Students were learning storytelling skills and creating teaching aids in online meeting
Since 2017, the Buddy Scheme has been launched to support non-Chinese speaking students studying in the D(ECE) programme (Diploma in Early Childhood Education (Supporting Learning and Teaching for Non-Chinese Speaking Children)). From September 3, 2020 to January 19, 2021, 17 students from other ECE programmes joined the scheme and paired up with their buddies one-on-one. Due to the pandemic situation, most of the meetings were online. A variety of interactive activities were arranged by student mentors to support the D(ECE) students’ learning and help them adapt to university life.
The buddies also learned to read Chinese storybooks in the scheme. They would practice their pronunciation and learn storytelling skills, such as questioning techniques and vocal expressions. The mentors also shared their teaching experiences and how to create teaching resources. These experiences would help them to be more confident to prepare their practicums.
The Buddy Scheme has offered an opportunity for ECE students to make friends and promote cultural exchange. The buddies were from different ethnic groups including Indian, Indonesian and Pakistani. During the online meetings, they shared their local cultures (such as religion and traditional food) and personal lives. They developed close relationships at the end of the scheme.
The following are some sharing of the students:
Wong, Di Yi BEd(ECE) FT Yr 5
“Hafsa introduced the Pakistani style wedding to me and showed me those beautiful Pakistan bride costumes. What surprised me was Hafsa said that she will bring me some souvenirs from Pakistan. I was so excited about that!”
Wong, Pui Pui BEd(ECE) FT Yr 4
「我教導Rema自製一款語文教具，我用了自己在上年度實習的教具 - 文字輪盤來做示範 ……我鼓勵她分享一下她認為K1小朋友在學習‘夏天’為主題的中文詞語……在活動的最後，她也有反映自己的意見，例如可購買其他材質的膠碟，使轉動時變得更加順暢。」
