Senna Lee is preparing to start school next year and is already ahead of the curve.
She may only be four-and-a-half years old, but she already speaks multiple languages — including English.
"She is learning Cantonese and Japanese, as well as Mandarin and English," her father, Mark Lee, says.
"I spoke two languages at home, both English and Cantonese, and I wanted to do the same for my daughter."
Senna's parents migrated from China and would like their daughter to remain connected to extended family — and to her heritage.
Senna Lee (right) learns English and Mandarin in preschool. Source: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
"When we took her back to China last year, she was very confident, not so scared [about] what to do," Lee says.
"Also, learning another language, not just your home language, means learning more about other cultures — and it widens your vision later in life."
Experts agree and say the benefits of learning another language are well-established. Research shows it can boost a range of learning outcomes, according to the federal government, which has invested almost $30 million in an early learning languages program since 2014.
Marianne Turner, an associate professor of bilingual education at Monash University, says: "There are cognitive benefits due to the fact that [learning a second language] does really help with thinking, with creative thinking, and problem-solving."
"Learning more than one language can also help children with social cohesion and with tolerance because they get more of an understanding of difference and less fear about difference."
The Victorian government has also invested more than $50 million to help preschool children learn in a language other than English, over eight years to 2027.
In Sydney, Senna is enrolled at a preschool in the suburb of Chatswood called MindChamps. It's among those trialling a new program where children speak both Mandarin and English.
"Of our 22 centres in Australia, Chatswood is the first to have this bilingual immersive program," founder David Chiem says.
"We did a pilot over the last year and have now fully integrated immersion where teachers speak both languages, every day."
David Chiem is the founder of MindChamps, one of a few preschools that is trialling a new program where children learn another language besides English. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad
Chiem founded MindChamps in Australia and then opened the first preschool in Singapore in 2008.
Since then, the group has developed a focus on multilingual learning, expanding to more than 80 preschools across Australasia.
"We're currently in Singapore. Obviously, Australia is a huge focus for us. We're also in Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar and very soon in the Maldives as well. We're launching soon into the United States," Chiem says.
Chiem's story: 'Hardships were just part of life'
Despite the success of his business, Chiem has never forgotten his own struggles, coming to Australia as a refugee after fleeing southern Vietnam. He was nine and spoke little English.
"I was born in southern Vietnam in the middle of war, in 1969. And my grandparents were originally from China. My grandfather arrived in Vietnam and worked very hard, building a small business in [the city of] Rach Giá. And then my dad was running the business," he says.
"But being from the south, he was also conscripted to be part of the South Vietnamese army. When Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) fell in 1975, he was jailed."
Chiem says his father was finally released, and later, the family fled Vietnam in a fishing trawler. It was a terrifying and dangerous journey, especially as they reached the coast of Malaysia.
"Two fishing trawlers flanked us, and they were about to board. These were two pirate boats, and everyone was so scared," he says.
"Suddenly they left, and everyone thought 'wow'. And then, from a distance, came this huge container ship.
"That Singapore container ship gave us food and water and checked our engines and pointed us in the right direction — towards Malaysia."
David Chiem came to Australia as a refugee, fleeing southern Vietnam at the age of nine. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad
Chiem says Malaysian authorities "would not allow us in".
He recalls his father and other men "crashing" the boat into shore.
"My dad grabbed me and jumped into the water. After that, we were put onto a camp on an island in Malaysia."
The months that followed were hard, and food was scarce, but Chiem found a way to survive.
"Hardships were just part of life. Going to pump water from the well and carrying it back, finding food by catching lizards as well. I still remember how you catch a lizard," he says.
'I decided to be grateful for everything we have'
Chiem's life changed when an Australian official visited the area. He says his family was on a list to be assessed as refugees but missed their initial interview.
So, they travelled to a nearby town to search for him and learned from a shop owner that he was staying at a nearby hotel.
"We went to the hotel, and the government official was still there. What was incredible is that we were allowed in to see him," Chiem says.
He says the official accepted the family as refugees, and in 1978, they flew to Sydney.
The night we arrived, when we finally stood on Australian soil, dad was very emotional. He said 'for every one of us that made it, someone died. So, this is our rebirth'.
David Chiem, founder MindChamps"It was a very powerful mindset for me and that whole experience left a very deep emotional feeling. I decided to be grateful for everything we have," Chiem says.
Later, at school in Sydney, he excelled in maths and science. He qualified for medicine but wanted to pursue a career in acting.
"That was tough having to tell dad that. And he was quite obviously devastated that I didn't want to go to medical school, but I said: 'Dad, look, let me follow my passion'."
Chiem graduated from university and film and television school and went on to enjoy a successful acting career.
His journey has now come full circle.
Preschoolers from diverse backgrounds learn English and Mandarin at MindChamps. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad
"My dad gave me the opportunity to study the theatre and acting was the beginning of the person I am today. And that's when I thanked him, and he was so moved, he cried, and he said, 'No, you did that'. And I said, 'No, dad, you gave me that'.
His experience helped to shape MindChamps' core curriculum, which is based on a concept called the champion mindset. According to Chiem, it has three aspects: celebrating uniqueness, having the courage to challenge conventional wisdom and the ability to overcome adversity without fear.
Chiem hopes that teaching this mindset to preschoolers will boost outcomes for the next generation.
Experts believe learning multiple languages can improve social cohesion among young children. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad
MindChamps recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Western Sydney University to collaborate on enhancing early childhood education and making it more widely accessible.
"This world we live in is complex. There are still nations who feel like they can dominate other nations," Chiem says.
"And I believe the only way we can truly make a difference to the minds of tomorrow is to teach that while we go forward to achieve things, we must not do that at the expense of other people."
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