As part of its efforts to promote Singapore Chinese culture, the Singapore Chinese Culture Centre (SCCC) has partnered with local arts group Young People’s Performing Arts Ensemble (YPPAE) and student group Project Litup to launch two new programmes that seek to facilitate greater public appreciation of Mandarin.
SCCC’s first partnership programme involves the use of songbooks published at the former Radio and Television Singapore (RTS) during the 1970s to 1980s to encourage the public to learn Mandarin through songs. For the classes offered under this programme, SCCC will be partnering Young People’s Performing Arts Ensemble (YPPAE), a Mandarin theatre performing arts company that was originally established by the former RTS.
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The abovementioned classes are targeted at children aged five to 10 years old and seeks to encourage language learning in a fun and interactive manner through the use of songs and music. These classes will be held on either Saturday or Sunday afternoons at SCCC from 26 October to 23 November 2024.
According to YPPAE’s Artistic Advisor, Ma Gyap Sen, 65: “Most city kids rely on adults to run their daily routines, therefore there is a lack of rhythm of their own. If we were to give them their breathing space, then we should let them feel the rhythm of nature. Children’s songs in the past were filled with nature’s breeze and the natural rhythm of life. I hope that children will be able to rediscover that rhythm of life through that, pick up Mandarin in a fun and natural way.”
SCCC’s second partnership is a collaboration with Project Litup, a National Youth Council Young ChangeMakers project initiated by students from Nanyang Girls’ High School (NYGH). The classes offered by Project Litup would be taught and facilitated by students and use topics of interest including classic Chinese novels, musical instruments and even Chinese chess.
The abovementioned programme offers free weekly lessons in Mandarin and is targeted at children between seven to 12 years old. These lessons are facilitated by student volunteers and using lesson materials curated by the aforementioned student volunteers. These classes will be held on Saturday mornings at SCCC from 2 to 30 November 2024.
Kelly Chng, a 16-year-old student volunteer from Project Litup said: “We are very grateful to have SCCC’s support and hope that our collaboration will enable us to reach out to more students. Through our efforts, we hope that learning about Chinese culture and language will allow participants to not only improve their language skills but also to take away many meaningful life lessons and values.”
According to SCCC Chief Executive Officer Alvin Tan: “Through our partnerships with YPPAE and Project Litup, we hope to work together and amplify our partners’ efforts to promote greater public appreciation of Mandarin. More importantly, through their classes and the innovative methods they adopt, we hope to make learning Mandarin enjoyable so as to spark participants’ early interest in Mandarin and motivate them to continue to learn and use Mandarin in their daily lives.”
For more information on any of the above mentioned events, please visit SCCC’s website at https://singaporeccc.org.sg/
Images: Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre