Mother Tongue.
Chinese. Malay. Tamil.
We don't speak any of these languages. But, since Jakjak is now in primary school, it is required as part of the curriculum. And since we did our homework before going head on with school, we already knew that it is MT (Mother Tongue) that usually kills the grades of foreign students in the public schools here. It's a good thing then that Judy is a stay at home mum. She had time to look at and study the alternatives for Jakjak. Enter, French classes.
Initially, we did want him to continue and take Mandarin classes through primary. But his Chinese teacher during pre-school advised us otherwise. In summary, he just wasn't being receptive in Chinese class, no matter how much the teacher tried. Yes, this was due to other factors as well, having no Mandarin-speaking persons at home was the major hurdle, all other factors happens to be secondary.
Luckily, there is something called, Second Language In Lieu of MT (or something like it). This allows the school to partially exempt Jakjak from being graded for mother tongue. This has been a big relief for us as Jakjak is simply flying during Chinese class. Literally, as one of his former classmates told us that he had his arms stretched and was "flying" in the classroom (yes, while they were having class). That was rather uncomfortable when we were talking to his teacher for assessment, but hey, I think that's why she suggested us not to take Chinese during primary.
So now, he's having French classes online. It's something that would have been unheard of back in my day. But now, he would just sit there, plug the mic and Skype to his teacher ... in Mauritius. He's also doing rather well with it. Much better than he was at Mandarin. And the class is MOE approved to boot. It's great that he has this language lessons at such an early age, a time when the brain is still receptive to such changes. His teacher has already commended him for his efforts, and he seems to be enjoying the language as well.
That would be bonjour for now. Here's hoping that France might be the next stopover. Cheers!
Chinese. Malay. Tamil.
We don't speak any of these languages. But, since Jakjak is now in primary school, it is required as part of the curriculum. And since we did our homework before going head on with school, we already knew that it is MT (Mother Tongue) that usually kills the grades of foreign students in the public schools here. It's a good thing then that Judy is a stay at home mum. She had time to look at and study the alternatives for Jakjak. Enter, French classes.
Initially, we did want him to continue and take Mandarin classes through primary. But his Chinese teacher during pre-school advised us otherwise. In summary, he just wasn't being receptive in Chinese class, no matter how much the teacher tried. Yes, this was due to other factors as well, having no Mandarin-speaking persons at home was the major hurdle, all other factors happens to be secondary.
Luckily, there is something called, Second Language In Lieu of MT (or something like it). This allows the school to partially exempt Jakjak from being graded for mother tongue. This has been a big relief for us as Jakjak is simply flying during Chinese class. Literally, as one of his former classmates told us that he had his arms stretched and was "flying" in the classroom (yes, while they were having class). That was rather uncomfortable when we were talking to his teacher for assessment, but hey, I think that's why she suggested us not to take Chinese during primary.
So now, he's having French classes online. It's something that would have been unheard of back in my day. But now, he would just sit there, plug the mic and Skype to his teacher ... in Mauritius. He's also doing rather well with it. Much better than he was at Mandarin. And the class is MOE approved to boot. It's great that he has this language lessons at such an early age, a time when the brain is still receptive to such changes. His teacher has already commended him for his efforts, and he seems to be enjoying the language as well.
That would be bonjour for now. Here's hoping that France might be the next stopover. Cheers!
posted from Bloggeroid
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