Enrichment

More and more research studies show that children who are bilingual have more flexible brains with added resources for multi-tasking and problem-solving. In particular, they have a more efficient cognitive system that allows them to attend to important information and ignore the less important. Ellen Bialystok, a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University, has discovered that bilingual people show symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease five or six years later than monolinguals. In other words, bilingual brains tend to age slower and cope with cognitive deterioration better.

In Singapore, parents are often very concerned about the academic outcomes of learning Mandarin. Will my child be able to cope with Chinese in primary school? Will he/she do well enough in the Primary School Leaving Examination (or PSLE) eventually?

At Wee Care, we want to challenge these ideas and say that becoming bilingual is more than just good grades in an examination. It is about a way of thinking and a way of expressing one’s self. To this end, our new Chinese Speech & Drama programme has the following objectives:

*To equip children with the necessary listening and speaking skills to become good communicators in Mandarin;

*To cultivate an interest in and love for the Chinese language and culture;