Chinese as it is spoken in real life

The new curriculum’s Bridging Module and the “Listen and Speak” section in the Core Module (see earlier article) feature real-life scenarios in which students act or interact with one another. Such sessions help students understand how the language is used everyday to address questions such as “What are those people doing?” and “Where is this place?”.

Role-playing scenes from stories encourage creative learning and confidence.

Furthermore, these oral communication sessions arm students with the vocabulary and phrases that will be useful in their daily lives. By learning the social etiquette of common tasks such as making a phone call or thanking a helpful person, students can develop effective and polite speaking habits at home, in school and beyond. Teachers as well as parents can practise such scenarios, so that students will feel prepared and confident to speak in Chinese.

Beyond the textbook, billboard advertisements, television programmes, newspaper articles and even things seen and heard on the bus and in hawker centres or shopping malls can be used to kick-start a class conversation in Chinese.

Learning via stories and songs

Kids love stories, don’t they? Teachers will take advantage of this by telling stories and encouraging students to create or remove dialogue between characters, adapt scenes from the plot or describe their feelings about a particular event. Students can work in small groups to discuss their roles and act out specific scenes.

Pupils act out a scene from a story about the life of farmers.

At home, parents can chip in too, by re-enacting in Chinese scenes from popular stories such as “The Tortoise and the Hare”. Besides making it fun to speak the language, this will help stimulate the child’s sense of initiative and creativity.

Music is another great way to develop vocal confidence and fluency. Teachers can engage pupils in lively renditions of catchy songs, ditties, poems, tongue-twisters and nursery rhymes such as “The Little Bee”, “The Trishaw”, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Swan Song”. Using playful gestures and hand movements, children will be motivated to exercise their speaking skills in a cheerful and relaxed setting.

We hope that for our students, speaking in Mandarin will become something that they can do naturally, without fear or being forced to. If parents and teachers adopt an encouraging attitude to promote verbal skills in Chinese, children will learn to speak freely and fluently in different settings without feeling stressed. Like seeds in a garden, children require a gentle and understanding approach, so that their abilities can be nurtured to grow strongly and bloom in life.

How to create a conducive home environment for speaking Mandarin

• Try to bring up conversation topics relevant to things or events that children see, hear and think about, as well as activities they normally do or hope to experience.
• Express an interest in their learning of Chinese and encourage them to share their learning experiences.
• Use everyday objects such as road signs and advertisements to communicate with children in Chinese.
• Watch quality Chinese television programmes with your children.
• Use common Chinese phrases in your conversations.
• Get into the habit of practising every day, even for a short time, which is more effective than having one or two long practice sessions.
• Encourage, praise and let your children feel that they have achieved something in order to motivate them. Different children come from different language backgrounds; this means that every family’s expectations are also different.

Contributed by:
Lim Loo Hua
Teacher
Nanyang Primary School

Lee Liu Ming
Chinese Language Curriculum Planning Officer
MOE

让孩子在口语交际的路上轻松起步

It's easy to learn new characters and how to use them through stories and role-play.

现在许多华人家庭的用语已经逐渐由方言或华语转变为英语，加上社会大环境的改变，造成孩子听不懂华语，也不会用华语交流。而口语交际恰好是语文学习的起点，因此在课堂上提高学生口语的表达能力是语文教学的重要环节。

低年级的口语教学基本上注重听和说，步骤一般是先听后说，并一边聆听，一边模仿如何去说。我们在教导语言时，听的训练是肯定需要的，而话题须容易引起学生的学习兴趣，因为这有利于帮助学生关心生活和体验生活。说的训练，则不仅有助于鉴定学生是否注意聆听，同时也能够检验其理解和口语表达的能力。因此在教学时，教师希望能够做到让学生“ 玩中得知识，演中得方法， 听中得兴趣，说中得技巧”。

创设说话的情境，引起说话的兴趣
唱、说、演、念这四种教学手段的相互结合，对低年级孩子口语的训练是非常有效的途径。目前小学新教材的导入单元和核心单元里的“听听说说”部分，善于捕捉现实生活中真实的画面，使学生在身临其境的情况下，具体而又实际地领悟口语的交际作用，例如：“他们在做什么？”“请问这是什么地方？”让口语的应用和生活接轨，具有高度的实用性。

演绎故事的桥段，引发说话的欲望
教师可以利用孩子爱听故事的心理因素，把故事中人物对话的增删、情节桥段的改写、心理感受的描绘，交由学生进行小组协商讨论，然后进行表演诠释。家长也可以在睡前与孩子进行类似的互动，这将有助于培养孩子们的主动性和创造性。例如，我们可以和孩子共同演绎《龟兔赛跑》中让龟兔一起到达终点的方法，或者演绎在《小熊请客》里招待客人时的礼节程序等。

利用儿歌的音韵，激发说话的潜能
带有童趣且琅琅上口的儿歌、快板、古诗、绕口令、童谣等是低年级学童的最爱，再配以轻松有趣的动作手语，很容易就能抓住那一颗颗纯真的心灵。这能够让他们以愉悦的心情学习，并激发他们口语表达的动力，使他们变得敢于互动交流、倾听和诉说。这类儿歌就包括《小蜜蜂》、《三轮车》、《满天星》、《咏鹅》等。

捕捉生活的实况，制造说话的契机
低年级孩童在口语交际的活动中，应该学习一些能在日常运用的生活语言。这类教学活动例如“打电话”、“向长辈表示感谢”等的交际礼仪，既符合生活所需，同时也能培养良好的说话习惯。老师和家长可以利用班上、学校或家里的事情，让学生进行口语练习，同时启发孩童说话的积极性，让学生想说、肯说、敢说，并且会说。

Every pupils gets a chance to practice his or her verbal skills.

口语交际也可以走出课室，迎向室外。路边的广告、熟食中心、巴士车上、百货公司里的所见所闻，电视节目及报章的内容等等，都是很好的交谈材料。

在口语交际的活动中，老师和家长如果可以通过鼓励赏识的态度，温和、宽厚、善解地面对孩子，那孩子更可以在没有压力的情况下，通过多种并进的渠道学习说话，进而畅所欲言。孩子在学习的过程中就像花园里的种子一样，不仅需要老师和家长耐心栽培，小心呵护，更需要适当的成长环境，才能茁壮成长，开出美丽的花朵。

给家长的建议：

• 创造一个有利于华文口语交际的家庭环境
• 交流的话题最好是与孩子看到的、听到的、想到的、正在做的、想做的事情有关
  • 对孩子的华文学习表示关心，鼓励孩子分享学习经验
  • 利用生活中的事物，如路标广告等，与孩子用华语交谈
  • 与孩子一同观赏优质的华文电视节目
• 交谈时带入生活常用语。
• 天天练习，效果会好过一次、两次的长时间练习
• 鼓励、称赞，让孩子感觉成功，就是促使孩子学习的一种动力。
  • 不同的孩子语文背景不同，家长的要求也必须不同

林如华（南洋小学教师）
李六明（华文课程规划员）