Benefits Of Bilingual Singing And Exposure To Young Children And Playful Pandas

Hi, I am Ruiying Neighbour, a UK qualified teacher who has enjoyed teaching at primary level in the UK since 2004. From my first name, you can probably gather that I am not a girl who grew up in Fleet (unlike my husband, who, though not a girl, did grow up here!) I am a native Mandarin speaker and have been a qualified teacher and language teacher in China since 1999 and a primary teacher in the UK since 2004. I love teaching and interacting with children and adults, but the birth of my first son in 2009 has opened up another window for me. I am starting a bilingual (English-Chinese/Mandarin) singing group for parents, grandparents, babies and young children, aged 5 years and under, called Playful Pandas. This group is open to all adults and toddlers and no prior knowledge of Chinese/Mandarin is required! Although I have been a teacher in China before, there will be no boring rote learning at all in my sessions. Instead, they will be fun, relaxed, interactive and exciting. One aim is to learn some Chinese but this is not the sole purpose. In fact the sessions have been designed for children to enjoy music and rhymes whilst exposing them to a new language and developing their social, physical, cognitive and communication skills!

Since the birth of my first son in 2009, I have attended many different music lessons and witnessed how much my son and other children have both enjoyed and learnt from singing nursery rhymes and playing music. Hence, an idea struck me-a bilingual music session for babies and toddlers singing familiar nursery rhymes and simple action songs, while playing real musical instruments!

There are a lot of studies supporting the positive effects of exposing different languages to babies and young children, and I firmly believe that multi lingual activities are not only beneficial for children's learning of languages but also in their cognitive development. Newborn babies are able to distinguish between all speech sounds, but after 12 months they lose the ability to distinguish between sounds to which they are not exposed. Therefore, it is recognised and encouraged by experts that young children be exposed to new languages, in the likelihood that it improves their ability to learn languages in the future.

Learning happens through action, says Donna Brink Fox in her article Music and the Baby's Brain: Early Experiences. Donna suggests that there is a strong connection between music and language development, and stresses that for young children, music making is just part of their lives. "Music is woven into social encounters," she says; music making is "an ongoing individual and social part of everyday life". Donna says that it is "active engagement, not passive response" that develops brains. Music can be an important influence in children's lives. Crucially, it can bring them a real sense of achievement, which is very important for developing their confidence.

Nursery rhymes remain one of the most popular ways for parents to interact with their children - everyone loves them, they are great fun, and your child is learning all the time. As all good playgroups and nurseries have known for years, playing music, singing, dancing, and repetition are good, fun ways to start introducing language. Sing, dance and play different real instruments to a nursery rhyme in two different languages and you'll all have much more fun, all the while learning things as if by accident. You'll be amazed by how your children have this massive capability to absorb so much language and how easily and quickly the children start to sing along - as well as by how much you will learn too!

Hence, during the sessions, familiar nursery rhymes will be sung in both English and Mandarin. Typically we will sing one verse in English followed by a verse in Chinese, but this may vary depending on the songs. These nursery rhymes will be arranged according to their tempo to create either an upbeat and active song or to create a calm and relaxed atmosphere. Activeness and calmness will be balanced to create an all-round high quality music bilingual class with something for everyone!

Usually, after singing our Hello song in both English and Chinese, I will start with a sitting down action song, then a song accompanied by children and adults playing a real instrument. Thereafter, I will have a very active, dancing/on your feet song. There will be a short period of quiet listening time in the middle of the session right after an active song. This is because young children rarely have the chance to listen and just relax, but it is very beneficial for them to learn this skill and will help to prepare them for school. Your child might find it difficult in the beginning, but children get used to the idea with time and they enjoy it.

Following on from listening time will be a section of calm chanting or singing. This will be used to do some specific Chinese teaching, such as counting, colours, family members etc. Thereafter will follow an upbeat or a calm song, using props, dependent on the mood of the children. Bubbles will be used at the end, and the sessions will always finish with our Goodbye song in both languages again. Various props, such as puppets, bubbles, a parachute and dancing scarves, will be used during the songs and make sessions really good fun. I also provide children with real musical instruments, such as bells, shakers, scrapers, drums, castanets and sticks, to add to the texture of the backing music and to provide opportunities for children to explore beats and rhythm.

I want both the adults and the children to fully experience in and partake in all aspects of music during the class; from singing in both languages, to playing real instruments, as well as using dance and movement to instill a 'feel good factor.' The sessions focus on bringing everyone together and on really getting the adults to interact, sing along and play with their little ones during the class.

From my experiences of going to different classes with my elder son, I know that it can be difficult for parents to feel comfortable joining in with various activities, especially singing and dancing. At Playful Pandas, the familiar nursery rhymes and friendly atmosphere will mean that parents can easily join in and enjoy the classes as much as their little ones. I give all of the adults instruments and props in our classes as well as the little ones, so the children can watch their adults, play together and learn from their example, as your babies much prefer your voice and movement to anybody else's!

Therefore, Playful Pandas aims to create a friendly, fun and relaxed enviroment for parents to learn alongside with and to interact with their little ones. In the process, the children will learn not only the language and the skills but also the attitude towards learning new things. Is it actively joining or passively accepting? It all depends on the adult accompanying the child.

From a teaching perspective, I have made a concious effort to make sure that the classes have been designed using the key aspects from the Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum. Therefore, the sessions will help to reinforce children's communication, language and literacy skills, alongside their personal, social, emotional, mathematical, physical and creative development- skills which mirror the aims of the Foundation Stage.