The Hiro Way, Hiro Education

【Interview with Elsa NG, Founder of Hiro Education】

Hiro Education is the new member of the Hiro Culture Group which been focusing on spreading Chinese culture. The major focus is on educating mandarin which includes mandarin pinyin, reading, writing, speech and poem recitation, Chinese Idiom and various local and international literature. We want to equip students of different Chinese levels to build their Chinese foundation in a happy and interactive environment to prepare themselves for future challenges.

Elsa (Founder) has been the GAPSK examiner for a number of years and she has had the opportunity to visit various local and international schools in Hong Kong to assess the general Chinese standards of the students. Through talking with them, she has found that most students are only treating Chinese as an exam subject and not really enjoying or appreciating the beauty of Chinese culture.

The Chinese name of Hiro is “see lu” which means “the way to think”. They ensure that learning Chinese at Hiro is not only about memorizing all the Chinese characters or the Chinese poems, but also learning the way to think what is behind those Chinese wisdoms and appreciate them. There is no model answer, and they encourage children to raise their own questions. Hiro understands that learning should be proactive instead of passive.

Learning a new language before 5 years old is called as Golden age. All researchers agreed that language learning skills peak at or before the ages of 6 or 7 in Putonghua.

Teaching Chinese using Putonghua as a medium has become a significant development for Hong Kong children learning Putonghua. It is however difficult for Hong Kong children to speak and use Putonghua as it is not their first language, with many children finding speaking putonghua to be foreign and uncomfortable.

Many courses currently offered in Hong Kong have been adapted from Mainland China and mainly focus on rote learning and training students to recite poetry. This type of learning is not for the long-term interest in learning Putonghua and lacks depth and excitement for children in its design.

Hiro courses not only develop children fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination through engaging games and fun activities. The course topics are related to daily usage with various interesting themes - children will find themselves enjoying their theme-based lessons that include fun activities such as oral discussion, story reading, singing, interactive games and arts & crafts.

The course covers a range of areas, from vocabulary and sentence building to oral practice and story reading as well as some poetry and reading. It helps to enhance children’s confidence in using Putonghua, enabling children to incorporate the language into their daily life with ease. Learning Putonghua will also improve children’s writing in Chinese, as well as help to lay a good foundation for future use of Putonghua during Chinese lessons.

Thoughts with Hiro Education’s founder

“I do not know whether Hiro is unique but by combining my learning experiences  in mainland China, UK and HK i will ensure the curriculum is as relevant to their futures as possible, no matter if you are in local or international schools.”

“At Hiro, we want to make sure students are learning Chinese under a happy and supportive atmosphere. We believe that the learning can only be sustainable if the students enjoy what they are learning.”

All of our teachers are all highly experienced with several years in teaching mandarin. and are the embodiment of Hiro’s Philosophy, we all appreciate chinese culture and would like to share the same with our students.

“keep encouraging your child to try new things.”

As a mother of two boys, I see that most children like staying in their comfort zones. Only if you keep encouraging them to try new things in life, they will soon open themselves to step up. Joining the GAPSK poem recitation platform may be a good idea for them to experience speaking in front of others when they are young.

Our classes are small and have up to a maximum of 4 students per class, we want to  make sure that each child receives the utmost care and attention. We want to share our passion of chinese teaching and pass on the wonders of the chinese culture.

I do hope to see you soon! Purchase classes here.