Page 8 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL6

What we’re doing in Thailand is first forcing children into conversation, which is the opposite of how it should beit. You need to look at the foundation to improve the quality of the popula- tion. No one talks about early child- hood development, which is sad.Does this also apply to the edu- cation system in Thailand?What we’re doing in Thailand is first forcing children into conversa- tion, which is the opposite of how it should be. The principle is to start with comprehension. It is the natural way children learn. They start learning vocabulary even before they are born. By the time a child utters the first word – in any language – at the age of two, he or she may have already learned a thousand words. It’s an example of what children are capable of. But this can’t be researched because there is no feedback. How do you know exactly how many words a child has learned up to that point? After all, little children can’t speak. My experience with my own childrenand grandchildren confirmed that children learn automatically.How did you apply theories to your own children?Ever since I got married, went abroad to study and started teaching, I’ ve always insisted that children are capable of learning multiple languages at the same time. It was almost a sin to say that at the time. Pretty much everyone the world over was against that idea. However, I pressed on. I experimented with my oldest son [MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra]. As soon as I became pregnant, I let my husband know I would be speaking English to our child. Others could use whichever language they wanted. The key thing for me was that I wouldn’t demand a response from him. He could call me “mum” in English and Thai alternately and I wouldn’t make a big deal out of that.Even children who have attended international school for many years still find it embarrassing to speak English to their Thai parents, although it is no problem with teachers and friends. This is their logic.Apart from language, what are important components of early childhood education?My emphasis would be music. Language and music converge in terms of movement. We give every- thing in the form of sound – songs, rhymes, chanting, reciting the multi- plication table, anything. For children, these things have rhythms and ups and downs. Using the multiplication table as an example, it allows children to learn even before they start under- standing “why multiply”. Those who spend time with children understand this.Back in the day, we learned through our eyes and ears, didn’t we? Then we filled out the workbook. But learningMom Dusdi Paribatra na Ayudhya as a young teacher.6 Elite+