Switching P3 child from Chinese to Malay class?
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My P3 boy is very bright, excels in english and math, but couldn’t read half of the words of his chinese text book. He is diagnosed with hyperactivity and write big size chinese characters due to his poor coordination.
He is suffering in chinese class. Tuition doesnt help much.
I am thinking of switching him from chinese to malay class by giving the school the following reasons:
1. He has hyperactivity and has difficulty writing chinese characters. (possible to get doctors letter)
2. We are PRs, might be retrenched and have to go back to Malaysia with Malay as primary medium in schools.
My boy is in P3 already. What do you think of the feasibility? (I dont consider china being superpower and not knowing chinese as an issue, but this is another matter)
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hi, this is my humble opinion.
ur child has been learning the language since young & i am sure he has a higher (certain) level of understanding on Mandarin.
picking up a new language could be possibly a bigger problem & unnecessary hurdle on his part & u too.
for mandarin, how weak a child is, there is help. like if parents can afford it, there are tuition centre/mandarin languange centres & pte tutors . i feel tht it is easier to get help.
for malay language, there are not many (or maybe NO) tuition centres or language centres. maybe pte tutors. there are not many malay assesments available. -
How about totally giving up on languages if you can get Dr to give you a letter?
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lovejoypeacce:
How about totally giving up on languages if you can get Dr to give you a letter?
Is it possible? What will happen when he reaches PSLE. How do the asses him? -
alfa_juliet:
Am sure you mean well. I just asked my P5 DD, there have been a few children in her school who switched from CL to ML. No problem catching up.hi, this is my humble opinion.
ur child has been learning the language since young & i am sure he has a higher (certain) level of understanding on Mandarin.
picking up a new language could be possibly a bigger problem & unnecessary hurdle on his part & u too.
for mandarin, how weak a child is, there is help. like if parents can afford it, there are tuition centre/mandarin languange centres & pte tutors . i feel tht it is easier to get help.
for malay language, there are not many (or maybe NO) tuition centres or language centres. maybe pte tutors. there are not many malay assesments available.
While there is only 1 tuition centre, tutors are not a problem. DD is mixed and she took CL at kindy. But her CL tutor advised us to switch to ML.
These days there is a good selection of assessment books sold at popular & even more just across the causeway. -
Thanks guys for the helpful response.
lovejoypeacce:
The teacher said this is possible...How about totally giving up on languages if you can get Dr to give you a letter?
I am mulling over this. However would this give an obvious impression to upper schools and local universities that my kid has hyperactivity by noticing he doesn't have mother language. Would his good math and English score offset this possible negative impression.
The other issue I am mulling over, even if he manages to switch to ML, being possible the only Chinese in the class, would he face peer pressure, children could be mean sometimes. -
Once you produce a doctor’s letter to the school stating that he has hyperactivity, thus requiring a change in 2nd language in school, it is recorded in the system.
This record will follow him as long as he is in a local govt school (secondary, JC/Poly, local unis). It will also be accessible to all govt dept if he applies for a govt job in future. -
Your child may feel uncomfortable if he is not ready for the huge change in hi mother tongue. his friends may laugh at him. he may be more comfortable in chinese lessons rather than malay classes.
just my thinking -
u consel him and teach him chinese. do not let him eat sweets. give him sweets when he earns it.
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