KIS pre-school offers ‘brain-friendly’ learning

By Kang Shin-who

Staff reporter

Korean pre-schools and kindergartens are not allowed to conduct English or other foreign language lessons although many parents are fervent about such an education for their children. This is because the Korean education authorities believe children under the age of five are too young to learn foreign languages.

However, Lara Manasfi, associate principal of the Korea International School (KIS), disagrees with this point of view. Manasfi, who is in charge of pre-schoolers at the academy, said younger children have a greater advantage in learning foreign languages.

"What is important is how children learn, not what they learn. We don't force children to learn but help them to link information that they already have, Manasfi told The Korea Times in an interview, Tuesday.

She called it "brain-friendly" learning, which is to focus on developing emotional intelligence and establishing good habits for the mind to learn to behave intelligently.

"Early years programs are a great way to give children a good head start in schools and in life. Children need attentive adults, age-appropriate responsibilities, problem solving and risk-taking, and a small group of friends to become healthy members of society," she said.

Currently, some 80 children are attending the schools under the pre-school and kindergarten program, paying some $14,600 a year. Although the tuition is quite expensive, compared to that of ordinary private Korean pre-schools charging about $2,432 a year, the principal believes it is a promising investment for parents.

"Some studies show that children attending early years' programs are more likely to graduate and pursue higher education, and be well integrated socially as an adult," she said.

"It is also said that children with an early childhood education are less likely to commit illegal acts, and tend to earn more money, and that children who speak another language at home significantly benefit from early childhood education, as they are the most prepared to learn English when they are very young."

Asked about how the school's program is different from other schools, she said her institution was focusing on helping students to acquire important habits of mind such as higher order thinking, creativity, curiosity, risk taking, and problem solving.

"In this era of globalization and rapid technological transformation, students must be able to adapt to changes in society and the workplace. We aim to ensure that they have the opportunity to develop and practice the skills required of global citizens while always remembering to genuinely hear, advocate and respond to the learner's voice," she said.