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You are watching UNICEF Television.

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Only three to five years old,

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these children are already learning a second language.

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They are ethnic Hmong,

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and at their age know little of their national language, Vietnamese.

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Today, they are reciting a Vietnamese poem.

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There are no classrooms in the village of Ban Moi

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in the mountains of northern Vietnam,

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so young children gather in the village meeting hall.

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Moi Thi Sai lives just a few minutes away.

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Coming here is much simpler than making the 30-minute hike

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down to the main preschool along an often muddy path.

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UNICEF supports preschools like this

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to give children in rural areas a head start in their education.

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In addition to providing toys and other materials,

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UNICEF helps develop training materials for teachers

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to work with ethnic minority children in their own language.

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Bilingual teaching is very useful.

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When the children are very young, they only speak their native language.

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If we speak to them in Vietnamese,

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they don't understand and are not interested.

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Now, with bilingual education,

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we explain the meaning of the poems,

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we teach them to sing a song in their language,

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and they understand it better and feel more interested to go to school.

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UNICEF also works to get the broader community involved

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in child care and development.

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Once a month, parents, grandparents, health workers and village leaders

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meet in Ban Moi to share experiences

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and learn more about children's issues,

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from providing proper nutrition

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to improving social and emotional growth.

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It is part of a UNICEF goal to ensure that by 2010,

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all children under six are physically and mentally prepared for primary school.

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An effort to break down environmental and linguistic barriers

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to give young Vietnamese an equal footing in their education.

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In Soi Giang Commune, Vietnam,

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this is Steve Nettleton reporting for UNICEF Television.

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Unite for Children.