What is drama pedagogy? Is it an effective way to teach Mandarin to little kids? Here’s why it may be worth a try.
You attempted to speak Mandarin to your child and got a response in English? You are not alone.
Bilingualism is an important aspect of Singapore’s education. Yet, mastering Mandarin has become an uphill task as most families increasingly use English as their primary home language. Thus, cultivating a love of Mandarin during a child’s foundational years is critical, so they will retain interest in the language well beyond their time in school.
Here’s the good news. NTUC First Campus’s (NFC) Little Skool-House (LSH) preschool has the perfect solution to getting your child interested in learning and speaking Mandarin through drama pedagogy.
Image Credit: NTUC First Campus Photo of Little Skool-House’s (LSH) teaching guide titled ‘Exploring the World of Children’s Drama’ (《走进孩子的戏剧世界@小小学庭》) which contains drama-based teaching strategies which has helped improve Mandarin proficiency in its children. The comprehensive guide is written by LSH’s educators and curriculum specialists based on their experience with drama pedagogy, and includes practical advice from principals and teachers on implementation in the classrooms.
What is Drama Pedagogy
Different from traditional Speech and Drama classes, drama pedagogy focuses on children learning during the process through various hands-on activities and critical thinking exercises. Besides language skills, it encourages the development of multiple skills including social skills, problem-solving skills and creative thinking.
Benefits of Drama Pedagogy
1. Fun and effective way of learning Mandarin
Children love stories and the world of make-believe. During the drama pedagogy classes at LSH, which takes place over a term, and are conducted in Mandarin, children pick their favourite storybook and immerse themselves in the various characters in preparation for a performance to their parents.
Besides mastering vocabulary, children will learn the different tones for the different characters when they deliver their lines in the book. For example, in the play ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’, the children who are acting as the goats would learn to speak softly to the voracious troll so as not to be eaten, while the child playing the troll will learn to speak loudly and fiercely to mimic the characteristics of the troll.
2. Improve public speaking skills
Drama pedagogy makes performing in front of their friends and teachers, and even on stage an engaging process.
3. Nurture children’s imagination and creativity
The teachers at LSH apply various drama strategies and open-ended questions to guide children in constructing their own storylines. The children also design and make their own props and costumes for the performance.
4. Develop children’s teamwork skills
Relational skills and the ability to work together with others in a team are vital in today’s world. Recognising this, LSH’s curriculum offers plenty of opportunities to nurture relational skills in its children. Through drama pedagogy, children work together to come up with a storyline, negotiate when there are differences, and are taught to respect one another’s opinions.
For example, when the children are preparing for their performance of the play ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’, they have to discuss and come to a consensus on who will play each of the characters in the story within the timeline. The children will also need to discuss how to create a bridge as a prop. Through activities such as these, our children learn to work well with others.
5. Inculcate problem-solving skills
During drama pedagogy classes, the teacher would act as a character in the story, to share his perspective and ask the children to help come up with a solution to his problem.
For example, in ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’, the teacher would get into the character of the troll, to share why he is fierce and grumpy all the time. This is because he lives below the bridge, and the animals who cross the bridge always make a lot of noise, disturbing his rest. The teacher would then prompt the children to think of solutions to help the troll, by building a bridge that is safe for animals to cross yet will not produce too much noise.
How Effective is Drama Pedagogy in Teaching Mandarin
Image Credit: NTUC First Campus Children at Little Skool-House (On-The-Green) participating in an engaging activity during a drama pedagogy class.
LSH is the only preschool in Singapore to apply drama strategies in language teaching and learning. Drama strategies provide children with a fun and engaging way to learn Mandarin, and support the effective development of bilingualism in children.
Piloted in 2015, it has been part of LSH’s regular curricula across all its 20 centres for Nursery 2 to Kindergarten 2 children since 2018.
All LSH Chinese teachers teaching N2 to K2 levels are trained in the method and receive continuous mentoring from renowned academic Dr Chen Renfu from the Department of Early Childhood Education at National Pingtung University.
Dr Chen has been teaching drama for more than two decades, hosted more than 100 drama-related lectures and workshops in countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia, and authored books on teaching Chinese and translated books on teaching drama.
Following the effectiveness of drama pedagogy at LSH classrooms, LSH has recently launched a first-of-its-kind teaching guide titled ‘Exploring the World of Children’s Drama’ (《走进孩子的戏剧世界@小小学庭》) to share drama-based teaching strategies which has helped improve Mandarin proficiency in its children, with external educators keen to adopt drama pedagogy in their classrooms.
The comprehensive guide is written by LSH’s educators and curriculum specialists based on their experience with drama pedagogy in LSH. It includes practical advice from principals and teachers on implementation in the classrooms.
“At Little-Skool House, we believe that children learn best when they are engaged and having fun. Inculcating a love of the language during a child’s foundational years will help them better retain the use of the language beyond school.
We are proud to be the only preschool in Singapore to implement drama pedagogy as part of our core curriculum, which is carefully designed by our curriculum team in close partnership with Dr Chen Renfu. We believe that our innovative pedagogy is one of the reasons our children are highly bilingual,” said Ms Coreen Soh, General Manager of LSH and Chief Child Development Officer at NFC.
A 2019 study conducted by Dr Setoh at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University has shown that 93 per cent of LSH’s K2 children are highly proficient in English and Mandarin.
Parent’s Feedback
Nellie Neo, whose six-year-old daughter Sonia attends school at LSH (On-The-Green), attributes Sonia’s competency in Mandarin to the literacy-based curriculum in the school. She also believes that her 10-year-old daughter Ines is good at Mandarin as a result of her time at LSH (At-Tampines-Junction).
“As my husband is a non-Mandarin speaker, our family conversations are mainly in English. I do try to speak Mandarin with my daughters individually, but I am not extremely proficient.
However, my daughters are competent in Mandarin, especially in their expression and word recognition, which I attribute to their teachers at their preschools. Sonia is even able to converse with my elderly parents in Mandarin!” Nellie said.
“Sonia loves to sing Mandarin songs which I absolutely love to hear! In fact, she will teach me and we will sing together! Sonia listens attentively when one speaks in Mandarin and comprehends fully. When I read Chinese books, she can recognise many Chinese characters too,” she added.
Nellie added that her daughter learns Mandarin through engaging songs, games and drama, and that her family co-created a costume for her character in a play. They were also invited by the preschool to watch the performance.
Ready to improve your child’s proficiency in Mandarin? Enroll with Little Skool-House or schedule a visit to its centres today.
Want to try this out on your own with your child at home? You can also purchase the ‘Exploring the World of Children’s Drama’ (《走进孩子的戏剧世界@小小学庭》) drama pedagogy teaching guide at $30 from Maha Yu Yi Pte Ltd book store (友谊书局).
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