Another great learning week in #LH4. The learners are certainly much calmer now than they were 4 weeks ago. The more I think, learn and read about play-based learning the more I am convinced we are on the right track and the more I realise how much more I have to think, learn and read!
One of my main ponderings is; how can we best encourage the use of English in the Habitat? (24/28 are ELL) It seems to be mainly the boys that revert to using Chinese when playing but that could be because we have a much larger cohort of boys (22/28). They seem ok with using English when talking to English speaking adults but as soon as there are two or more Chinese speaking learners together they speak Chinese.
As being at school is often the only time they can speak English with fluent adult speakers, I wonder if we should we be encouraging them to speak English more often or should we leave them to converse in their native tongue as often as they do?
One of my frustrations is not being a fluent speaker of either Mandarin or Cantonese is around how we tell if the language they are using is at an age appropriate level or if they are using a low level of language.
Looking back at the great learning experiences we have facilitated provides next steps for how we can continue to develop our thinking around play-based learning in our context. It's fantastic to work alongside you and to learn so much from you!
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