Music and Mandarin: The Perfect Combination

By Laura Lee
Have you ever heard a child rattling off a list of vocabulary words? Probably not. On
the other hand, have you ever heard a child singing a song? Most definitelya
resounding Yes!
!ro" the very beginning, we teach children their #$%s through a song& we s'ea(
rhy"es and sing lullabies in our everyday rhyth". )o why do language 'rogra"s
a''roach the tas( of learning a new language with the use of dry, re'eated
vocabulary lists?
*hrough research+based studies& an e,tensive "usic bac(ground& 'rofessional,
firsthand, early childhood develo'"ent "usic teaching& and 'ersonal e,'erience
raising a bilingual child, - understand how "usic truly hel's a child learn language.
My .+year old daughter is bilingual in /nglish and Mandarin %hinese, co"'letely at
ease in either setting of native s'ea(ers. )he switches effortlessly between the two
languages, oftenti"es translating for those who don0t understand the other
language.
-t is a"a1ing to see how her brain dives i""ediately fro" one language to the
other, obvious that the syna'ses in her brain have direct lin(s to each language,
rather than having to travel through one language to access the other. *he brain
undergoes a"a1ing, ra'id develo'"ent between the ages of newborn and age 2, a
'ri"e ti"e to e,'ose one0s child to a new language.
- decided the "o"ent that our daughter was born that - would s'ea( only Mandarin
with her and that "y husband 3who does not s'ea( %hinese4 would s'ea( only
/nglish with her. - understood how i"'ortant it would be for her to be bilingual in
our global society.
-t definitely too( strict dedication on "y 'art to s'ea( only Mandarin with our
daughter since - s'ea( only /nglish with "y husband. /ven though he does not
s'ea( %hinese, he had to be 5667 su''ortive of what we had chosen since he would
not understand what we were conversing about on a daily basis. 8ot only is he fully
su''ortive, but also since our daughter0s fa"iliarity with Mandarin has soared, he
has been ins'ired to start learning Mandarin as well.
9e followed the One Parent+One :anguage "ethod 3OPO:one 'arent s'ea(s one
language and the other 'arent s'ea(s another4, and it certainly wor(s as - can
testify fro" firsthand e,'erience! -t has been a wonderful e,'erience to develo' a
strong relationshi' with our daughter in Mandarin. 9ith the birth of our second child,
it has been "agical to see our daughter and son begin to develo' strong sibling ties
in Mandarin as well.
9e sing songs dailyit0s a natural 'art of everything we do. $uilt into our everyday
rhyth"s, "usic is li(e another language. -t doesn0t ta(e effort& it;s fun. 9e sing
songs when washing our hands, ta(ing a stroll with a steady beat, saying hello to all
our stuffed ani"als, and cleaning u'. My daughter can accurately "atch 'itch and
"a(es u' tunes all the ti"e, adding her own words or silly sounds. -s this
e,ce'tionally uni<ue? 8ot at all. #ll children are "usical. *hey res'ond rece'tively to
"usic and "ove"ent. 9hy? -t0s si"'le= "usic activates "any 'arts of the brain.
9hen language infor"ation is condensed into a co"'act unit, such as a song, the
brain is able to receive "ore, and as a result, 'rocess "ore. - say, )ing songs
learn %hinese!
An educator, an author, and a mother, Laura Lee is an expert in early childhood
development. She has a double degree in music and molecular cell biology from UC
Berkeley. As an educator, she has been teaching music to children since 2003 and
runs a full piano studio. She is the author of the awardwinning children!s boo" titled
:ittle Laura and the Birthday Surprise, a bilingual #nglish$%andarin musical
storyboo" series. Laura can be reached at littlelauramusic@gmail.com.
>eferences=
? /arlychildhood 8/9)= Music and Move"ent
? /thnologue, 5@
th
/dition
? Music *ogether= >esearch and Aevelo'"ent
? )cienceAaily= Music #nd :anguage #re Processed by the )a"e $rain )yste"s
? B% -rvine )tudy= Mandarin :anguage -s Music to the $rain
Sidebar
Facts About Music
5. #ll children are "usical when they are bornthey can (ee' a steady beat and sing
in tune. *heir future "usical ability de'ends on how and if you nurture it.
C. Music develo's a child holistically on all levels= social, cognitive, e"otional,
'hysical, and "usical and with language develo'"ent as well.
.. $etween the ages of newborn to 2, children e,'erience ra'id brain develo'"ent.
*his is a 'ri"e ti"e to e,'ose the" to "any different ty'es of "usic and "ove"ent
vocabulary.
D. *he 'arentE'ri"ary caregiver is the "ost i"'ortant teacher for one0s child.
$abies0 brains develo' based on three co"'onents= genetics, e,'erience, and
environ"ent. 9hen babies are given a safe e,'erience within a loving environ"ent,
they learn better.
Facts About Mandarin Chinese Language
5. Mandarin is one of the si, B.8. languages and is s'o(en by "ore than one billion
'eo'le in the world, "ore than any other language.
C. Mandarin is the standard language of %hina, the world0s second+largest econo"y.
.. $etween the ages of newborn to 2, children e,'erience ra'id brain develo'"ent.
*his is a 'ri"e ti"e to e,'ose the" to a new language.
D. %hildren who learn a language before adolescence are "ore li(ely to develo'
native+li(e 'ronunciation.
%o'yright C65C, used with 'er"ission. #ll rights reserved by author. Originally
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