Survey Results Show 60% Of Parents  Reckon Learning English Should Begin Between 0 And 2 Years Old

70% Of Parents Spend Less Than Two Hours A Week  To Accompany Their Children For Learning English

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 15 August 2018 - Founded byexperienced educators, including founders of international schools, the formerRegional Director of Oxford University Press, Chief ELT Consultant, and HRDirector of Pearson Education Asia, D Mind Education aims to develop andprovide quality English learning programmes catering local children's needs.

From left: Mr Ben Mak, Head of Contents, D Mind Education; Dr Paul Sze, Professional Consultant (Honorary), Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Faculty of Education; Ms Adeline Cheung, Lead Tutor of the programme, D Mind Education

In order to understand parents expectations towardstheir children's progress in learning English, and to examine ways to carry outthese learning programmes, D Mind Education has recently interviewed some 500parents via the parenting platform Baby Kingdom. Mr Ben Mak, Head of Contents,shared the survey findings.

The survey results reveal over half of the interviewedparents feel that the ideal age for children to start learning English isbetween 0 and 2 years old. However, over 70% of the parents admit that theycould only spend less than two hours a week to read with their children orteach their children English. Overall, 90% of parents believe  that phonics is an important process inlearning English. While 68% of the parents have received tertiary education orabove, only 42% of them had learnt phonics themselves. Unsurprisingly, someparents are not confident in teaching their own children phonics as a way toimprove their vocabulary. As a result, 58% of the parents prefer to enrol theirchildren in programmes outside school to offer them that level of support. Mostof them agree that phonics is useful in building  children's confidence in learning English andit enhances children's English language abilities in reading, writing,listening and speaking. When choosing an English language programme for theirchildren, parents rank the quality of the programme, including the contents,teaching approach and learning outcomes as the key factors apart from location.

Mr Ben Mak said, 'Based on our findings, parents carevery much about their children's English learning and they hope to cultivatetheir children's interest in learning English from an early age. However, atpresent, many parents can only spend less than two hours a week with theirchildren to learn English. Therefore, a systematic and holistic Englishlearning programme will definitely help resolve the dilemma for parents. Takinginto account these factors, D Mind Education has introduced an English learningprogramme based on the pioneering concepts by the British expert, Ruth Miskin.'

Innovativelearning approach advocated

by British phonicsexpert Ruth Miskin

Ruth Miskin's teaching method combines syntheticphonics with skills of sound blending, reading and writing. Through enchantingstories, the programme offers a systematic way to improve a student's Englishreading, writing, listening and speaking skills, with proven results. Widelyused in many primary schools in the UK, this proven approach has been appraisedas 'Best Practice' by the UK government. Ruth Miskin, author of the learningprogramme, has over 35 years of teaching experience and has served as anadvisor to the Ministry of Education for a decade. Hailed as the 'Queen ofPhonics', Ruth Miskin has substantial experience in training English teachersin local schools. D Mind Education is the first educational institution in Asiathat Ruth Miskin collaborates with in order to provide teacher training andquality education.

To ensure quality of the programmes, the tutors mustbe trained by both Miskin and D Mind Education prior to classes. Moreover, theywill receive coaching advice from Ruth Miskin's team on a regular basis, so asto ensure teaching effectiveness. As a mother of two, Ms Adeline Cheung, LeadTutor of the programme, explains the importance of Miskin's teaching approachin inspiring interest among young children to learn English. In fact, Ms Cheunghas travelled to the UK for five times for training at Ruth Miskin's and she iscurrently the ELT consultant most familiar with Ruth Miskin -- RWI in Asianregion.

D Mind Education was set up in the summer of 2018 withan aim to promote quality English learning among young children, and hasrecently joined hands with Discovery Park to launch the project 'D MindEducation for D‧Park'. D Mind Education advocates children to start learningEnglish from three years old using the English learning contents from RuthMiskin -- RWI, so as to cultivate their interest in the language. To find outmore about D Mind Education or Ruth Miskin -- RWI learning programmes, pleasevisit the website www.dmindeducation.com, or simplyclick to connect with and LIKE the Facebook page of DMindEducation.

Please download the high-resolution imagesfrom the link below:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DQjP6Ip2wom3ECbGTc1TVS-vkTR-Xc6W

About D MindEducation

An educational department of New World Development, DMind Education is founded by several veteran educators. Its core membersinclude founders of international schools, former Regional Director of OxfordUniversity Press, Chief English Language Teaching Consultant, and the HRDirector of Pearson Education Asia. The team is committed to bring in qualityeducational materials from overseas and develop contents for local students tolearn English effectively. With an evidence-based approach, the team is keen toadvocate internationalised and diverse contents to meet the needs of the localcommunity. The key objective is to support local students to speak English asfluently as native English speakers, to inspire their interest in learningEnglish as well as to enhance their confidence through the learning process.