“为什么学华文？”是新加坡世科教育有限公司联同华校校友会联合会，于今年举办的第二场公开讲座。讲座由华中校友会协办。订于11月17日（星期六）下午2 时30分于华侨中学高中部诚毅 楼礼堂举行。

“为什么学华文？”是一场双语讲座。请到国际投资家罗杰斯和女儿乐乐、莱佛士女中前任校长李卡美女士、清华语 文社总裁耶亚华以英语和华语讲述他们为什 么认 为学华文很重要以及自己学华文的经过和感受。

罗杰斯将以英语讲述学习华文的重要性，再由女儿乐乐和小蜜蜂以带北京腔的华语谈自己学华文的经验。

莱佛士女中前任校长李卡美 退休后勤学华文，周末经常到报业中心聆听华语讲 座。她立志学华文是受了莱中一群很优秀的华文教师影响。他们让学生把各自创作的文章段 落贴在墙壁上，用流利通畅的华文和华语，自由而且尽情地书写、畅谈。这个教学法让去观课的李卡美大受感动，由此激发了她后来要把华文学 好 的 心志。

马来同胞耶亚华是南洋大学 第一届中文系毕业生。他说：“我们家是住在德光岛 的渔民。从小，父亲把我送进华校。他问我要不要像他那样，世代捕鱼。不要 的话，就要去读华校。他说，华人 从中国来的时候，衣不蔽体，在菜园帮忙， 但是有办 法过几年后，就有了自己的事业，开菜园、杂货店。这可能是读中华 书的秘诀，你 去

学吧，毕 业后可以跟他们一起做生意。你是家中长子，把从华 校学来的价值观 灌输给12个弟妹吧。我在德光岛华文 小学毕业后，到本岛的黄 埔中学读中学和高 中，之后去南洋大学读中文系。”果然，掌握了华文让他退休 后开办的语文社，事 业火火红红。

有兴趣听这3+2位人士谈“为什么学华文？”，请从速报名。*入场免费*，为免向 隅，请致电：64665775转408/409 （办公时间内）。

“Why Learn Chinese?” is the second public talk in 2012 jointly organised by WS Education Pte Ltd and the Federation of Chinese School Alumni Associations together with Hwa Chong Alumni Association. The talk will be held on 17 November, Saturday, 2:30 p.m at Cheng Yi Auditorium, Hwa Chong Institution (College Section).

International investment guru Mr Jim Rogers and his two daughters, Hilton Augusta, nicknamed Happy (Le Le) and Beeland Anderson, nicknamed Baby Bee, former Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) principal Mrs Carmee Lim and Director of Qinghua Language & Consultancy Centre Mr Jaffar Kassim will be sharing their views on the reasons learning Chinese is important. They will also talk about their journeys learning the language. “Why Learn Chinese?”

will be conducted in both

English and Mandarin.

In order for his daughters to grow up in a Chinese environment, Mr Jim Rogers studied a few cities — Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore — to see which was best to raise his children in. Finally, he decided to emigrate to Singapore from America and obtained permanent residency here.

Mr Jim Rogers once said, “The 19^th century was the century of United Kingdom, the 20^th century was the century of the United States, and the 21^st century is going to be the century of China.” He added, “Just like every enterprise, every family and every person, China will experience many problems and setbacks, but these are not good reasons not to pick up Chinese.

A language used by 1.3 billion people must be important in my daughters’ lives.”

He will be sharing the importance of learning Chinese in English, and his daughter Happy and Baby Bee will be talking about her experience learning Chinese in Mandarin.

Since her retirement, former RGS principal Mrs Carmee Lim has started learning Chinese diligently because she was inspired by a group of outstanding Chinese teachers in RGS.

They employed creative teaching methods to instil the interest of learning Chinese into their students. For example, collaborative writing among students was conducted using mind maps, and students would then pin their works on the walls, walk about the classroom

to discuss and critique one another’s work in Mandarin. Mrs Lim was impressed by these teaching methods, and it has inspired her to master the language. Now, she often attends Chinese lectures at the Singapore Press Holdings News Centre during weekends.

Mr Jaffar Kassim is among the first batch of Nanyang University graduates with a Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language and Literature. “My family fished for a living in Pulau Tekong,”

he said. “From a young age, my dad sent me to Chinese schools. ‘Go study in Chinese schools, lest become a fisherman like me’, he said. ‘When the Chinese came from China, they were penniless and could only help in the plantations. But they are able to be their own bosses after a few years; owning plantations, setting up grocery shops. The secret of success may lie in the Chinese books, so go and learn it, then go on and start a business with the Chinese after you graduate. You are the eldest child in the family, so you must pass on the values you have learnt in your school to your 12 younger siblings.’ After I graduated from the Chinese primary school

in Pulau Tekong, I came to the mainland, completed my secondary and pre-university education at Whampoa Secondary School before I was admitted into Nanyang University to pursue a Bachelor’s degree. Indeed, mastering the Chinese language has enabled him to establish a successful language and consultancy centre after his retirement.

This talk is free. For more details or registration, please call 6466 5775, extension 408 or 409 during office hours.

新加坡中国商会秘书处

Singapore-China Business Association

6001 Beach Road, #11-01 Golden Mile Tower,

Singapore 199589

Tel: 62932209; 62983622 　Fax: 62969492