Many Malaysian children have to learn several languages at once with higher emphasis on BM, Chinese or Tamil in national and vernacular schools.
In an environment where English is not the main language of communication and minimal opportunity given to practice speaking in English, children worry about making mistakes when they talk and getting laughed at by their peers. They become shy, afraid and do not speak English with confidence.
What parents can do to improve their child's English-speaking skill?
1.Encourage your child to read.
English storybooks teach readers how to show emotions, express ideas and tell a story. The more they read, the more exposed they will be to how English is used today.
2.Don't interrupt when your child is speaking.
Let them finish their sentence, then say the word or sentence correctly and encourage them to repeat.
3.Practice speaking skills in a fully English-speaking environment
This is the fastest way to learn a language. If you do not speak English at home and your child is attending SK, SJKC or SJKT where the focus is not English, you can enrol your child in English enrichment programmes to give them an environment to practice speaking English confidently with their peers. This post was brought to you by Scholastic Super English.
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It is not uncommon to see non-Chinese students studying in SJKC. As a banana mom I struggle with sending my kids to SJKC because I do not understand the language. (Banana mom is a term often used to describe a parent who is like a banana ie yellow skin (Chinese) on the outside but white inside. Some may take it to be a bit derogratory to be described in this manner. However, there is nothing more to it then just the language part of it ie a Chinese parent who is more used to speaking English than Mandarin. It does not imply that you are any less Chinese or prefer Western values).
I digress. As a banana parent, I struggle because it is hard to support a child in school when you do not understand the language. How do you teach a child Math and Science or other subjects when you can't even understand the text book? It's tough.
However, to a non-Chinese, it is even more tough because not only do they have to struggle with not understanding language, they have to deal with a whole different culture ie to make sure to educate their own children in their own culture while exposing them to another. That is tough x2. I really admire the courage and commitment of the non-Chinese parents who send their kids to SJKC.
We have quite a few parents in our FB group in this dilemma. This post is written for them. While searching for relevant information, we found mostly blogs by muslim parents who send their kids to SJKC. There are few articles or blogs by Indian parents but we hope that this will be useful to them too. Below are the articles or blogs we found online on Tips for non-Chinese parents who are thinking of sending their kids to SJKC.
1. In "Pengalaman Menghantar Anak Ke Sekolah Aliran Cina Selama 6 Tahun", Mummy Julia shares about the registration process, the homework, discipline, safety, communication, transportation, tuition and more. In this comprehensive post, she shares her experience of sending her child to 2 years of Chinese kindergarten and 6 years in SJKC.
2. This post on "Pengalaman Hantar Anak ke SJKC" is written by an anonymous poster on IIUMC confession site. In this post, the parent shares what it is like to send his/her child to SJKC including discipline, support, agama classes and the need to be mentally prepared and the sacrifices required.
3. In this post on "Pengalaman Hantar Anak ke SJKC", Marsha the blogger shares her experience including how she manages the schedule, the food arrangements and how once she almost gave up but persevered.
4. In "Buat tatapan ibubapa yg nak hantar anak ke sekolah Cina", Julia shares how to prepare your child for SJKC, how to monitor homework, liase with teachers and teach your child to communicate with others in school. Her child "survived" Chinese school from 4 years old till UPSR with excellent results.
5. This tuition center wrote a "Panduan Hantar Anak ke Sekolah Cina SJKC" including preschool readiness, the challenges faced on religious education, time, food and managing emotions and school work.
6. In this FB post by Mohd Emil Azril Bahari on Perkongsian tentang menghantar anak kita ke sekolah jenis kebangsaan cina SJKC which was widely shared (6.3k shares), this dad shares the pros and cons of sending kids to SJKC and how important it is to do preparation before sending your child to SJKC. He shares the importance of being in a support group so that you can help your child catch up with homework. He also shares about managing religious classes, food, and the importance of parental involvement.
9. "Sebelum Hantar Anak Ke Sekolah Kebangsaan Cina, Ini 10 Perkara Mak Ayah Kena ‘Alert’ from Siraplimau.com is an article for parents who wish to send their children to SJKC but don't know where to start. It includes school selection, early preparation , managing food and religious studies, having a support group and getting additional classes.
10. "Tadika Cina untuk Anak" is by Nina Salleh, a mother of 3, who shares the experience of sending her children to a Chinese kindergarten in preparation for sending them to Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina later on.
Finally, below is a video sharing on "Kenapa Hantar Anak Ke Sekolah Cina?" by Jom Mandarin Official Channel.
Most of the sharing above are dated before the pandemic. During the pandemic most of the learning was conducted online. We can only imagine how challenging that is for a non-Chinese speaking family who sends their children to SJKC and that includes banana moms too.
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