As Malaysians, we are proud of our multiracial society with a rich cultural heritage. This has enabled us to be open-minded in accepting each other’s culture. From a young age we learn English, Malay and/or Chinese, these 3 languages have shaped our national identity as Malaysians. Now with China’s growing economic and political strength, the ability to speak and write in the Chinese language is fast becoming an important skill.
In Malaysia, it’s not just Chinese parents who send their children to local Chinese vernacular schools, it’s not uncommon to see non-Chinese-speaking parents sending their children to these Chinese vernacular schools in the country. However, there may be parents who wish to send their children to language learning centres to further improve their Chinese language skills. The New Concept Chinese Center in Mahkota Cheras is one of those language learning centres, it specializes in the <New Concept Chinese> and <Chinese Zijing> courses that trains children from four years old till high school (or even adults) in the Chinese language.
<New Concept Chinese> (新意中文)
The <New Concept Chinese> is designed to include the uniqueness of Malaysian Chinese education syllabus. Instead of the traditional spoon-feeding methods, <New Concept Chinese> focuses on interactive and interesting teaching methods in order to stimulate the right brain development of children. Teachers use daily life as a concept, and go step by step with a story, to strengthen the children’s’ memory. The teaching materials of the <New Concept Chinese> is brought in from Beijing by a children’s education supervisor in the United States, and developed with Chinese experts and scholars, based on her experience of teaching Chinese overseas for 15-years. It is different from the education system in Chinese primary schools as it starts from basic word recognition, reading, writing and comprehension, pinyin (the romanization of Chinese based on the pronunciation) and Chinese proverbs.
<Chinese Zijing> (中华字经)
The <Chinese Zijing> series is a very interesting teaching material as it not only teaches about Chinese culture and history, it also teaches about philosophy and human geography. Due to its rhythmic and catchy 4 character phrases, it’s easy for children to remember and spark their interest in learning Chinese. It is like a mini encyclopaedia of classical culture, disseminating scientific and cultural knowledge to children that will last a lifetime.
The <Chinese Zijing> requires certain foundation in Chinese for easier comprehension, when combined with the <New Concept Chinese> course, not only does your child would learn to read and write in Chinese, he/she would also learn traditional virtues and history of the Chinese culture. The Chinese culture in Malaysia has deep roots that even Mainland Chinese find us admirable; there are many traditions that are still being upheld in Malaysia. Has your child ever asked why we do certain practices which make no sense to them? (eg. Holding joss sticks while praying to our ancestors.) Learning Chinese helps your child to fully understand the history and significance behind these traditions, which would be difficult to explain in any other language. There are certain practices that even Mainland Chinese have forgotten yet it is still being practiced by ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, like lighting lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Surprising, isn’t it?
The importance and benefit of learning Chinese is endless: it helps children gain cognitive benefits, it opens up career opportunities for your child in the future etc. Even Mark Zuckerberg or Obama’s daughter, Sasha Obama are learning Chinese. English may still be an important universal language on the global stage, there is no denying that the Chinese language carries that same weight. Even if you intend to send your child to Kebangsaan school or an English-medium school, it doesn’t mean your child can’t learn Chinese at a center like New Concept Chinese. Multilingualism is part of our Malaysian culture, and definitely our biggest asset too.
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