Bilingual Benefits:

Kids and learning Mandarin

While English is arguably more commonly spoken, there are a larger number of native speakers of Mandarin Chinese than any other language on the planet. However you work the stats, it makes sense that exposing our children to learn Chinese can be a great way to equip them with additional skills and knowledge to help them succeed in the future.

Parents BRAD and LISA WONG felt the same way, which is why they were attracted to the Chinese-English bilingual programme at the Canadian International School (CIS) for their four children. We asked them to share their experience so far.

How long have your kids been enrolled in CIS’s bilingual programme?

This will be the third year for our 10-year old twin boys, and the first year for our five- and three-year-old girls.

Why did you enrol them?

For us, one of the benefits of living in Singapore is that our kids can get a good grasp of Chinese. We wanted a programme that was truly bilingual, and we were happy to find a school that values language acquisition and has allocated sufficient resources to make sure it works.

In the bilingual programme at CIS, sometimes the kids learn in English, and sometimes they learn in Chinese; they never really mind which one is used. Learning in another language (rather than just learning a language) is a good way to give it context and promote interest.

So, has the programme lived up to your expectations?

Yes, we’re very happy with the CIS programme. The teachers are wonderful and, in particular, the dynamic of the English and Chinese teachers working together is great. I think it’s important to have excellent and efficient teachers, and we’ve certainly found that to be the case. The teaching quality has been exceptional and they’ve always been available to give feedback or answer questions. The kids have also kept up with their English requirements, which is also very important to us.

Keen for your kids to learn one of the most spoken languages on the planet?

Do you find any challenges with helping your children complete their homework?

While we don’t speak Chinese at home, the homework hasn’t been too taxing on them and they’ve always been quite self-sufficient with getting it done.

For more information, call 6734 8088 or visit cis.edu.sg/learning/bilingual-programme.