Last Friday, on April 19th, the Irvine Chinese Immersion Preschool hosted a workshop on the language development of bilingual children. The keynote speaker was Dr. Shu-Ting Tina Hsieh. Dr. Hsieh was born and raised in Taiwan until the age of 14, when she came to study abroad in Minnesota. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Syracuse University. In 2024, she achieved her Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology degree from Northwestern University. Dr. Hsieh holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed in California.
The workshop was warmly welcomed by the parents of Irvine Chinese Immersion Preschool. There was lively interaction, with parents actively participating in discussions and sharing their experiences, all thanks to Dr. Hsieh's professional insights. Given that the majority of children at the preschool are bilingual in Mandarin and English, their language development trajectory differs from monolingual children, which is a topic of great interest for parents. Dr. Hsieh addressed these concerns one by one, while also clarifying some misconceptions and points of note regarding bilingual learning:
- Bilingualism does not lead to language delays. In fact, bilingual people have more cognitive advantages than monolingual people.
- Each child develops in a unique pattern, even when raised in the same family, and may reach specific milestones either earlier or later than their siblings or peers.
- Establishing realistic expectations based on fundamental developmental milestones is crucial.
- Understanding the characteristic differences between English and Mandarin that affect children's language development.
- Providing advice and tips for parents to support bilingualism.
- Emphasizing the importance of a high-quality language environment.
- Encouraging children to continue learning and using Mandarin in fun, practical, and stress-free ways such as modeling and play-based learning.
It was evident that Dr. Hsieh thoroughly explained and discussed these issues with the parents, while also addressing many of their questions and concerns. The Irvine Chinese Chinese Immersion Preschool will continue to host similar workshops on topics relevant to families and children's growth in the future, and parents are welcome to attend. If you have any further questions or topics of concern regarding this seminar, please feel free to email preschool@scccca.org. Once again, thank you to all the parents who attended the workshop. Your support and assistance are key to the healthy development of children. Finally, Irvine Chinese Immersion Preschool looks forward to working with you to provide a safe and relaxed environment for children's healthy and happy growth.
上週五，即4月19日，爾灣中文沉浸式幼稚園舉辦了一場關於雙語兒童語言發展的講座。主講是Shu-Ting Tina Hsieh博士。Tina博士在台灣出生並長大，直到14歲時，她至明尼蘇達上高中。她擁有威斯康辛大學麥迪遜分校的生物學學士學位，以及雪城大學的言語病理學碩士學位。在2024年，她繼續突破自己，獲得了美國西北大學的言語病理學博士學位，並持有美國言語-聽力-言語學協會（ASHA）的臨床證書（CCC），並在加利福尼亞州持有執照。
這場工作坊受到了爾灣中文沉浸式幼稚園家長們的熱烈歡迎。現場互動十分熱烈，家長們積極參與討論並分享他們的經驗，這得益於Tina博士的專業見解。鑑於我們這裡的大部分兒童都是中英雙語兒童，他們的語言發展軌跡與單語兒童有所不同，因此家長們對此十分關注。Tina博士針對這些問題逐一進行了解答，同時也澄清了關於雙語學習的一些誤解和值得注意的地方：
- 雙語不會導致語言發展遲緩，雙語者甚至比單語者更有認知發展上的優勢。
- 每個孩子的語言的發展模式和速度有所不同，其實同個家庭裡的兄弟姐妹也不盡相同。
- 建立在基本發展里程碑基礎上的現實期望至關重要。
- 了解影響兒童語言發展的英語和普通話之間的特徵差異。
- 提供家長支持雙語的建議。
- 強調了優質語言環境的重要性。
- 鼓勵孩子以有趣、實用和無壓力的方式繼續學習和使用普通話。
顯而易見的是，Tina博士與家長們逐一解釋和討論了這些問題，同時也回答了許多家長們的問題和疑慮。爾灣中文沉浸式幼稚園還將會在未來繼續主辦類似這樣與家庭、兒童成長息息相關的主題工作坊，屆時歡迎各位家長前來參加。如果您針對本次講座還有任何問題和關心的話題，請您隨時發送郵件至preschool@scccca.org。再次感謝親臨現場的家長們，您的支持和幫助會是兒童良好成長的關鍵所在。最後，爾灣中文沉浸式幼稚園與您攜手同在，讓我們為兒童健康、快樂的成長提供一個安全、輕鬆的環境。