The teaching methods of Mini Mandarin Musicians combine Orff Approach from Germany and Gordon’s Music Learning Theory from the US, along with Yi-Ting’s unique pedagogy based on her previous teaching experiences in music and Mandarin.

While learning simple vocabularies and grammar of Mandarin, melodies, rhythms, movements, games, drama, and instruments are introduced in the class under a sequential structure. Children are viewed as the center of the whole learning process during the class, and therefore Yi-Ting sometimes often adjusts her teaching steps based on children’s individual responses to the class activities.

 

Other than the Mandarin music materials, Yi-Ting also uses the traditional English nursery rhymes that share the same melodies or rhythms with the Mandarin music. Music and rhythm with neutral syllables are also used in the class to strengthen children’s musical perception. Some of the music resources can be found in these books:   

Yi-Ting makes slides for every lesson, illustrating the order of music, Pinyin (mandarin pronunciation) and English translation, along with activity briefs. She will send you these teaching materials before each lesson for your preview and practice at home. Audio materials are also provided from this page  with a password sent through email.