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CHILDREN here are from various ethnic groups， notably Uygur， as well as Han. A main feature of the kindergarten’s early education is that although children are encouraged to speak Putonghua – standard Chinese– from a young age， care is taken not to let them forget their mother tongue，” Beibu Bay Radio （BBR） anchor Su Yan said on her micro-blog， which also showed pictures of the children at play.
Su Yan was talking about the Urumqi Red Flag Bilingual Kindergarten， established in 1949. The first public kindergarten to open in the city， Red Flag is located in a multi-cultural region where communities of several ethnic minorities， including Uygur， Kazak and Hui， live. There are two teachers and an asistant for each class， one of whom is Uygur.
Children at the kindergarten are trained to speak in both their mother tongue and Putonghua. In this way the Red Flag epitomizes bilingual education throughout Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Bilingual Tots
“In the vast forest lives a smart little monkey...” four-year-old Adina Ekber repeated after her teacher in clear， toneperfect Putonghua. Her performance in a class attended by several other Uygur children elicited warm applause from visitors to the Red Flag.
“Learning Putonghua from Uygur teachers is easier for children of this ethnic minority group， and also helps create an environment where children are less shy about speaking Chinese to Han teachers，” Red Flag principal Zhang Xinmin said. “We hold many activities that enhance the children’s ability to communicate bilingually. One is a competition every semester， where the children tell stories and sing songs in two languages.”
The children learning Putonghua only and those attending bilingual class-es convene once a week to play games and study together. These exchanges encourage them to learn from one another， and help the children taking classes bilingually to express themselves more fluently in standard Chinese. The kindergarten also organizes various themed activities highlighting Xinjiang’s distinct culture， such as “We All Belong to the Same Family and Love Each Other” and“Fruits of Xinjiang.” They encourage children to express their opinions and ideas on familiar topics.
“Conversation and communication promote linguistic abilities of ethnic minority children. We consequently encourage Han teachers to talk to them at every opportunity and so stimulate their desire to speak Putonghua，” Zhang Xinmin said.
Su Yan was talking about the Urumqi Red Flag Bilingual Kindergarten， established in 1949. The first public kindergarten to open in the city， Red Flag is located in a multi-cultural region where communities of several ethnic minorities， including Uygur， Kazak and Hui， live. There are two teachers and an asistant for each class， one of whom is Uygur.
Children at the kindergarten are trained to speak in both their mother tongue and Putonghua. In this way the Red Flag epitomizes bilingual education throughout Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Bilingual Tots
“In the vast forest lives a smart little monkey...” four-year-old Adina Ekber repeated after her teacher in clear， toneperfect Putonghua. Her performance in a class attended by several other Uygur children elicited warm applause from visitors to the Red Flag.
“Learning Putonghua from Uygur teachers is easier for children of this ethnic minority group， and also helps create an environment where children are less shy about speaking Chinese to Han teachers，” Red Flag principal Zhang Xinmin said. “We hold many activities that enhance the children’s ability to communicate bilingually. One is a competition every semester， where the children tell stories and sing songs in two languages.”
The children learning Putonghua only and those attending bilingual class-es convene once a week to play games and study together. These exchanges encourage them to learn from one another， and help the children taking classes bilingually to express themselves more fluently in standard Chinese. The kindergarten also organizes various themed activities highlighting Xinjiang’s distinct culture， such as “We All Belong to the Same Family and Love Each Other” and“Fruits of Xinjiang.” They encourage children to express their opinions and ideas on familiar topics.
“Conversation and communication promote linguistic abilities of ethnic minority children. We consequently encourage Han teachers to talk to them at every opportunity and so stimulate their desire to speak Putonghua，” Zhang Xinmin said.