Deliberate / targeted practice
not rote repetition
as a default.
While helping my 8 year old
with his spelling 听写 and composition writing 作文,
I noticed that he can't always tell
when to use 这 vs 着
so I took a few minutes
to create a little activity in our sketchbook using dot stickers from @petrinatherock
with some examples
to help him clarify the differences!
Later that night,
I found a good time
(when he was not tired,
hungry or stressed)
to present the activity.
Learning was done
in less than 2 minutes!
From now on,
he'll likely not be confused anymore,
and be able to use these characters accurately.
I wasn't testing his ability to write,
because he can already write them,
so I did the writing instead.
I sneaked in an element of
control of error
(inspired by sharing by @3mm.montessori @miraculove_sg and @sgmontessori)
where the exact number and type of stickers were provided,
so that at the end of the activity,
he will know if he got them right.
With this incident,
I'm reminded again of
the power of DELIBERATE PRACTICE,
or TARGETED PRACTICE,
instead of wasting valuable time, effort and energy,
over ROTE REPETITION as a DEFAULT strategy.
Deliberate practice takes some observation,
and reflection,
maybe some resourcefulness
and a little creativity,
but it pays dividends!
(That being said, rote repetition
definitely has its place in learning.
Memorising the times tables together
with my eldest has given him
so much more confidence in Math,
and it's so cool to
learn about patterns in multiplication!)
Do you find deliberate practice valuable?
Share with us if
you've used this strategy
in your bilingual learning too!
Join us as we support our primary school kids
in their bilingual journey!
#SGPrimarySchoolChinese x #funplaywithchinese
@mystorytreasury
@2mamas4kids
@forthekidsg
@jaschinese4kids
@mrsahgohgoh
@ourhappylearners
@playbymelissa
@tiffany_basket