Wellington Today Wellington Today 2018 en | Page 12

2018
Using techniques such as the ‘3 strikes and you win’ technique
enable you to model words and answers to your child. The
technique can be used to teach new vocabulary, where a child’s
desired object is held close to your mouth as you model the
word, waiting 2-3 seconds for a response the child may or may
not repeat the word. If the child repeats the word, celebrate and
congratulate them. If your child does not repeat the word, then
conduct the process a second time. On the third time if the child
has not repeated the word you model the word clearly and give
the child the object saying ‘Good, listening.’
However, being asked too many questions is daunting for a young
learner and we must consider thinking time. This technique
is probably the hardest one for us to do, especially in the fast
moving era of the instant information superhighway that is the
21st Century. In a normal adult conversation our wait time is
approximately one second. For young children the processing
time can be up to ten times longer. Please give ten seconds
waiting time and in those ten seconds remember that your child
is decoding what he or she has been asked and then constructing
a response and is then having to shape and say new words
and sounds. It is a complex process! If your child is not able to
respond after the ten seconds, do not ask the same question
again, however re-frame it in a simpler fashion and build in an
element of choice.
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WELLINGTON INSIGHTS
LIFELONG EDUCATION
HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD
FOR EXAM SUCCESS
By Jo Evans, Director of Wellbeing, Wellington College International Shanghai
As the exams are looming for many of our pupils, becoming stressed is a real and worrying outcome
which needs to be acknowledged and prevented as much as possible.
For example: Look out for signs of stress Manage the expectations
Child: ‘I want sandwich.’ There is a big difference between ‘pressure’ and ‘stress’, since
pressure can be positive, as it motivates us to complete necessary
tasks in a timely way, whereas becoming stressed is a negative
reaction to prolonged or unmanageable levels of pressure.
There are different types of stress and many of the signs that
parents should look out for. These vary greatly, from emotional
stress signs of anxiety, isolation, an inability to concentrate or
being overwhelmed, to more acute physical signs, such as
aches and pains, dizziness, nausea, poor skin or noticeable weight
gain or loss. It is also important for parents to help manage their expectations
of their child, as well as their child’s own expectations of what
they will achieve during their exams. Wellington has a high-
achieving pupil body, which means that the expectations placed
on them are very high, as are their own aspirations to achieve
excellent exam results. While this is can provide great motivation
for pupils, it can also lead to unmanageable pressure and,
subsequently, stress:
Adult: ‘You want a sandwich. Which sandwich do you want?’
Allow thinking time.
Child: ‘Sandwich.’
Adult: ‘Would you like a chicken sandwich or a jam sandwich?’
Point to chicken slices and jam pot respectively.
Child: ‘A jam sandwich.’
Adult: ‘Good listening, you would like a jam sandwich.’
If we focus on these three key areas of singing, child directed
speech through effective questioning and modelling and giving
thinking time we will be able to help our learners on their
exciting journey to true bilingualism. Where they will be able to
experience their dreams equally in Chinese or English.
Stress is a normal response to events that make you feel
threatened or upset your balance, but because we’re all
individuals, the threat (in this case: exams) will be perceived
differently by each pupil, all of whom will have different levels
of resilience. Pupils suffering from stress during this period of
time before exams can roughly be split into those who do too
little preparation and those who do far too much. What we
need to do is help them find the right way to achieve a healthy
middle ground between these two states.
All parents want the absolute best for their children’s future.
The global job market is changing so rapidly that we cannot be
sure what they will need when they become adults, so our aim
is to give them as many useful skills as possible, which will give
them plenty of viable options when the time comes to choose
a career. The problem with this approach is that our children’s
view of what is important may be very different to our own.
Therefore, the key thing is to open up an honest dialogue
about exam expectations, with the aim of setting reasonable
goals and hopefully removing any undue pressure on the child.
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