 Teach Less, Learn Much More
The latest MOE changes in the learning of Chinese have certainly created quite a stir among all the stakeholders, namely the school, the parents, and most important of all, the students. "Teach Less, Learn More" or TLLM has become the latest buzz word, but what exactly is TLLM?
To some, it means a drastic reduction in content teaching of the Chinese textbook, so that students now have less to memorize. This reduction can in turn be transferred into more engaging forms of learning, either through learning activities or other innovative ways of teaching and learning. The emphasis is now on the daily usage of the language, rather than on the repetition and the recognition of Chinese characters. So how will this decreased emphasis in the most fundamental building blocks of a language help in learning Chinese more effectively? Will it ever become a form of "Teach Less, Learn Lesser" kind of scenario?
 Creative Teaching and Learning
Many educators have already answered the call for more innovative ways of teaching Chinese. With the drastic changes, school teachers are now freed of the stress to complete a vast amount of syllabus within a short timeframe. While there might now be more time and flexibility to use more creative methods, can we be sure that EVERY Chinese teacher in schools is equally creative? Can all of them make full use of the extra time freed from the reduced syllabus to engage students in creative learning? What is the mode of measurement for creativity?
Traditional rote-learning methods in the teaching and learning of Chinese include repeat recitations of the Chinese passages in the textbooks and copying pages and pages of new Chinese characters. These usually train the child in memory work, and this is usually what turns the child off from learning Chinese as it is rather monotonous. These rote-learning methods often fail to engage the childĄ¯s right brain.
 Right Brain Learning and Creativity
Dr. Makoto Shichida from Japan is a famous researcher in right brain learning. As early as the 1960s, he has been engaging in the research of the boundless potential of right brain learning. He explains that the right brain, acting like a super high performance computer, has a lightning rapid calculation ability for mathematics, utilizes an image visualization function to record the environment, and when fully developed, possesses the skills of intuition, imaging, telepathy, and clairvoyance (also, called ESP functions). The right brain also has photographic memory, perfect pitch, and a language acquisition ability. The left brain is linguistic, analytical, and goes from the part to the whole. The right brain learns through images, is intuitive, is sensitive to music, and absorbs the whole without needing to understanding the parts. Understanding the formulas to develop these right brain functions in young children, as well as adults, says Dr. Shichida, will lead to accelerated human mental capabilities.
Teaching and learning methods that activate the right brain include patterning, metaphors, analogies, role-playing, visuals, and movement. Thus to effectively master Chinese with the least amount of effort, the child must be exposed to the language in a fun-filled and non-threatening environment. Drama-based activities, tongue twisters, as well as music are recommended as the mode of learning of Chinese for children who do not have an advantage already at home.
 Drama-Based Acitivities
Skills that are acquired through drama-based learning activities are inexhaustible. Here are just some examples. Through drama, children learn how to sense the world around them, thereby increasing the joy of learning. They also master the command of language through a series of processes like information judgement, decision making and self-assessment which in turn lead to an increase in self-esteem. Drama facilitates interaction, whether with the physical environment or with other people.
Applepie Language has always believed in the use of creativity to master Chinese before TLLM. Now the authorities have given their approval in this method, parents should not go in the opposite direction by putting their children in more tuition classes that simply replace schools in drilling and rote-learning. This will put the child off further from this language. Instead, extensive play, singing and role-playing will stimulate the major senses of sight, hearing and touch at the same time, thereby escalating the interest and motivation in persevering in this language.
|
