Does our education system foster innovation, creativity, kindness, empathy, and tolerance that’s essential for our country even as we forge ahead together in this brand new decade?
Ultimately, what is the true purpose of education?
I have had a Primary 6 and Secondary 2 student separately confide in me and say that they hate Maths. This is perhaps due to hours of rote memorisation and repetitive worksheets they had to endure in school.
However, Mathematics can actually be a pretty fun and engaging subject if taught well. For example, to teach the topic of fractions, I would usually buy a loaf of bread, and after checking if the child has any allergies, I would take some jam and spread it on the bread to illustrate one half.
Subsequently, to teach what equivalent fractions represent, I would take the piece of bread with half of it covered in jam, and cut it into half again, turning it into quarters. I will then explain that one half is equal to two quarters and so on.
Also, I have noticed that some kids with and without learning disabilities find it hard to memorise the times tables. Because of this, I’ve decided to use music to help them learn it. In the process, I’ve created some YouTube videos to enhance their learning. You can check out my 7 Times Table set to Adele’s Hello that I’ve created below.
If you’d like to register your child for our one-to-one tutoring sessions, you can drop us an email at the.alternative.edu@gmail.com or text us at 8749 2441 with your child’s details and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
For students with dyslexia, learning Chinese can be a struggle. There are several areas one can have difficulty with and they are namely:
Having the wrong association of words
Having poor retention of learning
Having a poor understanding of radical positions
Getting confused with visually similar words
Adding or omitting strokes in Chinese characters
Inverting words or parts of a Chinese character
Strategies in Supporting Learners
Using multi-sensory methods of teaching have proven to work well with dyslexic students. Writing on sand or moulding Chinese characters in clay can help a student retain the information better.
In addition, to help with word recognition, explaining how words are formed using Semantic Radical Cards the Dyslexia Association of Singapore has developed can also help.
Finally, getting students to form pictorial associations with individual Chinese characters also help retain the shape of each word better. Below are 2 examples of how this can be used:
Conclusion
Of course, there are many more ways one can help a student with dyslexia learn Chinese more efficiently and effectively. The methods mentioned above are but a fraction of a multitude of ways a trained Chinese tutor in helping students with dyslexia can help.
If you are interested in hiring an experienced MOE and DAS-trained Chinese Educational Therapist for your child, please text us at 8749 2441 or email us at the.alternative.edu@gmail.com for more information.
