-old tries to be cordial when teaching pre-school children the Malay language.

“When you’re scared of studying and punishment, it becomes difficult for interest to grow within you,” 
Mdm Nor Aisah said.

“As a teacher, I have to befriend them (students), be patient and guide them slowly until their interest grows. I also thank them for participating and for their opinions no matter how wrong it may be, because they are still children after all,” she added.

The teacher at PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Tampines Changkat Blk 284 had even gone to the market to get a real fish for her students, so that they could learn about its anatomy instead of just relying on two-dimensional pictures and charts.

For Mdm Wei, her love of reading books inspired her to utilise the stories fully by acting the illustrations out.

“To be an effective story-teller, to attract the attention of children, I really have to work on my body language, tone, facial expressions,” said the teacher from MOE Kindergarten @ Sengkang Green.

She added that the stories are another avenue for the children to share their own experiences which, in turn, draw their attention towards the story and promote interest in the language.

Mdm Wei’s career in teaching began nine years ago when she took a diploma in early childhood education to learn how to better teach her own two sons.

The then-homemaker and former accountant made a career switch “naturally” as she found teaching children rewarding.

Both Mdm Wei and Mdm Nor Aisah said they found the involvement of parents important in promoting the love for the mother tongue.

Mdm Nor Aisah noted that when she started teaching 28 years ago, there were no slots for mother tongue language teachers during parent-teacher conferences.

These days, however, she sees more parents coming up to her after classes, asking about their children’s progress.

As for Mdm Wei, she helps organise informal excursions with parents to take the learning of mother tongue languages from inside the classroom to places outside, such as fire stations.

“These are critical years of learning for the children and if you lay a strong foundation now, it will benefit their future years of learning,” said Mdm Wei.