How Little Mandarins helped Emily to speak confidently in Mandarin in just 9 months
Emily was 10 years old when she started at Little Mandarins. Like many Singaporean children from English-speaking families, she struggled with Mandarin as a second language in school. Her feeling that Mandarin was ‘boring’ had an impact on her studies, with the normally bubbly and confident little girl clamming up in class and shying away from speaking in Mandarin.
Upon meeting Emily, Yang Lao Shi immediately set out to put her at ease in the classroom setting. She found out that Emily loved to perform, particularly in song and dance and that she loved animals. Using these as talking points in class, she helped Emily to feel at ease in class, even encouraging her to bring her pet hamster and talk about him!
After 9 months with Little Mandarins, Emily has shown significant improvement, not only in her examination results but in her confidence with the language.
These techniques are all in line with the Little Mandarins way of teaching Mandarin to children. Our MOE Syllabus programme is tailored not just to give your children the specialized help they need to achieve academic excellence in school, but to give them the ability to communicate in Mandarin confidently as well. We draw on the children’s own experiences to help them develop their language skills and apply them effectively during exams. After 10 years of teaching Mandarin, we know definitively that children need the right motivation and environment to learn.
We do this in a number of ways. Our small class sizes (max 8) enable customized attention for each child. When they are under pressure, the children need encouragement to reach their highest potential. Our dedicated teachers provide this, setting small goals for children to attain and gradually growing the challenges as the children become more confident.
Our tutoring sessions are fast paced and stimulating, designed specifically around the academic rigours of that syllabus. We mix instructional coaching with exercises that help children to apply what they learn and challenge their natural competitive spirit. Our classes are not limited to the classroom, we place emphasis on keeping sessions interactive and interesting to make Mandarin come alive for students! At our location in Loewen by Dempsey Hill, we are surrounded by nature and lots of greenery. It’s not only great for a quick fresh air break outside but is also an opportunity to keep learning, because everything is a learning opportunity!
Little Mandarins was founded by a mum 10 years ago and we understand how challenging the Singapore education system is. Our aim is to help our students to think on their feet and come up with the right answers independently!
Find out more:
Little Mandarins Language Centre Pte Ltd
A: Block 71, Loewen Road #01-03, Singapore 248847
P: +65 6473 8377