Drama is widely recognised as an effective method of assisting students in their language learning. It is because drama uses active teaching and learning styles that can motivate and sustain students' attention.
As an ideal Chinese tuition centre, My Bright Education currently uses a variety of drama activities to assist our students in our Chinese language lessons, ranging from role-playing and improvisation to group, individual, or pair work. These will be combined with other teaching techniques or form a drama session related to the subject units. As the activities can be applied and adjusted for any learning level, My Bright Education being an excellent Chinese tuition centre in Singapore, will choose the best-suited combination for our students based on their age group. These sessions usually begin with a few warm-up activities that will introduce students to the concepts of participation, cooperation, and enjoyment.
In terms of teaching purpose, the use of drama as a teaching tool focuses on developing students' language skills and improving their intercultural communication ability. The students' study motivation and devotion to the studying process improve as they actively participate in the teaching process during drama activities. As a result, they will be able to learn Chinese more quickly and effectively.
Let’s now look at the challenges that primary and secondary school Chinese tuition centres will encounter in their language teachings and how drama activities can help in overcoming them.
CHALLENGES IN TEACHING THE CHINESE LANGUAGE
While there are several challenges in teaching the Chinese language, the following questions sum up the key points:
How Can Chinese Tuition Centres Make the Content More Memorable?
Repeated exposure to words and sentence structures is essential in Chinese language learning. The number of times a student should be exposed to a new word or a sentence structure before remembering it varies depending on two factors. One is their ability to memorise, and the other is the magnitude of Chinese vocabulary. Numerous primary and secondary school Chinese tuition centres in Singapore recognise this need and work hard to provide their students with a wide range of words and sentence structures.
How Can Chinese Tuition Centres Assist Students In Improving Their Functional Communication Skills?
While children can have access to an extensive vocabulary and understand sentence structures, these alone cannot help them communicate effectively in Chinese. They will need to practise applying what they learn in class theoretically in their communications on a regular basis. Students may not recall and are likely to forget much of what they have been taught if they do not have opportunities to practise what they have learned at their Chinese tuition centre.
Drama as a teaching tool may not be able to provide a concrete solution to these challenges. However, drama activities help to improve aspects of language teaching significantly.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF DRAMA ON LANGUAGE LEARNING?
Creates A Safe Environment to Understand Language Context
Drama activities allow students to experience language use in real-life situations and give meaning to language structures. Students can practise using suitable language to fit potential real-life scenarios because they are conducted in the safety of the classroom. The scenarios can be acted out in class, slowed down, and repeated with different outcomes, giving students plenty of time to think about the situation. Furthermore, students will feel less embarrassed about making mistakes when playing the role of a fictional persona. This sense of security makes students' learning experiences more comfortable and memorable. By changing the themes, locations, and characters, Chinese tuition centres in Singapore provide a diverse mix of language input for their students in these drama activities. The student's ability to recall the emotions elicited by these activities serves as an effective memory trigger. As a result, students will be able to gradually connect drama activities to their language learning.
Boost Motivation
Motivation and perceived importance are significant factors in successfully acquiring and retaining knowledge. A good primary and secondary school Chinese tuition centre will provide their students with an unrivalled opportunity to improve their language and communication skills through drama activities. These activities can significantly accelerate students' progress and have a greater impact because they encourage students to take ownership of their learning. Drama activities also boost students' self-esteem and reduce their fear of speaking Chinese.
Accommodate Different Learning Styles
Drama activities accommodate a wide range of learning styles, both in terms of teacher input and student output. Through drama activities, the centres offering the best Chinese tuition in Singapore allow students to demonstrate their language skills in a natural communicative setting. As these games and activities are collaborative in nature, students get to participate in group tasks that allow them to communicate more comfortably with their peers. They allow students to engage in paced learning, letting them learn at their own pace and time.
ENROL YOUR CHILD WITH THE BEST CHINESE TUITION IN SINGAPORE – MY BRIGHT EDUCATION
Drama activities, a naturally creative and expressive medium, assist students in learning Chinese by focusing on exchanging thoughts and ideas using their mother tongue. The practical and communicative nature of the activities complements the student's ability to acquire and retain Chinese language knowledge.
As one of the best Chinese tuitions in Singapore, My Bright Education uses drama as a teaching tool in our lessons to provide a profound experience and an effective motivator to our students. This is due to our firm belief that it is our duty as language educators to instil in our students a natural curiosity and desire to enhance their language competence. It will have a more profound and long-lasting impact on their future language progress.
We offer Chinese tuition and enrichment classes to students in kindergarten, primary, and secondary school. Get in touch with us to learn more about our exciting teaching approach and how we can help your child excel in their mother tongue.