Dedah anak kepada dwibahasa seawal mungkin

Expose children to bilingualism as early as possible

Immerse them in the mother tongue as much as possible in their early years of school

A/P Mukhlis Abu Bakar was recently interviewed by Berita Harian on his recent visit to two schools in Canada during his 3-month sabbatical at Simon Fraser University, Canada – Cleveland Elementary School for its French immersion (enrichment) and W̱SÁNEĆ School Board for its SENĆOŦEN immersion (revitalization), one of the heritage languages of the indigenous communities in Canada. In both schools, students come from English-dominant backgrounds.

In the interview, A/P Mukhlis shared that while students in the early years of schooling are immersed in the respective second languages across the curriculum in the classroom, the immersion extended outside the classroom where signboards and messages on the walls around the schools appear in both English and the target languages. Announcements are also made in two languages. In this way, the languages continue to be heard and seen in and outside the classrooms giving the message to students that the target languages are equally important and useful.

Source: Berita Harian © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.