Revive ancient art and craft skills, celebrate culture

Art and craft are an integral part of a culture. Even poor mountainous tribes have beautiful clothes, jewelry and musical instruments. Here's an ancient Chinese craft that is little known and is now being slowly revived.

The craftsman embeds a kingfisher's feather into a setting of gold. I've never seen a picture like that, but I am sure it is stunning.

What craft in your culture do you celebrate? Share it with us!

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Body language - our daily communication tool

Is body language considered a proper language? Not officially, I suppose, but we all "speak" it without even realising that we are sending a message!

Here's an example of how body language worked effectively.

"Remember, we speak with our voices but communicate with our bodies. You have just seven seconds to make a positive first impression." - Dr Seow Bee Leng, "More than you can say" (CATS Recruit, 13 Aug 2013)

What message are we communicating today? Let it be positive!

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Miss Communication, Miss Understanding

The English is not perfect, but the message conveyed more than makes up for the less than perfect spelling and grammar. In any language, let's be careful what we say!

Have fun learning another language!

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Chinese is an ancient language

The Chinese language is an ancient language. The discovery of Chinese classical literature written on bamboo strips shows that Chinese writing has existed for thousands of years.

Learn an ancient language today! Learn Chinese! Find a suitable package here.

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Typo errors and poor building maintenance = poor image

I wrote about poor customer service some time ago. This photo is from the slimming centre I visited. While waiting for the Consultant, I spotted this unprofessional advertising on the wall.

What do I mean? Typo errors unchecked destroy any kind of professional service you may offer. It shows lack of attention to detail. I circled the errors in red.* The errors are so basic that even a child will be able to spot the errors and offer the correct answers. I wonder if the fact that the staff are more proficient in Mandarin than English, then no one will bother proficient in Mandarin than checking the English text in detail. "Most of the customers don't speak English anyway." Wrong move! Minor details that are overlooked damage your image and reputation.

The same applies to this uncovered vent in the consultation room. What I saw through the hole was clean. Good building management. However, I felt unsafe sitting directly under that uncovered vent. I kept wondering if anything was going to fall on my head!

Some cultures just do not pay attention to detail.

Learn a language, learn a culture!

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*Typo errors and corrections:
"i" should be "I"
"Iam" should be "I am"
"All Thanks" should be "All thanks"
"friendly staffs!." should be "friendly staff!"

Transparent Language Online Vietnamese - great way to learn!

Transparent Language Online is an entirely interactive, entirely online language learning package. Over 100 languages are available, including English as a Second Language. I tried the Vietnamese lessons under the seven-day free trial offer. It is an intense package, but I learned basic phrases that I can use when I visit the country.

If you're a beginner like me, the software recommends that you begin with the Essentials lessons. I did not complete the lessons in this section. However, the software keeps track of your progress, picking up from where you left off the last time you logged in. It also shows you how far along you are in each lesson so that you know how much more you have to go before completing that section, in case you have to do something else at a certain time.

The Essentials section covers, speaking, reading and spelling. While you do not have to learn to write Vietnamese with all the symbols, you do need to learn how to operate the onscreen keyboard. When I first started, I did not know there was an onscreen keyboard. I simply typed in the letters and symbols on my laptop keyboard. What I typed looked exactly the same as the given text, but I was marked "incorrect" every single time. This was a major frustration to me. It would not let me go and never gave me any help to tell me where I had gone wrong. To move on in the lesson, I simply clicked "Accept as Correct" for each one.

The speaking section was fun. First you hear the phrase spoken by a native speaker, then you click a button to record your own voice. The soundwave graph will show you how close or far off you are with the original. I can't interpret the soundwave, neither do I know how to make my pronunciation look like the original. But at least I could move onto the next phrase as I chose to.

Since time was running out on me for the trial period, I moved on quickly to the Byki Quick Start. This was fun and painless. The only downside was the slow download of each lesson. It began with speaking and reading, but there was no recording of my voice. Flashcards helped me recognise phrases and prompted me to mark myself correct or not. If I didn't know a word, I simply clicked "enter" to move on. The software will come back to the phrase after a few other phrases. The word would keep repeating several times even though I had gotten it correct a few times. Repetition is the mother of learning, I suppose.

The spelling section in Byki Quick Start was a lot of fun. The English word on a flashcard will be shown. Then you type the phrase in Vietnamese. A set of five letters will appear at the bottom of the screen. Click on the correct letter and the next set of letters will appear. If you choose the wrong letter, you have to start all over again from the beginning of that phrase. It is infinitely easier than the Essentials spelling section. I felt that I was learning quickly even if I did not know the alphabet at all. It was a matter of recognition, rather than understanding how the words are formed.

In all the lessons that I tried, there was never any explanation of the Vietnamese alphabet or the symbols. The first lesson began with phrases such as "How are you?", "Hello", "My name is ...", etc. I still don't know what the different symbols mean, where they should be placed, how they should be written, which letters have symbols and which do not. Based on the pronunciation of the phrases, I can guess that the symbols tell me what kind of sound I should make, but no explanation can be found anywhere.

What I found strange was the stock photos to accompany the flash cards. Since I was learning Vietnamese, I thought the people in the pictures should be locals. They are not. All the people shown are Caucasians, obviously stock photos. It may not change the quality of the lesson, but I think small touches do enhance the learning process.

While Transparent Language Online is an online package that allows you to learn at your own pace, it is intense. When you buy the package, you buy it by month, six months or a year. Given the time limit of your purchase, you may feel pressured to keep at it every day so as not to waste your money. In that sense, it is a good learning package. Besides, you do learn a lot. However, you may find this stressful, as I did.

Overall, it is a good package to learn a language. While it is not as expensive as Rosetta Stone, it does cater to the learner who can read and write, not a small child. The lessons are systematic and build on one another. It is fun and engaging at every step. I definitely recommend this package.

Have fun learning a new language!

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Xinyao music, uniquely Singaporean

Language is an integral part of our culture and who we are. Singaporean songwriter Liang Wern Fook wrote this song sometime ago but was slapped a ban because some of the lyrics were sung in Hokkien and Cantonese, not a pure Mandarin song. What a blow to a very successful songwriter! Those were the days of the Speak Mandarin Campaign. No dialects were allowed in public broadcasts, only Mandarin. Then, dialects were said to erode the learning of Mandarin. So many years later, this song has been revived and given a second chance, as a movie soundtrack, no less. The music genre, 新瑶 or xinyao, is uniquely Singaporean. How so? Only if you appreciate such music. The tunes are folksy, down-to-earth and singable by anyone. This song 麻雀衔竹枝 (Ma Que Xian Zhu Zhi) with no English title tells the story of how the average Singaporean Chinese grew up. Everyone can relate to the story. You may not understand Chinese, but I think you will enjoy the tune. It brings back memories of old Singapore and how many of us grew up, when life was simpler and more carefree. Music crosses cultural boundaries. Yet music is a language of its own that speaks directly to the heart without words. Learn Mandarin and you'll be able to appreciate the song even more! Pick up a package today! Fun Language Tools

Learn dialect, connect with the older generation

There must be something about speaking the language of our ancestors that makes us feel complete. Is a language only about communicating with another person, or is there more to it?

I wrote about young people wanting to revive Chinese dialects in Singapore. Some time back, I had commented on an article about the language of our ancestors being able to touch our hearts. Today's article is about a young man who started making children's picture books for two Chinese dialects (Hokkien and Cantonese) that are commonly spoken in Singapore. What started as a fun learning experience for his nephew, it has now become a small business of sorts. Anyone wanting to learn those dialects would have fun learning. After all, who doesn't like feeling like a child all over again?

What tickled me the most was the name of his website: Sibey Nostalgic. "Sibey" in Hokkien is an expression to mean "extremely". It is as colloquial as you can get. It's also very appropriate since the site sells books to teach you Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew.

The best part about the books is not that they are available, but that you need to connect with someone who speaks the language fluently to learn the proper pronunciation. This is not a self-tutoring package. Instead, it is a family building, inter-generational package. Both children and adults can have fun with it. After all, language learning is meant to be fun!

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Revive Chinese dialects, find my roots

Chinese dialects (or languages native to specific regions of China) are fast becoming lost languages. In China, the nationwide promotion of Mandarin has caused a generation of young adults who cannot speak the language of their grandparents and ancestors, unless their parents have made an effort to preserve the language at home by speaking it to their children.

In Singapore, the push for "Mandarin as a Second Language" in schools and the "Speak Mandarin Campaign" has almost wiped out dialects among a younger generation of Chinese citizens. Those born in the 1960s and earlier grew up with either Chinese or English education. The Chinese-educated maintained their ability to speak dialects. Those of us who went to English-medium schools ended up largely monolingual i.e. can only speak English and nothing else. I was that way until I was forced to learn other languages for survival. Today, I am an ardent advocate of multi-lingualism.

Now a handful of young adults are trying to revive the learning of dialects, even if only spoken. After all, all Chinese languages use the same writing. Why? Perhaps this generation realises that something is missing from their lives. They've lost the language of their ancestors, making them a generation of Chinese with a missing link in their identity. While the older generation is still alive, there is still a chance of saving and reviving Chinese dialects. Good for these young ladies. May they succeed in their endeavour.

If you don't have a language of your ancestors, you can still benefit from learning another language. It will open up a whole new world to you! Find a package to fit your needs and learning style today!

Happy learning!

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Bilingual children have better brain function

In general, learning anything at a young age means we learn faster and better. Language is no different. Whether a child is exposed to only one or multiple languages at home, the same rule applies. The child will pick up the language naturally and fluently, just as he hears it. An American family living in Asia for many years hired a Chinese nanny for their daughters as soon as each was born, when they were living in Beijing. The two girls speak Mandarin fluently. When asked when they started learning Mandarin, the older girl looked at her father puzzled. She learned Mandarin from the day she was born. By the time she started nursery school, she was already fluent, even though neither of her parents speak Mandarin.

Experts advocate starting a child on another language at age three. At that age, children learn by imitation, rather than by explanation. Grammar lessons come much later. By then, the child is already speaking and understanding fluently. Grammar rules simply reinforce what he already knows.

Now experts say that learning another language helps our brain function better. Bilingual adults can code-switch faster and do better on tasks that need concentration and flexibility. Switching between languages is a natural ability, rather than having to think of what to say in another language. Regardless, any way to get our brains to be more efficient is always welcome. Most people are always complaining about how forgetful they have become.

If you're thinking about starting your child on another language, you can try KidSpeak or Rosetta Stone. Both packages are designed for the child learner. Your child will have fun and learn very quickly.

Have fun learning a new language!

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