Yew Chung International Kindergarten - China

Program Image

Program

  • Type of Program: Kindergarten
  • Age Served: 3 to 5 years
  • Funding Sources: Private
  • Presenter: Priscilla Yeung (Deputy Director)
  • Address: 20 Somerset Road, Kowloon Tong
    Hong Kong SAR, China
  • Telephone: (852) 2336-3028
  • Fax: (852) 2338-4045
  • Email: [email protected]

Program Purpose

The program aims at nurturing a love of learning in young children, parents and early childhood educators in a bilingual and bicultural setting.

Program Description

The program is one of the early childhood education programs offered by the Yew Chung Education Foundation. It caters for about one hundred children, the majority being local Chinese. The children are grouped by age into two year levels (3-4 and 4-5), with two classes at each level. With a special effort to maintain a balance between the learning of two languages (English and Chinese), an East-West partnership system is adopted at both classroom and administration levels. The program is headed by two Co-Principals (one Western and one Chinese), and each class is run by two Co-Teachers (also one Western and one Chinese). The two languages are used throughout the day for teaching, learning and social purposes.

Immersed in a language-rich environment, children learn to listen, speak, read and write in both languages while enjoying other cultural, exploratory, constructional, creative and aesthetic activities offered by the program. Systematic learning, topic work, free play and enrichment lessons(dance, violin, computer, etc.) are the major components of the daily schedule. There are plenty of opportunities to explore, think, talk and listen, and to represent ideas in the forms of art, writing or dramatic play. A curriculum in the form of guiding principles are provided for the teachers to develop an integrated program strong in languages, problem solving and self discipline. Teachers enjoy the flexibility of having input into the design of curriculum details, including the setting of the learning environment and learning goals, the development of learning activities, etc. In the area of topic work, the teachers of each year group hold a brainstorming session with the Co-Principals on learning opportunities for children. The co-teachers of each class will design the preliminary topic web, decide on the appropriate highlight for their own class and branch out into setting objectives in each learning area. There are many opportunities for each teacher to be self-reflective and to learn from her teaching partner who is from a different cultural background. Parent Involvement is a significant feature of the program. Every new parent is required to attend an educational course to learn about the developmental needs of young children, details of the program and the role of parents. Plenty of opportunities are created for parents to participate in the school life and to learn about the school's approach to early childhood education. Many parents have expressed that not only has the program instilled a love of learning in their children, it has also given parents the chance to learn and grow with their children. The program facilitates the setting up of class support groups, and parents initiate meetings with other families usually in an environment that children enjoy.

Most Unique Program Feature

The most unique feature of the program is its bilingual and bicultural set-up. Not only do children learn to master two completely different languages - English and Chinese - they are also in daily contact with two major cultures - western and oriental. Yet learning does not just happen by itself. Extra effort and time is required to place children in the right group and for children to learn to trust a teacher who speaks a different language. The Co-Teacher and Co-Principal system is intended to facilitate cross-cultural interactions, learning and professional exchange. These would not happen naturally, it requires commitment from both parties to work as a team. With such commitment from both its international and local staff, the Yew Chung International Kindergarten enjoys a good reputation for the quality learning opportunities it offers to children, teachers and parents.

Edited by Michael Kalinowski