The King’s College library was transformed into a small Chinese village as part of the school’s first Mandarin Chinese language learning experience.

The English language was off limits as children got an insight into living in China.

The initiative came after a program was introduced early this year where the Chinese language was taught once a week for an hour after school.

It gave youngsters an opportunity to share experiences they might not have otherwise experienced.

Chinese language teacher Anna Han said parents were keen for pupils to begin learning the language early. She used culture, animals, singing, and the film Kung Fu Panda in her teaching. 

“I focus on an authentic experience for them by challenging them to only communicate in Chinese for the full duration of the lesson,” she said. “The village experience was an important part of this.”

Ms Han was surprised how quickly the pupils learnt the language.

“The ones with Chinese backgrounds are motivated to learn and help out the others in class so they are all at the same level.

“It’s much easier to teach from the beginning — even the characters and symbols are not too hard.”

Ms Han will continue teaching next year and hopes to take pupils to her remote village where they can sharpen their language skills.