Like many “little sea turtles” who returned to live in Hong Kong from the United States, our 7-year-old son Dongdong entered the “Singapore International School [Hong Kong]”. Speaking of which, Primary 4 Chinese tuition is a bit hasty. We don’t know much about the teaching style of this school. We only know that this is a school established by the Ministry of Education of Singapore in Hong Kong. Quite a good reputation. We guessed that the child has stayed in the United States for a long time and is not very adaptable to the local traditional school model in Hong Kong, so we hope that the child can have a relaxed environment after entering the “international school”. When one semester was about to end, at four o’clock in the afternoon, my husband and I came to the classroom on time according to the agreed time to attend the parent meeting at the end of the semester. The classroom is quiet and tidy, and there is no more noise from the children on weekdays; outside the classroom, parents are waiting for their seats in a quiet and orderly manner. The three main teachers lined up and greeted the parents with smiles on their faces. On the table was Dongdong’s report card. “This is the highest score in the grade, this is the lowest score in the grade, and this is the average score. Also, your child’s score.” The head teacher, any teacher, first handed over a small note full of numbers. Before I had time to greet politely, my brain immediately entered the state of mathematical calculations, and quickly judged the ranking of my son’s grades. The meeting with the teacher was only 15 minutes long. But when we came out of the classroom, sweat oozed from the foreheads of our husband and wife. This scene is no stranger to students and parents in Singapore. But for us who have just returned from the United States, we are still a little unprepared. The grades we got from school touched our nerves. I never imagined that an international school would also have test scores. What is the difference between this kind of invisible fierce competition and traditional local schools? For those who don’t know much about Singapore’s education, it is obviously too simple to cover its educational philosophy with just the word “international school”. When it comes to successful education in Singapore, we have to start with PISA. The full name of PISA is Program for International Student Assessment, which is managed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquartered in Paris. By measuring and comparing the language, mathematics and science levels of 15-year-old students in more than 70 countries and regions, this project reflects the knowledge and skills that students in different countries will have in their future life, and also reflects the different countries. Participation in education. The project is implemented every three years. According to the latest report provided by the OECD in 2009, Singaporean students ranked third, second and third in the three tests of reading, mathematics and science respectively. In order to achieve their ideal academic performance, most Singaporean students inevitably have to sacrifice their personal freedom at the expense of their personal freedom. They start to face competition with their parents at an early age. “I have already enrolled my son in 5 training classes, even though he is only 2 and a half years old.” When I heard the words of any teacher, the class leader, I couldn’t help being shocked. “There is no way. I know that the first few students in my Primary 4 Chinese tuition class have spent money and effort to fight this way. It is because I know this too well that I have to do this.” Teacher He also looked helpless. Facing Dongdong’s report card again, the child’s father and I seemed to understand a lot. Our children are normal and intelligent. And that series of sighing grade-level rankings can only show that other people’s children are too advanced, and the parents of those children are too advanced. Since that parent meeting, the number of times Dongdong appeared in the community playground after school has decreased significantly. In order to make my son’s academic performance reach a “reasonable” level in the class, Dongdong also participated in math and English remedial classes after school, and I did extra Chinese exercises at home by myself. As for the school’s swimming class, there is also an extra “additional meal”, because last semester, Dongdong only got a C in swimming class. This grade seems to make Dongdong doubt her athletic ability. Remedial, remedial. This is the content of life that students in local schools in Hong Kong are accustomed to. From kindergarten to high school, without exception. What we didn’t expect was that our own children had to join this team when they were in an international school. We have to admit that we need to re-understand this international school, or in other words, re-understand the Singapore-style modern basic education it represents. Most parents believe that the teaching environment of international schools is relaxed, without the competitive pressure of examinations and rankings, and parents and students will not work too hard. In fact, they are both international schools, some are free and open, while others are traditional and rigorous. Among the international schools in Hong Kong, the British “English School Foundation”, the American “Hong Kong International School” and the “Canadian International School” are typical Western styles. The “German Swiss International School” and the “Hong Kong Singapore International School” are traditional and rigorous. Take the local primary schools in Singapore as an example, the schooling period is six years, and the first four years are the basic education stage. English, mother tongue (such as Chinese), mathematics and science are the main subjects. Starting from the fourth grade, students are divided into classes based on subjects (such as Chinese and mathematics), that is, Chinese fast class or math fast class. Mathematics and science are core subjects throughout primary and secondary school. Upon graduating from primary school, all students take graduation examinations and are admitted to secondary schools of different levels according to their test scores. It can be said that Primary 4 Chinese tuition test scores are basically dominated by parents and students. Pick up a Singapore elementary school mathematics textbook, and you will find that the content of the book, and even the thickness of the book, are not much different from other ordinary mathematics textbooks. Although the mathematics material used by Singaporean teachers is not extensive, it is deep and flexible. Just looking at the sixth-grade mathematics test in Singapore, the difficulty is about two years higher than that of most American schools.
There is competition when there are exams, and pressure when there are rankings. In such a teaching environment, children’s academic performance is generally outstanding. “After my daughter graduated from primary school in Hong Kong Singapore International School, she was able to successfully enter another well-known international school ‘Chinese International School’ (Chinese International School) for secondary school, relying on solid basic skills. Can take exams and answer questions Strong, it is still very practical.” Nan Nan’s mother is very glad that she made the right choice for her daughter a few years ago. As for why the middle school had to be transferred, “the pressure is still too great,” Nan Nan’s mother said, “It is said that Singaporeans are afraid of losing, and they can’t lose. We Hong Kong people are similar. In such a competitive atmosphere, I don’t know how adults and children How long can it last?” With its solid elite education, Hong Kong Singapore International School has increasingly become the new favorite of the “elite” class in Hong Kong. Its expensive tuition fees are beyond the reach of ordinary working families. In 2013, the school’s kindergarten half-day class tuition fee was 78,000 Hong Kong dollars/year, the primary school’s full-day class tuition fee was 102,000 Hong Kong dollars/year, and the middle school tuition fee was 120,000 Hong Kong dollars/year. The children of Singaporeans naturally have the priority to enter the school, accounting for about 1/3 of the total number of students, and enjoy the tuition subsidy of the Singapore government (16,100 Hong Kong dollars/year). The remaining 2/3 places are contested by mainlanders in Hong Kong (especially overseas returnees stationed in Hong Kong from Europe and the United States) and local Hong Kong people. “Unless your child is particularly outstanding, it is difficult to enter the threshold of this school. Even if you are lucky enough to be a member of it, you dare not relax in the slightest. Many mothers who work full-time have to quit their jobs or stay at home part-time.” Nan Nan’s mother sighed. Kevin is a playmate that Dongdong met in the playground downstairs, and he is also a little returnee who speaks Mandarin. He studied Primary 4 Chinese tuition at the Canadian International School, without any exams and pressure, so he always had a lot of time wandering around in the playground. As time passed, he had a group of loyal friends around him.
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Putonghua(Online mandarin learning) has become the core curriculum of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. the scene of the award ceremony of the first “Bauhinia Culture Cup” Chinese Culture Putonghua Competition for Primary and Secondary Schools in Hong Kong.
Recently, Hong Kong’s “Belt and Road” project specialist recruitment positions are on fire. The annual salary of this position offered by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Special Administrative Region Government is as high as 3.358 million Hong Kong dollars, but there is also a striking requirement: you must be able to speak fluent Mandarin.
Some people say that Putonghua has undergone a transformation from a bonus item to a must-have item, which shows that it is getting more and more attention in Hong Kong. The Director of the Civil Service Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Yang Ho Pui-yin, recently stated in the Legislative Council that it will continue to strengthen the Mandarin training of civil servants and improve the overall ability to use Mandarin. She also introduced that after years of hard work, the proportion of Chinese used in official affairs within the government has continued to increase, and more and more civil servants directly write official documents in Chinese. Both Chinese and English are the official languages of Hong Kong. Zheng Weiyuan, director of the Beijing Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, who is already a senior civil servant, recalled that before Hong Kong returned to the motherland in 1997, civil servants and government employees rarely used Chinese in the system, and everyone communicated mainly in English. After the reunification, the first SAR government began to focus on “two languages” (that is, Chinese and English) and “trilingualism” (that is, Cantonese, Putonghua and English), and made a lot of efforts.
In the second year after Hong Kong returned to the motherland, Putonghua began to become the core curriculum of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, and the learning of Putonghua by the younger generation gradually became popular. According to statistics from the Census and Statistics Department of the SAR Government, the proportion of the population in Hong Kong who can speak Mandarin was 18.1% in 1991, and will increase to 54.2% by 2021. With the increasingly close exchanges with the mainland, the frequency of use of Chinese and Mandarin has increased significantly. Yang He Beiyin introduced that the policy of the SAR government is to maintain a civil servant team proficient in “two languages and three languages”. When handling official business and conveying information within the government, appropriate languages will be used according to operational needs, the nature of affairs and the recipients of the text.
The “Belt and Road” project commissioner who has received attention with a high salary is responsible for leading the Hong Kong “Belt and Road” Office and participating in the construction of the “Belt and Road”. Zheng Weiyuan served in this position from 2021 to 2022. He introduced that this position requires contacts with different agencies in the Mainland, such as the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and other relevant ministries and commissions, the Hong Kong Liaison Office of the Central Committee of the Central People’s Government, the Trade Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and state-owned enterprises, etc. and participate in activities and conferences, etc. Therefore, Online mandarin learning skills are essential . When Zheng Weiyuan was interviewed by reporters, he skillfully introduced various situations in Mandarin. When he was studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the 1980s, he began to learn Mandarin, and then traveled to the mainland every year, from Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan to other provinces, autonomous regions and cities, sometimes staying for a month or two. He communicated more face-to-face with mainland compatriots, and his Mandarin level has also improved. This has benefited him a lot on the road of being a political officer. From the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong in the early years, to the “Belt and Road” project specialist later, and now to the Hong Kong Office in Beijing, fluent Mandarin is inseparable from any position.
He said modestly that most older Hong Kong people like himself who speak Mandarin in simplified characters are “half-way monks”, so they are “congenitally deficient”. For example, the four tones are unclear, and the speech script is difficult to read in Mandarin; the vocabulary cannot keep up, and Chinese and English are mixed when in a hurry; easy to distinguish. He has thought of many ways to do this, one of the tricks is to listen to and watch more news broadcasts and current affairs documentaries in the Mainland, and learn to expand his vocabulary through correct narration and some subtitles. The Civil Service Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR government has also seen similar demand. The Civil Service Academy under the bureau continues to promote Mandarin training for civil servants and provides courses covering different levels for civil servants of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Available data shows that from 2017 to 2021, the Civil Service Bureau of the Special Administrative Region has held nearly 500 Mandarin training courses and lectures, with a total of about 13,000 participants. At the same time, in order to facilitate and encourage civil servants to use Chinese more in official affairs, the Official Language Affairs Department of the Civil Service Bureau of the Special Administrative Region Government compiled the “Manual for Writing Government Documents” with examples to provide language support services including Chinese, and opened online learning resources and a telephone inquiry hotline.
deepen cognition
The ability to use Putonghua is one of the assessment items under the current performance assessment mechanism for civil servants in the HKSAR. Online mandarin learning not only brings convenience to work and life, but also enhances learners’ knowledge and understanding of the country. Hong Kong should grasp the opportunities brought by the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the national “14th Five-Year Plan” and actively integrate into the overall development of the country. It is very important for all Hong Kong people, including civil servants, to learn Mandarin well.
The HKSAR Civil Service Academy will launch exchange programs with other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and discuss feasible plans for deepening exchanges with relevant mainland units, so that Hong Kong civil servants have the opportunity to spend a longer period of time in the Mainland for exchanges and in-depth experience of local urban development. While improving the ability of civil servants to use Mandarin, actively integrate into the overall situation of national development.
Mak Ganchu, chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong Putonghua Institute, believes that if the civil service system does not pay enough attention to Putonghua, it will affect their cognition and recognition of national development and policies. He suggested that consideration should be given to adding Mandarin qualification requirements when recruiting civil servants. On the one hand, it can help college students continue to learn and use Mandarin well.
Yang He Beiyin, who visited the mainland, said that during this trip, she communicated with local Hong Kong students, introduced to them the recruitment of Hong Kong civil servants, and welcomed students who aspire to serve Hong Kong citizens to join the civil service after graduation. In recent years, as more and more Hong Kong young people receive Mandarin training in schools, the ability of Hong Kong civil servants to use Mandarin when they enter the job has also been continuously improved. Zheng Weiyuan believes that this highlights the “biliterate and trilingual” characteristics of Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems”, as well as the unique advantages of being backed by the motherland and Online mandarin learning.
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“For those who have no distinction between N and L and weak retroflex sounds, we can do a tongue-to-cheek exercise, using your tongue to press your left and right cheeks 20 times.” April 12, in Hong Kong In the Zhongshang Art Building on Queen Victoria Street, there was such a vivid and interesting scene: Online mandarin learning led about 20 young students from Hong Kong to use a special training method of “oral exercises” to improve their Putonghua level. This is a “Mandarin Fun Class” co-organized by the Hong Kong Reporter Station of Guangzhou Daily and the Guangzhou Federation of Hong Kong. During the training time of nearly 2 hours, these Hong Kong young people from Hong Kong lawyers, finance and entrepreneurship circles, all Feedback is rewarding. The most important thing is that this interesting class taught these students the skills of mouth muscles and tongue exercises, allowing them to practice at home. After the training, a Hong Kong female trainee named polly was still full of confidence and asked about the national Putonghua proficiency test. She thought that as long as she worked hard and practiced hard, “A native Hong Kong person can pass the national Putonghua proficiency test. It’s not a hard thing to imagine.”
One of the organizers of this event, the chairman of the Guangzhou Federation of Hong Kong, Zhou Qianhe, told reporters that since the resumption of customs clearance between Hong Kong and the mainland this year, she has visited Tianhe and Nansha in Guangzhou with young people in Hong Kong many times, especially in Nansha, Guangzhou. It has become the first choice for many Hong Kong young people to go north to start a business and integrate into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. “In this case, learning Mandarin is a very important thing. Mastering this language can not only integrate into the Greater Bay Area, There is also a lot to do in the vast world of the motherland. But any learning is a matter of self-effort, so this activity co-organized with Guangzhou Daily is mainly to teach students pronunciation skills and let them go home and practice hard.” During this activity, Chairman Zhou Qianhe also learned the “remedial skills” in the Mainland. Among the gifts for each student, there are “Mandarin Proficiency Test Full-Authentic Simulation Test Paper” and “Putonghua Proficiency Test Special Textbook”. This “thoughtful gift” is not at all resisting. A Hong Kong student who is preparing to obtain a mainland lawyer’s license in the Greater Bay Area told reporters, “Hong Kong people study very hard, and this gift is very suitable.” Zheng Zonghan, a senior lawyer in Hong Kong, also participated in the whole course of this lecture. He believed that it is very meaningful to hold such an activity, and young people in Hong Kong need such a class to continuously improve their pronunciation. The keynote speaker of this lecture is Ms. Zheng Xue, who has lived in Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore for many years and is currently teaching Mandarin in an international school in Singapore. She introduces her “international career” for many years to the students. English is of course the common language, but Putonghua is also receiving more and more attention internationally. “For example, when I was in Australia at the beginning of this year, I found that there were many foreigners who spoke Mandarin very well. When I returned to Hong Kong three years after the epidemic, I also found that the Mandarin level of Hong Kong people There has also been great improvement. For example, when I met a staff member in a hotel, his Mandarin was very standard, which was hard to imagine before.” Zheng Xue said, “On the premise that Hong Kong people have a certain level of Mandarin , My teaching this time is mainly to teach them pronunciation skills, and let them go home to practice and improve. After all, some Mandarin pronunciations are not available in Cantonese. The teaching effect of this time is also very good.
Some students are learning on the topic After mastering my pronunciation skills, Online mandarin learning immediately became standard, which is an immediate change, and of course it has a lot to do with the level of Mandarin they have mastered.” This interesting Mandarin class is open to the public free of charge. A young woman who works in Central came here admiringly. After the class, she took a photo with Zheng Xue and said on WeChat, “I want to go to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. You learn.” After being affirmed by many students, Zheng Xue finally told everyone that now in Hong Kong, “learning Mandarin is a very cool thing. I hope that one day you will be able to speak fluent standard Mandarin as Hong Kong people. mandarin.” Both Chinese and English are the official languages of Hong Kong. Zheng Weiyuan, director of the Beijing Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, who is already a senior civil servant, recalled that before Hong Kong returned to the motherland in 1997, civil servants and government employees rarely used Chinese in the system, and everyone communicated mainly in English. After the reunification, the first SAR government began to focus on “two languages” (that is, Chinese and English) and “trilingualism” (that is, Cantonese, Putonghua and English), and made a lot of efforts.
In the second year after Hong Kong returned to the motherland, Putonghua began to become the core curriculum of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, and the learning of Putonghua by the younger generation gradually became popular. According to statistics from the Census and Statistics Department of the SAR Government, the proportion of the population in Hong Kong who can speak Mandarin was 18.1% in 1991, and will increase to 54.2% by 2021.
With the increasingly close exchanges with the mainland, the frequency of use of Chinese and Mandarin has increased significantly. Yang He Beiyin introduced that the policy of the SAR government is to maintain a civil servant team proficient in “two languages and three languages”. When handling official business and conveying information within the government, Online mandarin learning will be used according to operational needs, the nature of affairs and the recipients of the text.
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Since 1995, based on the principles and theories of Primary 4 mandarin tuition, we have done a series of A study on the acquisition of Putonghua by Hong Kong people 1, in which a four-year systematic survey and study of small The process by which students acquire Mandarin. We researched the immersion (immersion) Putonghua teaching, for a group of students in the school who are learning Mandarin from scratch A year-long longitudinal study of students investigating general How do elementary school students who speak Mandarin acquire Mandarin. We also studied the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Sin Ci Students in Yun Elementary School have two Mandarin lessons per week, and their Putonghua ability development. We are in the school for a first-grade student enrolled in 1998 Three years of experimental teaching (from September 1998 to August 2001), analyzed the The development of Putonghua ability of students in this class in three years. According to our research over the years and the knowledge and understanding of the development of Putonghua proficiency of primary school students in Hong Kong, here we would like to talk about Discuss several principles of Putonghua teaching in primary schools in Hong Kong. These questions, we are Both have been mentioned and discussed in previous articles. In this article, we will compare the Detailed and focused analysis and discussion. Hong Kong primary school students learning Putonghua as first language acquisition or second language acquisition The problem of positioning in language acquisition This positioning issue is a very important issue, not only directly related to Hong Kong The teaching design of Putonghua courses is still related to the Chinese subjects of many primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Adjustment of the language of instruction. On this important issue, however, scholars differ in their views, Some people think it belongs to the first language acquisition, some people think it is the second language acquisition, and some people think it belongs to the second language acquisition. Put forward the idea of “one and a half languages” (Li Ouyang Ruying, 1997). In fact, this positioning problem is not difficult to solve. Language acquisition is an academic problem, I We should strictly follow the principles of linguistics to define. First of all, we must put politics, Brainstorming (Part Three): The Practice and Discussion of Putonghua Learning and Teaching 138 Geographical, cultural and historical factors are separated from language, and then written and spoken language are separated, Because the language acquisition discussed in linguistics refers to the acquisition of oral language. Linguists use “interactive Mutual intelligibility (mutual intelligibility) test criteria to determine language and method The boundaries of words. Mutual intelligibility refers to the ability to understand the words of others and to make others understand The ability to speak your own words. People in the two communities can understand each other when speaking and communicating Solution, then, they speak the same language. If people from two communities meet and talk If they can’t understand each other, they can’t communicate, then they use two different language. Now, let’s look at the Cantonese and Mandarin questions. Cantonese and Mandarin With different speech systems, Cantonese speakers and Mandarin speakers cannot communicate with each other when speaking together. understand, cannot communicate verbally, so from a linguistic point of view, Mandarin cannot It is the mother tongue of Hong Kong people, and it is not halfway between the first language and the second language. language. From the perspective of the learning environment and methods, we can look at the determination of Hong Kong primary school students’ Mandarin acquisition. bit problem. Hong Kong is a mainly Cantonese-speaking society, the home language of Hong Kong children It is Cantonese. They are exposed to Cantonese in a natural language environment and naturally acquire Cantonese. but Yes, Mandarin is a completely different situation. The vast majority of Hong Kong children live in environments without have mandarin, they have to learn mandarin through classroom environment, through mandarin teacher of professors acquire Primary 4 mandarin tuition. It is clear that Hong Kong primary school students learning Mandarin is a second language Acquisition 2. However, the acquisition of Mandarin by Hong Kong students is a special kind of second language learning. have to. Mandarin is a second language for Hong Kong people, but it is not a completely foreign language. Second language. The grammar between Mandarin and Cantonese is basically the same, the basic vocabulary is the same, and have the same written language, have the same written characters, people from the Mandarin community and the Cantonese community People in the district share the same Chinese culture, history and customs, Hong Kong students are familiar with them Learn Mandarin in a familiar Chinese cultural environment. The main difference between Mandarin and Cantonese is that In terms of pronunciation, people in Hong Kong focus on learning Mandarin pronunciation. So, incense Learning Mandarin for Hong Kong people is different from learning a completely unfamiliar second language.
There are two important meanings in figuring out this positioning relationship. First, since it belongs to the second
Language acquisition, Hong Kong people learning Mandarin is dominated and influenced by the laws of second language acquisition. ring. We all know that complete second language acquisition is The overall success rate is low. The main factors affecting second language acquisition are: age, mother tongue, learning Learning environment, learning attitude, learning purpose, learning methods and methods, etc. In addition, Second language acquisition is also governed by general tendencies. general disposition refers to second language acquisition Several Principles of Putonghua Teaching in Primary Schools in Hong Kong 139 In the process, learners from different mother tongues reflect the common laws, these laws It is consistent with the law in children’s mother tongue acquisition. Because of the influence of second language acquisition factors, not only ordinary teachers in Hong Kong Chinese cannot be learned quickly, and Hong Kong elementary school students cannot learn Putonghua quickly. primary school students Although there is an age advantage in language learning, age is only one of the factors in second language acquisition. First, second language acquisition is restricted by many factors. We studied in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Primary School for one year investigation and research. Suzhe Primary School is one of the very few schools in Hong Kong that adopts fully immersive 4 Mandarin teaching One of the Primary 4 mandarin tuition I have learned is a school that has successfully taught Mandarin. Their teachers are mainly from mainland China and Taiwan Bay, 95% of the teachers are native speakers of Mandarin, 5% of the teachers are native speakers of Cantonese and Hokkien etc., but their Mandarin ability is completely close to that of the Mandarin-speaking teachers. in su Zhejiang Primary School, not only in the classroom, but also in the whole campus is an environment where Mandarin is used. environment, their school’s morning meetings, class meetings and extracurricular activities all use Mandarin as the medium. Our research found that even in such an ideal Mandarin immersion environment, Primary one students in Jiangsu and Zhejiang primary schools also go through the developmental stage of Primary 4 mandarin tuition.
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Are you thinking of Primary 4 Mandarin tuition but not sure which one to choose?
We don’t blame you. There are many wonderful languages out there, and depending on your tastes (for example, if you like K-drama or French indie cinema), you may find yourself drawn to one in particular.
If you’re still undecided, we’ll explain why learning Mandarin is the best decision you’ve ever made.
1. It will set your resume apart.
The unemployment rate in Malaysia has recently increased from 4.5% in 2020 to 3.3% in 2019. While the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the labor market, anything that can give you an edge should be accepted with open arms.
The ability to communicate in Mandarin is an obvious benefit. Of course, knowing a foreign language can greatly improve your professional image. After all, many international companies today have offices all over the world, and being multilingual will give you an advantage over other applicants. However, since China is one of our most important trading partners, knowing Mandarin is very useful.
If you want to boost your employability, learning Mandarin could be a good place to start.
2. It creates unique job opportunities.
Mandarin also opens up unique job prospects that you wouldn’t get if you spoke another language.
First, Mandarin speakers make up a large portion of the population. Some careers, such as customer service and content creation, are only open to Mandarin speakers to cater to this market. Due to China’s unique position in the global economy, procurement executives can be found who are primarily responsible for establishing connections with Chinese companies. These opportunities will be available to you if you have Mandarin skills.
Also, you can take on some part-time jobs to supplement your income. Mandarin translators, subtitling translators, and teachers can find plenty of part-time jobs.
3. It has the potential to increase your salary.
Knowing another language not only opens up new avenues, but potentially better rewards as well.
Generally speaking, being proficient in Primary 4 Mandarin tuition can increase your earnings by 2% to 5%. Statistics vary based on various factors, but the general truth remains the same – knowing another language can positively impact your prospects as an employee.
While proficiency in any language can bring this benefit, Mandarin is especially beneficial. As you know, China is one of Malaysia’s largest trading partners. As more companies try to do business with China, the demand for speaking Mandarin will only increase. So will the pay.
4. it stimulates your brain function
Learning a foreign language means more exercise for your brain, improving your memory and brain function.
But did you know that only learning Mandarin can give you the added benefit?
The researchers found that, unlike English, which only stimulated the left temporal lobe, Mandarin stimulated both the left and right hemispheres. This may be due to Mandarin Chinese’s more complex use of tones and intonation to give meaning to words.
5. It keeps your mind sharp as you age
If you’re used to the Latin alphabet, Chinese characters in Mandarin can seem daunting because it uses strokes in all four directions, specifically up, down, left, and right.
But there are benefits too — learning and writing new symbols, such as Chinese characters, can help activate neural activity and improve motor and cognitive skills, the researchers say. Additionally, some studies have shown that learning a new language can prevent and delay the onset of cognitive decline by 4.5 years.
In short, learning a foreign language, especially Mandarin, can help you slow down the aging process of your brain. This is one big benefit you don’t want to miss out on.
6. It will help you connect with more people
Just be aware of this – Mandarin is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, second only to English. There are 917 million native Mandarin speakers and over 100 million non-native speakers, which means 1 out of every 100 people can converse in Mandarin.
This will give you the opportunity to connect with as many people as possible around the world. After all, speaking a common language is a great unifying tool, and you can actually get to know them better when you know their first language.
Proficiency in Mandarin is also helpful in various social situations. The language is used everywhere from business transactions to social and cultural interactions. You’re wrong to think it’s only useful in China – there are many Chinatowns around the world, and there are plenty of Mandarin speakers even outside of those communities.
A logical conclusion is that learning the second largest language in the world is very helpful in connecting you with as many people as possible.
7. It helps you stay relevant in this challenging climate
The reality is that China is one of the giants of the world economy. Second only to the United States, China’s 2019 gross domestic product (GDP) was $14.34 trillion. And it’s growing fast. With an annual growth rate of 6.1%, the largest compared to other countries, it is only a matter of time before the United States is overtaken.
So it is not an exaggeration to say that the future of business is in China. If you’re looking for a way to future-proof yourself and ensure your relevance in this fast-paced and ever-changing world, maybe learning Mandarin, China’s official language, is a good place to start.
Primary 4 Mandarin tuition with its own unique writing system can be disconcerting. But you now live in a digital world with so many resources at your fingertips. The benefits will come to you if you are willing to lend a helping hand.
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What are the requirements to be a Mandarin tutor?It is difficult to find a Primary 2 mandarin tuition, but it is not easy. The reason why I say this is because this major is easy to learn but difficult to master. Just think about it, even if you can speak Cantonese yourself, do you have the confidence to teach this language to others? Next, let’s take a look at what it takes to be a competent Mandarin tutor.
Language proficiency
Mandarin contains a variety of dialects, mainly from the southwestern and northern regions of China. Nearly a billion people speak it as their first or second language. Unless you are lucky enough to speak Mandarin fluently, your first step in becoming a Mandarin tutor is to learn the language. You can do this with language courses or with your own personal tutor, but many experts recommend that teachers learn the foreign language in their country of origin. You also have to develop your teacher skills. There are many courses and programs you can take online and in person to earn a teaching degree or certificate, many of which are geared toward teaching foreign languages. Whether you plan to teach students one-on-one or tutor an entire class, it’s important to understand the basics in teaching.
Teaching experience
Teaching experience is very helpful, but not required. Beyond practical skills, if you want to be a Mandarin tutor, you need to find a way to source and screen prospective students. As a Mandarin tutor, you develop lessons, which include designing step-by-step lesson plans to fit your specific class schedule. You must develop testing and assessment procedures to ensure that your students actually learn the material.
Designate teaching objects
The curriculum that is developed depends largely on your students. For example, if you wish to be a Mandarin tutor with only one-on-one adult students, the lesson plan you develop may be very different from the lesson plan you develop for a large class of mixed-age students. Therefore, before embarking on your quest to become a Mandarin tutor, it is important to consider what type of students you intend to teach.
While most teaching and language skills can be learned, there is no substitute for experience. Before you tutor yourself, you might consider serving as a student teacher for a while. Consider advertising at local colleges and universities, and place an ad in your local newspaper. Social networking sites are also invaluable in finding potential students. Be a member of different forums or other sites that may attract people with a particular interest in the Primary 2 mandarin tuition and ensure that other members are aware of your tutor wishes. “Your Mandarin level is really poor, how could it be so poor?”
Xu Li (pseudonym) couldn’t help teasing her classmates when they couldn’t describe a simple idiom.
Xu Li, who was born in Hong Kong, taught Mandarin in Hong Kong for 4 years. Xu Li started teaching initials and finals, and guided students to upgrade step by step to fight monsters and overcome language barriers. “Not all students like to learn Mandarin, but they especially like my Mandarin class.”
Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, Putonghua has become one of the core courses in primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, and the SAR government has also begun to train Putonghua teachers. In 2009, Hong Kong’s senior high school reformed its academic system, and the Putonghua curriculum covers Primary One to Secondary Three (equivalent to the Mainland’s third grade—reporter’s note). Public institutions are the main force in teaching Mandarin courses.
In 2014, after graduating with a master’s degree in Chinese Education, Xu Li joined the Chinese Department of a college affiliated to her alma mater as a teacher. She mainly teaches three courses: Practical Mandarin, Mandarin Communication and Communication, and Chinese Reading and Writing. Most of the students enter colleges and universities to study courses because of their unsatisfactory grades in the middle school graduation examination. The pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar of Mandarin are different from Cantonese. Whether in class or between classes, Hong Kong students whose native language is Cantonese always communicate with Xu Li in Cantonese. When answering questions, when encountering situations that cannot be expressed in Mandarin, students always throw out a sentence in Cantonese and ask Xu Li to translate it.
“Please speak Mandarin with me.” Xu Li asked the students to communicate in Mandarin throughout the Mandarin course.
Slowly, Xu Li worked out a set of advanced course content. In the first class, Xu Li evaluated the students’ Mandarin foundation based on the students’ self-introduction. If the average level of the students in the class is not good, she will start from the simplest initials and finals, and then guide the students to translate between Cantonese and Mandarin and practice in context. If most of the students have a certain foundation in Mandarin, she will teach them step by step in the order of vocabulary, sentences, and context.
In her class, there are generally about 30 students, and each class is 3 hours. According to the allocation ratio of Sanqi, Xu Li always guides students to give seven points and herself three points in course design. “Students need to speak a lot to practice using the language.” She found that sometimes students did not speak very well, but instead stimulated the attention and enthusiasm of other students. “Among the laughter, I realized that half of the ten classmates would not make the same mistake.”
But some mistakes are difficult to correct for a while. The student nodded after being corrected, and continued to make the same mistake next time.
For example, when Hong Kong students express “you eat first” and “you go first”, they always say “you eat first” and “you go first”. This is because in Cantonese grammar, adverbs often come after verbs, that is, “you eat first” and “you walk first”.
Another habit that cannot be broken is that students like to add the word “then” at the beginning of every sentence. Xu Li explained that it is easier for students to learn Taiwanese Mandarin because Cantonese and Taipu have no tongue-twisting sounds. Influenced by Taiwanese culture, Hong Kong students like to start a sentence with “then”.
“Many students work very hard, and their notes are filled with pinyin.” Xu Li observed that after the oral English practice in class, some students would practice oral English by themselves after returning home. Two weeks before the Primary 2 mandarin tuition final exam, she will announce the exam questions of 6 scenarios in advance, and the students will prepare them by themselves. During the exam, the students selected one of the topics and expressed it one-on-one in front of her. “I will design some spoken language scenarios, for example, if you are the sales manager of a restaurant, what should you do when a customer is dissatisfied.”
Some diligent people thought out the answers to the six scenes in advance, wrote them down on paper, and began to recite them. Xu Li always guides them not to use this method as much as possible: “What is written on the paper is written language, and I hope what they speak is spoken language.”
In her spare time, Xu Li once asked her students: “What are your hobbies?”
One of the answers is “look at the original novels on Qidian Chinese.com”.
Xu Li herself reads it every day, and reads a chapter or two when she suffers from insomnia. “This is a cultural exchange and a student’s hobby, but it works.”
In class, Xu Li does not deliberately teach simplified characters, and students rarely read mainland newspapers, but students can basically understand the original novels of Qidian Chinese website. Some new Internet vocabulary, such as “very good” and “moving bricks”, Hong Kong students may not be able to react for a while, but in the context, it is easy to understand. “There is no problem in reading, but I just don’t understand pinyin to text.” Chen Ke (pseudonym), born in 1997, is a student of Xu Li’s class of 2015. When he was studying in Hong Kong, he went to Tsinghua University for exchange and also worked as an intern at CCTV.
As early as in elementary and middle school, Chen Ke had already learned Mandarin.
Putonghua has been a core subject in Hong Kong primary schools since 1998. Students enrolled in 1998 and later will learn Mandarin from the first grade of primary school to the third grade of junior high school. In 2000, Putonghua became a subject of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. Primary 2 mandarin tuition become more and more useful.
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