Chinese language teachers called to bring recitation into classroom
Chinese teacher at Anderson Primary School, Ms Fan Wen Juan and American national Zaria Briece Leavy, 7, perform at the Singapore Primary and Secondary Chinese Literary Text Recitation. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY
SINGAPORE — Recitation of the Chinese language is not emphasised as much as it should be in the classroom, and more teachers should make it part of lesson time, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education) Low Yen Ling said on Sunday (Sept 10).
Speaking at a textbook recital performance involving primary and secondary schoolteachers, Ms Low said that because of its four intonations, the Chinese language can be better appreciated "if you pick up the sounds and techniques of recitation".
"Today's recital is really (about) integrating the learning of Chinese language by leveraging the fact that it's a very melodious language, through expressions of poems," she added.
Sunday's two-hour recital organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language and Learning (CPCLL) and the Singapore Chinese Teachers Literary Recital Society was filmed, and snippets could be used for teachers to illustrate the curriculum better.
The Education Ministry formed the CPCLL in 2005 to garner support for the recommendations of the Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee, which was set up in 2004 to review the structure, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment methods for the subject.
Ms Low said that as a mother, she often tells her two children, 10 and 12, to not only focus on learning how to write Chinese characters, but also to "sing them like a song".
"I feel that it's better to learn the language through recitation than dictation," she said.
Added Dr Tan Lee Siang, the president of the Chinese Teachers Literary Recital Society: "Today's Chinese language teachers aren't very strong in their ability to speak the language, as they use more English in their everyday life.
"In class, they read the text very plainly, so all the more, events like this will raise awareness on how to teach Mandarin expression in particular."
