Early education a tale of two tongues

Local institutions are adopting a variety of methods to advance bilingual schooling

Many Hong Kong parents are anxious for their children to receive a bilingual education, from pre-school on. They know that speaking at least two languages will help secure places at top international schools and, long-term, better university and career options.

To meet the demand, nearly all international pre-schools offer some exposure to Putonghua while also working with children to develop their English. Several go further, offering dual language programmes.

Exposing children to two languages early is a strategy that pays off. Research shows children can achieve near bilingualism before they are six or seven years old, according to Professor Terry Au Kit-fong, head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Hong Kong.

The reason could be based on instincts of survival. Lisa Belfry, head of the Kingston International Primary School, Kowloon Tong, says two-year-olds easily learn new vocabulary because the first words they learn express their wants and needs, which are, inevitably, for food and water.

But Professor Au confirms what many know: that after the age of seven it becomes progressively more difficult to learn a new language.

To encourage bilingualism, many pre-schools, such as Yew Chung, Kingston International School, Woodland Group's Montessori schools and International Montessori School of Hong Kong, employ two teachers per class - one Chinese and one English speaker. 'If a child asks for something in Cantonese, for instance, the teacher will repeat what they have asked for in either English or Putonghua. They will use the word several times and try to encourage the child to say it too,' Ms Belfry says.

At Woodland, children can only communicate with the Mandarin-speaking teacher in Mandarin, a strategy that is working well, according to Lorraine Hughes, who heads the group.

Tutor Time also makes a strong commitment to its Chinese instruction: during a three-hour school day, children spend half the session working in English, half in Putonghua.

But Teresa Richman, principal of Hong Kong Academy Primary School, which has adopted the two teachers-per-class strategy, says very young students rarely immediately respond in the language the teacher uses. 'But they soon pick it up,' she says. Children will understand a language before they speak it.

Many international schools and kindergartens are still grappling with the best ways to teach Putonghua. If a Chinese teacher uses traditional teaching methods, children used to a more liberal classroom culture may not respond. Ben Frankel, co-founder of Hong Kong Academy, says the Mandarin curriculum has to move on from the 'drudgery' of rote-learning. 'Our aim is to engage students in the language,' he says. They get to practice their Putonghua on trips to a market, or use it entirely in classes such as calligraphy or martial arts.

But the traditional approach still has supporters. At Kiangsu and Chekiang Primary School and Kindergarten, North Point, English is the teaching medium in the international section but Putonghua features prominently. 'We use tried and tested techniques, which seem to work,' says Jane Daniel, head of the international stream. These include memorisation, through chanting and dictation. Traditional instruction is balanced with making use of the language in less formal lessons.

A school hoping to marry tradition and innovation is the ISF Academy. Mandarin is the main medium of instruction at primary. But as children progress towards secondary school, English becomes more dominant. Starting from Primary Four, maths will be taught in English and from Primary Five science.

'We insist on a Mandarin-speaking environment because immersion is essential,' says the school's principal Dr Felicia Tsang Sau-fun.