After successfully hosting the inaugural symposium last year, the Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS) and S R Nathan School of Human Development (NSHD) joined efforts again to invite four experts in early childhood education to discuss and share how children’s literature might impact Chinese language learning in early childhood.
Over 200 preschool educators and invited guests attended this year’s symposium which was held on 1 September 2018.
In his welcome address, Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, President of Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), enumerated the benefits of children’s literature as a tool for early childhood education. According to Prof Cheong, great stories can help children develop language skills, unlock their imagination, instil values in them, and enhance their relationships with their educators and parents. He thus encouraged preschool educators to equip themselves with knowledge of a good range of quality children’s literature, and even try to create interesting stories and literature for others to use.
Professor Yu Zhenyou from Capital Normal University, Beijing, delivered the first keynote speech “Children’s Literature and Early Childhood Language Learning”. Employing theories from Piaget and other theorists, Prof Yu presented play as an important part of children’s learning and development. Hence, literature for toddlers should have an element of fun, and reading activities should be like games. In addition, reading aloud and discussions are essential to language development activities.
Complementing Prof Yu’s presentation, Ms Lin I-Hung, Head of Hsin-Yi Experimental Children Center in Taipei, shared case studies from her centre which elaborated on how to read and discuss stories with children. In her presentation, “Reading for Meaning: Enhancing Comprehension in Children’s Reading”, she used examples and verbatim quotes by students and teachers from her case studies to illustrate the importance of stimulating children to think independently and critically when reading stories with them. By asking age-appropriate questions, Ms Lin argued that educators could help in developing every child into a little thinker.
Kicking off the afternoon session was Mr Teo Huat, aka Nian Hong, a prolific writer and experienced educator from Malaysia. Mr Teo introduced different types of nursery rhymes, and explained how to integrate them in classroom lessons to make learning (e.g. counting in Chinese) simple yet fun! His talk included a series of fun and energetic sing-along sessions where the participants recited and sang several nursery rhymes together by following his lead.
The final keynote presentation was delivered by Dr Sin Joo Ee, Head of Master of Education in Early Childhood Education (Chinese) Programme, and two students from the programme. Framing her presentation to the Singapore context, Dr Sin introduced literary works by local writers and encouraged participants to add more local elements when designing lessons. The two students presented their analysis on local preschool educators’ understanding of children’s literature, as well as suggested ways to enhance their knowledge in this genre of writing.
Positive feedback on the symposium was received from many participants. One of them, Ms Xu Jia, commented that, “The symposium made me realise the importance of children’s literature. As preschool teachers, we should keep a curious mind, be observant, and try to write stories or nursery rhymes for children.”
The 2018 Early Childhood Chinese Symposium was supported with subsidies from the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and sponsorships by Tiger Balm and Union Book.
If you missed the 2018 Early Childhood Chinese Symposium or would like to re-visit each presentation, you can access them via this link.
2018新加坡学前教育论坛 – 儿童文学与学前华文教育
2018年9月1日，教师节之后的第二天，逾200名学前教育工作者并没有选择在家休息，而是一早就来到新跃社科大学，出席2018新加坡学前教育论坛。
继去年成功举办首届论坛之后，新跃中华学术中心和纳丹人力发展学院今年再度携手合作，从海内外请来四位学前教育领域的专家学者，探讨有关儿童文学与学前华文教育的课题。
新跃社科大学校长张起杰教授在致欢迎词时指出，儿童文学作品是重要的启蒙读物。除了帮助儿童学习语文知识，培养他们的想像力和思维能力，儿童文学作品还能令孩子了解正确的价值观，同时拉近师长与孩子之间的关系。他因此鼓励在场的学前教育工作者多钻研儿童文学，除了教学，也能尝试创作。
中国首都师范大学学前教育学院的余珍有教授随后掀开序幕，他谈的是”儿童文学与幼儿语言学习“。余教授认为，幼儿文学是”玩“的文学，可说是一种特殊的幼儿游戏，要利用幼儿文学来促进语言发展，最佳的方式是“朗读+讨论”。
台湾信谊基金会附设实验幼儿园园长林意红老师则分享了引导孩子“深度阅读”的方法。她认为，书其实不只是白纸黑字，而是由读者赋予了想法、情感、意义与价值，教师若能以有层次、精准的方式提问，就能培养孩子的思考能力，同时察觉他们的学习风格。
马来西亚知名作家及教育家年红先生介绍了各类儿歌的特点，同时讲解了在实际教学中运用儿歌的方法。虽然年红先生已年近八十，但他仍活力十足地带动全场一起吟唱和朗诵多首儿歌，令大家从实践中了解如何利用儿歌寓教于乐。
本校学前教育方向的教育硕士专业学位（MECE）课程主任陈如意博士则与两位硕士生一起分析了新加坡幼儿园在利用儿童文学进行教学方面的现况，同时介绍了许多本地的儿童文学作品，令学前教育工作者在设计课程时能融入更多本地元素。
与会者徐佳说：“通过这次的研讨会，我认识到儿童文学的重要性。作为幼儿教师，我们应该也有一颗’童心’，观察周围事物，要敢于尝试去创作儿童文学。“
2018新加坡学前教育论坛的资助单位为新加坡幼儿培育署（ECDA），虎豹企业和友联书局为赞助商，特此鸣谢。
如果您未能出席本届新加坡学前教育论坛，或者想重温论坛的精彩内容，可点击此处观赏当天的录影片段。