EdTalk | Learning Mandarin can be child’s play – with the right approach

Think back to how your child learned his or her mother tongue language. From the day he or she was born, you gave them a “silent language acquisition period” lasting for anything up to 3 years, during which they were immersed in the language 24/7, able to observe, listen and absorb the language before trying to speak their very first word.

Now compare this with the expectations of our children when they are learning a second language, such as Mandarin. Many parents complain that their children aren’t conversing in the language they are learning when they receive perhaps only a few hours’ (or less) exposure to that language each week.

Let’s do some maths. Your child is exposed to his own mother tongue for 14 hours a day (counting the time needed for sleep) x 7 days = 98 hours a week – as opposed to maximum 5 hours a week or less to the second language. With only 5 per cent of their time being exposed to the second language, how confident do you think he or she will be when it comes to expressing themselves in Mandarin vocally?

The fact is, parents need to adjust their expectations concerning the speed at which their child should be able to pick up a second (or third) language, to ensure those expectations are realistic and in proportion to the amount of time their child is exposed to the language.

Be mindful that by the time the child utters their first single meaningful word of the language, he or she has already spent many months playing around with the sounds and intonations of the language and has been connecting words with meanings. We must show considerable patience and give them encouragement as well as adequate language exposure and interaction to help them familiarise themselves with the language and in turn use it as their own.