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Senna is four and is already speaking Mandarin and English. According to her father Mark Lee – that’s not all.
“Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Japanese. I was always speaking two languages at home, which is English and Cantonese. I want to do the same for Senna.”
Senna’s parents migrated from China and they’ve enrolled their only child at a pre-school in Sydney’s Chatswood that’s expanding its bi-lingual teaching program.
“You learn a language then you know more, not just your home language, but if she's interested to learn more about other cultures, then it widens her vision later in life.”
It also helps Senna stay connected with her extended family in China
“When we take her back to China last year, she was very confident, not so scared what to do.”
Senna is among a diverse group of children from both Chinese and non-Chinese backgrounds, learning Mandarin and English at a pre-school that’s pioneering bi-lingual education.
It’s called MindChamps and its founder is David Chiem.
“Of our 22 centres in Australia currently Chatswood is our very first that we have this bilingual immersive program. We've done a pilot in the last year. This is now fully integrated immersion where two teachers are literally speaking both languages, immersively every day.”
It’s not about repetition or mimicking.
The children are acting out stories in dual languages which makes learning fun, as Mr Chiem explains
“If we drill too much, we can even have a negative impact. Some children end up not enjoying it. So, to the child it shouldn't be about that. It should be about literally experiencing the whole entire culture and language coming to life that is just part of their learning and curiosity and fun. So, therefore drama, song, these are powerful ways to engage with the emotion.”
Academics say teaching a second language in pre-school brings many benefits. Marianne Turner is associate professor of bilingual Education at Victoria’s Monash University.
“It's really useful to bring other languages into the classroom. There is a cognitive benefit in the fact that it does really help with thinking, it helps with creative thinking, it helps with problem solving.”
Just a few of the reasons the Victorian Government has invested more than 50-million dollars to help preschool children learn in a language other than English, over eight years to 2027. Associate Professor Turner explains:
“Learning more than one language can really help children going forward with social cohesion and with tolerance because they get more of an understanding of difference and less fear about difference.”
Mr Chiem founded Mindchamps after a successful career as an actor, later opening the first centre in Singapore. Since then, it’s grown to more 80 pre-schools across Australasia.
“We are currently in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar very soon in the Maldives as well. And obviously Australia is a huge focus for us. And with that as well, we are launching into the US.”
The Mindchamps core curriculum is based around a concept called the champion mindset, as Mr Chiem explains:
“There were three aspects of champion mindset. The number one ingredient, what separates champions is abhorrence to the ordinary, those who make breakthroughs. It wasn't about being famous or rich, it was about celebrating what's uniquely them. The second ingredient is they have the courage to challenge conventional wisdom. And the third ingredient was adversity. That they're not afraid – yeh- that they have some innate nature to turn setbacks into setups.”
Although the CEO of a hugely successful business, Mr Chiem has never forgotten his own struggles as a refugee from Vietnam who arrived in Australia speaking no English.
But his story begins after his birth in southern Vietnam
“It was in the middle of war, 69. And my grandparents came from originally from China. My grandfather came to Vietnam as pretty much a peasant and worked very hard, build a small business in Rach Gia. And then my dad was running the business and my dad being from the south was also conscripted to be part of the South Vietnamese army. When Saigon fell in 75, so he was obviously jailed.”
Young David’s father was finally released and later, the family fled Vietnam in a fishing trawler.
It was a terrifying and dangerous journey may have ended in disaster when they encountered pirates off the coast of Malaysia.
“"The two fishing trawlers that flanked us, and they were about to board - these two pirate boats - and everyone was already so scared. And then suddenly they left! And everyone thought, wow. And then from a distance came this huge container ship. And then everyone realized that that's why they left. The Singapore container ship gave us food, gave us water, pointed us to the right direction, check our engines. And then when we got to Malaysia, the Malaysian authorities wouldn't allow us in. They actually shot at us wanting us to leave. And I remember my dad and the other men on the boat literally smashed the boat. So then just crashed right into the shores so that the boat couldn't leave anymore. And I remember that by the time it crashed in, dad grabbing me and jumping in. And then, we were put onto a camp on the island."“
The months that followed were hard and food was scarce but like many refugees, young David found a way to survive.
“We think of as hardships, but that was just part of life. Going to pump water from the well to carry back, finding food from lizards, catching lizards as well. And so I still remember how you catch a lizard if you see a big hole, and it's most likely there might be a lizard down there and you get a stick and you make a little noose around that hole, and sooner or later, that lizard to kind of cross up and you get to catch a lizard and you get to barbecue that.”
All that changed when an Australian official visited the area. The Chiem family were on a refugee list but missed their initial interview. So, they journeyed to the nearby town to find their would-be saviour
“We literally went from shop to shop, to shop to shop. Dad was so excited because one Chinese shop owner said, ‘I heard they may stay at that hotel’ Yeah! So, we go to the hotel. Incredible! The government official was still there. What's incredible is to be allowed to see him. He then allows us to go to his hotel room.”
The official took pity on them and within a short time the paperwork was processed, and the Chiem family flew to Sydney.
“The night we arrived, when we finally stood on Australian soil, Dad literally was very emotional. He said ‘for every one of us that made it, someone died’. He said ‘this is our rebirth’. And that was a very powerful, I would say, mindset because of that whole experience left a very deep emotional feeling. Therefore, [when] my dad said that, I thought ‘ wow, be grateful for everything we have’.”
Though he excelled academically in maths and science, David had no passion for medicine and wanted to pursue acting.
“That was tough having to tell dad that. And he was quite obviously devastated that I didn't want to go to medical school, but I said ’dad, look, let me follow my passion’.”
David Chiem later graduated from the University of Technology Sydney and the Australian Film Television and Radio school, and enjoyed a successful acting career.
However, his journey has come full circle now - as an award-winning businessman in Singapore :
“My dad gave me the opportunity to study the theatre and acting was the beginning of the person I am today. And that's when I thanked him and he was so moved, he cried and he said ‘no, you did that’. And I said, ‘no, dad, you gave me that’.”
It’s a gift he hopes to hand to a new generation.
“Because the world we live in, it's complex. As we sit here, there are still nations who feel like they can just go in and dominate another nation. And I believe that the only way we can truly make a difference is if the minds of tomorrow, particularly the younger years, is already laid with a certain mindset that is, ‘well, let's go and achieve things, but let's not do that to other people’.”
