KUCHING: Mandarin is one of the most spoken languages in the world and also in the top 10 of business languages which is considered to be the most important ‘tomorrow’s language’.
Minister of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development, Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said Mandarin which is one of the top 10 business languages is also commonly use in commerce and trade.
“That is why in our schools we not only offer children Bahasa Malaysia, our national language, but we also offer English as the second language and quiet a number of schools offer other languages which the children can choose to learn Mandarin or other business languages,” she said in her speech at the launching of the Smart Reader Worldwide’s Mandarin Relaunch and Parents Appreciation Day at Plaza Merdeka Mall here, yesterday.
Fatimah added that even in rural areas, some parents choose to send their children to a school where the medium of instruction is Mandarin or to a school where Mandarin is offered as an additional language.
“It is good for our children to learn another language to be multilingual which is an advantage. Do not worry too much for the children at this stage. You will be amazed how much they can learn especially if they are taught in the fun way.
“We have to make sure that our children can compete later in a very competitive world by learning different languages,” she pointed out.
Meanwhile, according to Smart Reader Worldwide Sdn Bhd Executive Director, Keefe Ong Kin Fye the Smart Mandarin is a systematic and comprehensive programme designed to assist children to master Mandarin in a fun and easy way.
“The curriculum adopts the Han Yu Pin Yin approach, which has been adopted by the international Organisation for Standardisation as the international standard.
“This will ultimately assist children to learn and utilise the correct and accurate pronunciation of the Chinese characters. Furthermore, applying the Smart Reader Creative Teaching Methodology, Smart Mandarin helps students to develop an interest towards the language and to learn to appreciate it easily,” he said.
Smart Reader Worldwide has recently held the Smart Mandarin Relaunch in three separate locations, namely Sunway Velocity Cheras, Kuala Lumpur on 22 July as well as Sutera Mall, Johor Bahru and Plaza Merdeka, Kuching on 30 July, 2017.
With the theme “Parents Appreciation Day”, the Smart Mandarin has a dual purpose of raising awareness on the importance of the Mandarin language and also promoting family values in a modern society.
At the event children from eight Smart Reader Kindergartens namely Rubber Road West, Jalan Song, Chong Hin Garden, Uni Garden, Tabuan Jaya Baru 2, Jalan Keretapi, Jalan Stapok and Taman Yen Yen, sang, danced, participated in story-telling, choral speaking and recited poems.
