提到双语学校，大家很自然地会想到我们在英文方面的特色教学，但其实中文教学也是不容小觑的。

正如我们的校园文化以及使命与宣言中所说：“我们以仁为本，致力培养学业进取，身心健康，具有家国情怀和全球视野的双语学习者。”

众所周知，同沪江维多利亚学校（VSA）一样，VPA办学理念中的一大特色就是双语教学。

多年前，香港家长送孩子入读国际或者双语学校的心态是要培养孩子说一口地道英语，不教中文也无所谓，甚至会认为最好不要教中文。

当年的这批孩子如今已经长大成人，他们意识到：中文在他们的生活和事业发展中发挥了至关重要的作用。

如今中国在世界的地位越来越重要，各行各业都得与中国企业、中国人打交道，中文也随之成为关键技能。渐渐，香港家长的思路发生了改变，考虑孩子的升学计划时都会把中文教学这一选项放回重要的考量点上。

我们延续着这样的办学思路来到深圳，希望孩子们都能“走得出去，也走得回来”。

我们总是讲双语教学、英文教学，我们的中文教学又是怎样的呢？

遵循着跨学科探究式教学以及IB教学理念，我们的中文也以探究为主，注重概念上的学习。

探究式学习在我们的中文教学中得到充分的体现和落实。基于学生情况，探索和选用合适的学习方法，再通过形成性评估和总结性评估，反思和调整学习内容和方法。

我们坚持使用部编版教材，但不拘泥于课本内容，会补充与教学单元主题相关其他材料。

简而言之，我们的中文教学方法可以总结为：基于探究、概念驱动、考虑本土和全球语境、合作式、注重差异化、评估数据指引。

以四年级的一场探究学习为例，单元概念是联系、自我表达、体裁，单元主题是生态系统，我们的老师将诗歌与自然联系在一起，研读中国古典诗歌及散文，探索人们与世界交流的方式，学会欣赏生活中的美好，以及表达自我。

我们从与学生共同探究“什么是诗歌”开始，学习诗歌的种类、特点、作用等基本常识，再进入诗歌仿写创作，延伸到意象意境探究，最后完成自我评估与反思。

在诗歌仿写的环节中，我们的老师带着孩子们来到了学校毗邻的丽林公园，让孩子们沉浸在自然课堂中，抒发自己对大自然的感受。这也很好地运用了“多感官学习法”，帮助学生透过互动，把「眼看」、「耳听」、「口念」和「手写」等都配合起来，更有效地学习。

中文教学的重要性

在心理学界有一个广泛的共同认知，那就是语言塑造了我们的思维方式，我们不同的思维方式也同时塑造了不同的语言。

著名语言和认知领域的认知科学家和教授，雷拉·波洛狄特斯基，多次发表文献和演讲，阐述语言如何塑造人们的思维。比如有的语言对颜色有更细致的分类及描述，那么精通这门语言的人也会对颜色有更强的分辨能力。每种语言都有诸如此类的特质，从而在孩子们的思维方式以及世界观上产生巨大的影响。

语言承载着文化，每种语言都是打开一种文化的钥匙。作为华夏子民，掌握语言、了解文化、扎下自己的根，才能向上延伸，长成“苍天大树”。

VPA希望孩子们在学习英文以及吸收全球多元文化之前，先驾驭祖国语言、热爱祖国文化，才能塑造出自己对世界的独有见解，成为拥有中国情怀，包容世界的未来领袖。

When it comes to bilingual schools, it is natural for people to think of the English lessons, but Chinese part is also important.

As stated in our school culture and mission, "We are committed to nurturing bilingual learners who are academically motivated, physically and mentally healthy, with a sense of belonging and a global perspective."

As we all know, like Victoria Shanghai Academy (VSA), VPA focuses on bilingual education.

Years ago, parents in Hong Kong sent their children to international or bilingual schools with the mindset that they wanted to raise them to speak native English, and they didn't care about Chinese, or even thought that it was better not to teach Chinese.

Now that they are adults, they realize that Chinese plays an important role in their lives and careers.

As China plays an increasingly important role in the world, everyone needs to deal with Chinese enterprises and Chinese people, and Chinese language has become a key skill. Gradually, the mindset of Hong Kong parents has changed, and they put Chinese learning back on the priority list when considering their children's education plans.

We continue this idea to Shenzhen, hoping that the children can "go out, and come back".

We always talk about bilingual education, English learning, how about our Chinese learning?

Following the philosophy of interdisciplinary inquiry teaching and IB education, our Chinese language learning is also inquiry-based and focuses on conceptual learning.

Inquiry-based learning is fully embodied and implemented in our Chinese teaching. Based on the situation of students, explore and choose appropriate learning methods, and then reflect and adjust the learning content and methods through formative assessment and summative assessment.

We adhere to the use of local textbooks, but do not stick to the textbook content, and will be supplemented with other materials related to the topic of the unit.

In short, our approach to Chinese teaching can be summarized as inquiry-based, concept-driven, local and global context-sensitive, collaborative, differentiated, and data-guided.

Using a unit of Year 4 as example, the unit concept was connection, self-expression and genre, and the unit theme was ecosystem, our teacher connected poetry with nature, studied classical Chinese poetry and prose, explored the way people communicate with the world, learned to appreciate the beauty in life, and expressed himself.

We begin by exploring "what is poetry", learning about the types, characteristics, functions and other basic knowledge of poetry, and then enter into poetry imitation and creation, extending to the exploration of image and artistic conception, and finally complete self-assessment and reflection.

In the div of writing, our teacher took the children to the Lilin Park adjacent to our school, and let children immerse themselves in the nature class to express their feelings about nature. It also makes good use of the "multi-sensory learning method" to help students learn more effectively by interacting with the "eyes", "ears", "words" and "handwriting".

The Importance of Chinese Learning

There is a broad consensus in psychology that language shapes the way we think, and that our different ways of thinking also shape our different languages.

Famous cognitive scientist and professor in the fields of language and cognition, Lera Boroditsky, published many researches and gave speeches about how language shapes the way we think. For example, some language has more detailed words to describe colors and therefore people who use this language will be able to distinguish colors. Every language has its own characteristics to influence children's perspective of the world.

Language carries out the culture, and a language is the key to a culture. As Chinese people, we need to master our language, understand our culture, and plant our own roots before extendeding upward, and growing into the "a big tree".

We hope that children can master our own language and love the culture of the motherland before learning English and absorbing the diverse cultures of the world, so that they can shape their own unique views of the world and become future leaders with Chinese hearts and perspectives of the world.